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Munificent artistic Hebrew edition of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam prepared by Benzion Benshalom from the Persian. The text is accompanied by six full page oriental illustrations and each text page has an oriental style frame about the text and in the upper tight and lower left hand corners of each page are delicate floral designs. The text, which is is preceded by Ben Zion Benshalom’s introduction, is comprised of quatrains in vocalized Hebrew. This is a rare and sensitive edition of the Rubaiyat, a collection of poems, originally written in the Persian language, attributed to the Persian mathematician and astronomer Omar Khayyám (1048 – 1123). "Rubaiyat" (derived from the Arabic root word for 4) means "quatrains": verses of four lines. Depending on the sources of reference that one chooses, Omar Khayyam is believed to have composed somewhere between 200 and 600 Rubaiyat (quatrains). Some are known to be authentic and are attributed to him, while others seem to be combinations or corruption of his poetry, and whose origins are more dubious. The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam is among the few masterpieces that has been translated into most languages, including English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Chinese, Hindi, Arabic, and Urdu.
Benzion Benshalom (Katz, 1907–1968) was a Hebrew translator, literary critic, and educator. He was the brother of Juliusz Katz-Suchy . Born in Sanok, Galicia, he studied at the University of Cracow, taught Hebrew language there (1929–39), and lectured at the Warsaw Institute of Jewish Studies (1937–39). In 1940 he immigrated to Palestine, and from 1941 to 1963 was director of the Jewish Agency's Youth and He-Ḥalutz Department. He also lectured on classical literature at the Tel Aviv University, where he was appointed rector in 1964. Katz's books include Mishkalav shel Ḥ.N. Bialik ("Metrics in Bialik's Poetry," 1942); Ha-Sifrut ha-Ivrit Bein Shetei Milḥamot Olam (1943; Hebrew Literature between the Two World Wars, 1953); Sheki'ot Yerushalayim ("Jerusalem Sunsets," poems, 1965); and Orḥot Yeẓirah ("Creative Paths," literary essays, 1966). He translated into Hebrew selections from the Persian epic Shahnama by Firdausi and the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyam, as well as several classical Greek works.
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מאת עומר כיאם. מהמקור הפרסי בצרוף מבוא והערות מאת בנציון בנשלום;
"העטורים הווינייטות והציורים בפנים הספר לקוחים מהמיניאטורות המקוריות של האמנות הפרסית במאות ה-15 וה-16".
עמ' 125: "מפז המרובעים הניתנים בספר הזה, כב נדפסו בחוברות ה,גזית' וסה נדפסים עתה בפעם הראשונה".
עמ' 126: הערות ביבליוגרפיות. |
