Intermountain Jewish news., 1926-03-25
The Poet.Herald of Jewish Redemption
Continued from page 81

hN', VIM ihu ticHlselNeS ike De0-
bugs, and died the death of dogs
wherever found"-"Do not cry, Som
of-man, do not cover thy face with
thy hand, gnash thy teeth!" The
grief Of such men is not worthy of
sympathy.
Then Bialik describes the day after
the pogrom, when the survivors, mu-
tilated and crippled Jews, assembled
in the synagog and praised the AL
mikhty and asked Him for forgive
ness. But God rejected their prayers
with contempt. you beat your
breasts, you repeat We have sinned.'
What sins could such miserable crea-
lures devoid of rage or resentment Of
revenge ever have committed" God
is humiliatcd by the cowardice OF. His
chosen people. He longs for their re-
sentiment! He longs to see them rebel
against Him. This is the most force
full passage in the poem, when God
exclaims: Let them raise their fists
against Me, let them challenge Me for
the insults of many generations, let
them crush heaven and my throne
with their fists!"-
The Sorrow and the Shame
Bialik sums up the effect of the
massacre in the following words:
Great is the sorrow, great is the
shame, and which of these two is
greater, say. Thou, Son of MANI" The
poet who loved his people could not
see the shame of the pogrom, the hu-
initiation of a people who allow them
selves to be beaten and killed, and
never did thing to defend them
selves. The effect of the poem was
thundrous and its influence on the
thinking Jewish youths was most pro-
found. A few months later The jew
ish Self-Defense was formed, which
met every succeeding pogrom with
valor and bravery. How much they
succeeded in checking the pogrom
waves is another question; but the
shame and humiliation was removed.
Jewish youths fought for their honor.
1t was the turning point in the life of
the ghetto; the goluth Jews took their
fate in their own hands, and moulded
is as much as was possible. There is
no doubt that the future historians of
the Jews in Russia will designate
that period as the "period of Bialik,"
inasmuch as it was he who stimulated
the Jewish youth to a creative life.
Whip of Tortured Love
The revolt of Bialik against the
passiveness of the ghetto life was not
based on hatred, but on love, tortured
love. He loved his people and he
wanted to energize them to take their
fate into their own hands and create
a new and vigorous life. 1t was
about this period that a great many
of the Jewish youths threw them
selves wholly into the revolutionary
whirlpool of Russia, claiming that
there was no such thing as special
Jewish problem, but that with the
redemption of the entire world jew
ish salvation will come, too" And
when they were asked how to account
for the Jewish blood that is being
shed in every corner of Russia, they
answered that Jewish blood serves
as an ointment for the wheels of gem
eral progress
Against this perverted philosophy,
Bialik protested most vehemently. If
there is justice, let it appear at once!
But if after perish from this world
Justice will appear, then let its throne
be east down forever
In another poem, ~ Knew, in
Dark Night he says that ever after
his death his rage will continue to
burn and shoulder like volcano and
will be a witness of the wrongs done