Letter to Yehalel: On Creating a Yiddish (National) Newspaper

To the Poet Yehuda Leib Levin (“Yehalal”)

Warsaw, Wednesday, Heshvan 5655, 1894

Dear Sir and distinguished author,

Recent years have shown us that the national movement is not merely failing to increase its strength and to expand further among the masses of our people, but that it is even receding and becoming weaker. There are many cities, including within the Pale of Settlement, that are large and respectable in terms of the number of our people who live in them, but where not even one person has risen up to take any action, large or small, in favor of the movement that is sacred to us all.

We have realized that among the many reasons—some of which depend on us while others do not—that have led to this regrettable situation, there is one that we could remove at any time: this is the lack of national literature in Yiddish. There was once a time when writers were also concerned about the masses of our people and spoke to them in the language they understood. But for several years now, these writers have discontinued their work on behalf of the masses, and instead other writers in Yiddish have emerged in their place, who also claim to love the people and who sow in our Yiddish literature every weed and root that bears gall and wormwood. And our people satisfy their souls with these literary fruits, since they lack other spiritual nourishment.

Even those who say that we should curtail Yiddish and plant among our people the love of our ancient language will also surely be aware that “even tongs are made with tongs” [m. Avot 5:6], and that even in order to fight Yiddish, we must use our Yiddish literature so that the people will understand our message and not see our opponents’ words as tradable currency.

This obstacle is under our own control, and we shall be liable to be called to account if we fail to rise up now as one man to correct what has been distorted as soon as possible.

Accordingly, we have reached the conclusion that booklets in Yiddish should be issued at frequent, albeit irregular, intervals. Each booklet will include two issues containing journalism, stories, drawings, poems, honorable chapters from our people’s history, the stories of prominent people, and scientific articles written in a popular spirit. We fervently hope that we will thereby secure the goal, mentioned above, that is dear to all of us. However, so that Yiddish customers and readers should not be prejudiced from the outset by the goal of these booklets, we have seen fit to form a contract with Mr. Mordechai Spektor, who is already well-known in Yiddish literature as one of its finest writers and is popular with the Yiddish-reading masses. He will put his name on these booklets and will also attend to their printing and selling. However, Mr. Spektor will not be entitled to include anything in these booklets of his own or by others without our agreement, and in general by way of prior agreement the right of editing of the booklets will be ours alone.

We now turn to the national writers and scholars to whom our cause is dear, and ask them to provide us occasionally, each in his turn, some of their writing for these booklets, so that we can implement this great project. For only our produce (that is to say, the produce of our lips, as in Proverbs 18:20: the produce of his lips brings satisfaction) can plant faithful shoots in our people’s hearts, shoots of love for the Jewish people, its Land, and all that is sacred to the nation.

You too, honored writer, please take part in this fine project and send us some article in the spirit of our goal for the purpose of these booklets, and may you enjoy the blessing of the many. We shall await your response, and we sign with sentiments of respect and homage.

Shaul Pinḥas Rabinowitz (Shefer)
Shmaryahu ha-Levi Levin
Eliezer Kaplan
Matityahu Kohen
[Vladimir] Ze’ev Gluskin

Address:
V. Gluskin, 40 Muranowska Street, Warsaw