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Collection of poems (and some translations) by Jacob Eichenbaum. There are words of praise for the book from Samuel Levi Judelsohn, followed by a list of the supporters whose contributions made publication of Kol Zimrah possible, an introduction by Eichenbaum, a table of contents of the poems, and then the poems. The poems are set in square vocalized Hebrew. The volume concludes with two letters from Eichenbaum, the first to his brother, the second to a close friend written the day that the shiva for his father ended. Kol Zimrah (1836) is one of the first books of poetry published in the Haskalah period. Slouschz describing Eichenbaum’s style, writes “His sweetness and tenderness, his elegant and clear style, often recalls Heine.”
Jacob Eichenbaum (Gelber, 1796–1861) was a Haskalah poet, educator, and mathematician. Born in Krystianopol, Galicia, he was married at the age of 11, but divorced when his father-in-law suspected him of secular leanings. He married again in 1815 and settled in Zamosc where he developed his interest in mathematics and translated Euclid from German into Hebrew (unpublished). Here he adopted the name Eichenbaum in order to obtain a resident's permit. Later he served as a private tutor, traveling from place to place, and finally settling in Odessa where he established a private Jewish school in 1835. He was appointed director of the Kishinev Jewish school in 1844 by the Russian government and in 1850 inspector of the newly established Zhitomir Rabbinical Seminary. Eichenbaum contributed poetry to Hebrew journals of the period. He also wrote Ha-Kerav ("The Battle," 1839), a book in verse describing the game of chess, and Hokhmat ha-Shi'urim (an adaptation of a French arithmetic book, 1857). |
