Saul Tchernichowsky

Saul
Tchernichowsky, Tchernichowsky also
spelled Chernikhovsky (b. Aug. 20, 1875,
Crimea, Ukraine, Russian Empire—d. Oct.
13, 1943, Jerusalem), prolific Hebrew
poet, whose poetry, in strongly biblical
language, dealt with Russia, Germany,
and Palestine and with the themes of
love and beauty.
In 1922
Tchernichowsky left the Ukraine, and,
after wanderings that took him to the
United States in 1928–29, he settled in
Palestine in 1931 and became a school
physician at Tel Aviv. His production of
written material (chiefly poetry), from
the age of 14 until a month before his
death, was immense. It included sonnet
cycles, short stories, idylls of Jewish
village life in Russia, and translations
of the Epic of Gilgamesh, Homer, William
Shakespeare, Molière, and Henry
Wadsworth Longfellow.
Tchernichowsky’s poetry is deeply
romantic and suffused with a love of
Greek culture; the conflict between this
and Judaism gave rise to what some
consider to be his finest work.