Bikkure ha-Ittim
Title page of the 1830 edition
Founder(s)Salomon Jacob Cohen
PublisherAnton Edler von Schmid
Editor
Founded1820 (1820)
LanguageHebrew, German
Ceased publication1831 (1831)
CityVienna
CountryAustrian Empire

Bikkure ha-Ittim (Hebrew: בִּכּוּרֵי הָעִתִּים, lit. 'First-Fruits of the Times') was a Hebrew-language annual published in Vienna from 1820 to 1831. Founded by Salomon Jacob Cohen, it was adopted by the Galician Maskilim as their means to promote culture and education among Galician Jews. The publication was a forerunner of modern Hebrew journalism and played a significant role in the revival of the Hebrew language.[2]

History

Bikkure ha-Ittim originally appeared as a supplement to the Hebrew calendar Ittim Mezumanim.[3] In 1822, it stopped being a supplement and became an independent magazine.

The magazine mostly featured contributions from writers in Galicia, Bohemia, and the Italian-Austrian provinces.[1] It had a significant impact on European Jews in the first half of the 19th century. According to Delitzsch, Bikkure ha-Ittim also became the publication of the New-German school of poetry in Austria, with the influence of Schiller as evident in the magazine as Lessing's influence was in Ha-Me'assef.

The early issues of the magazine contained a mix of Hebrew and German articles (written in Hebrew characters) and reprints from the defunct Ha-Me'assef.[4] The magazine gradually improved in both style and content and eventually became the chief publication for the greatest Hebrew writers of the era, including Samuel David Luzzatto, Solomon Judah Löb Rapoport, and Isaac Samuel Reggio, who contributed to it for many years. Bikkure ha-Ittim also nurtured the talents of many young Hebrew writers, such as Isaac Erter, who published some of his highly regarded papers on elegant composition and wit in the magazine.

Publication of Bikkure ha-Ittim ceased in 1831. Two attempts to revive the journal, one by Max Emanuel Stern in 1844 and another by Isaac Samuel Reggio and Isidor Bush, were unsuccessful.[5][6]

Notable contributors

Among the periodical's contributors were:[4]

References

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Gottheil, Richard; Raisin, Max (1902). "Bikkure ha-'Ittim ("First-Fruits of the Times")". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol. 3. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. p. 211.

  1. 1 2 Katznelson, J. L.; Ginzburg, Baron D., eds. (1909). "Bikkure ha-Ittim" . Jewish Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron (in Russian). Vol. 4. St. Petersburg: Brockhaus & Efron. p. 557.
  2. ↑  Gottheil, Richard; Raisin, Max (1902). "Bikkure ha-'Ittim ("First-Fruits of the Times")". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol. 3. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. p. 211.
  3. ↑ Zinberg, Israel (1977). The Science of Judaism and Galician Haskalah. Translated by Martin, Bernard. Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College Press. pp. 27–43.
  4. 1 2 Waxman, Meyer (1960). A History of Jewish Literature. South Brunswick: T. Yoseloff. pp. 158–163.
  5. ↑ Wachstein, Bernhard (1930). Die hebräische Publizistik in Wien. Quellen und Forschungen zur Geschichte der Juden in Deutsch-Österreich (in German). Vol. 9. Vienna: Selbstverl. der Historischen Komm. pp. xxxviii–xxxix, xcix.
  6. ↑ Messer, Alexandre (2003). "Historical background of 'Bikkurei ha-Ittim'". Revue européenne des études hébraïques. 8: LV–LXIX. JSTOR 23492438.
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