Intermountain Jewish news., 1926-04-01
THE JEWISH REALM OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

/ has TO hc continuity Of our own age
long history. In land of our own, In
Palestine. where the inspiration no
longer comes from the outside, We
could create modern culture Of our
own, which would al the same time he
Of universal value. And It Is no won.
der that Blnlik threw himself cnthu-
| slnsticnlly into the Iionlstic movement.
| But when he saw that the Jewish peo-
pie at large did not respond wholly Mt
this call Of freedom, he hurled his
anger against the sluggish ones in an.
other poem. "Withcred Grass Is the
People" Verify grass Is the people.
like unto dessicatcd frcc-For the
voice Of the Lord Is laundering here
and there, and they do not rise lion
like and do not stir. They are leaves
fallen from the tree, faded blossoms
VIII Dew survive them? And when the
clarion will sound--will the dead ones
awake, Will the dead ones strip
4 Pessimist
Our last phrase sounds very pcssl
mistlcc but Bialik Is not pcSsimist at
all. He believes in the rcgcnpratiye
vitality Of his people. and he finds it
unnecessary to smother it with song or
solacc when they don't deserve it. Only
II sick child has to be fondled all the
time and the craving for solace Is IL
token of spiritual debility. The very
fact that the lew his people have hailed
Bialik nS their national poet is proof
enough Of their latent vigor and vital
ity; people acclalms Ms lis national
poet him who ilagellatcS them with the
lash of anger and Indignation: does moi
this sneak of strong vitality which
does not need pity or tenderness in
order TO assert itself;
"Thc Dead Of the Desert"
Bialik's prophetic portrait would Ice
incomplete without touching upon his
, famous poem "The Dead Of the Desert"
In this poem his prophetic grandeur
and poetic greatness met in one. The
poem Is based on n legend that the
Jews IN the desert who challenged
Gods own command and Moses word
and loft for Cannnn did not actually
die in the desert brt We're thrown into
an Intermittent shmbcr for their
Righteousness sialik described color
fully the night camp of our giant AN
ce>tor, and silent worri0rs at whose
sight The eagle the lion and the serpent
| shrink back in awe and terror. Tho
tempest Of the desert awakcns their
warriors and when awakened they sing
n hymn Of revolt, Of majestic pride,
take up their weapons and advance.
Their hymn rings with an unbending
will to struggle against God and man,
TO break The bonds Of fate. With this
poem Bialik intended undoubtedly 10
stir the timid descendants Of these
mighty marriors TO shame, and TO show
| them how creative and energetic he
would like to see them.
The description of the desert is most
magnificent. The upprcSsivcnesS Of the
great wastes lies in every line of this
poem. The eagle of the desert. the
mighty lion, the crowling serpent the
| Arabs caravan and the entire wilder
ness Is dclincated with forccful vivid
ness aud imprcssivcncSs Bialik'S He
brew style is here unparalleled.
The Hebrew language has Il history
Of more than thirty centuries. 1t con
tanS the Biblical style which in IT.
self consists Of at least two: the naive
narrative style and the sublime style
Of the prophets rich in tcrSc SMILES
aud abundant in colorrul metaphors
and the Tulmudic style: the dry style
of The lIolarhu the legislative section
aud that Of the IIoGndah, the poetic
/ expressions Of the legends, parallels
/ etc: the post talmudic style: the style
/ Of medieval Hebrew poetry aud phil
l usnpllN lh' lllHrslf IhbhlIlr SlEI' anu
| the nowcry style OF the llnSkulah. All
these styles Bialik synthctized into one
ns in magic cruciblc. blended them
into one rich bland, and wrought the
most gorgeous tapestry dnzzling with
hrnuly Of color. shade, tinis and tones.
In this respect l;iulik stands unique in
the revival Of the Hebrew culture.
Nature Songs
In his "uHturc songs Bulik Is
much more lyric, though there is n
strain NJ epic in his poetry, lie loves
and enjoys the bountics of nature au,l
derives houndlrss JOY in all its mani.
fcstniious. II Is nature ut large that
appeals I" him the golden sunbeam tho