Isaac Baer Levinsohn - His Verse

His Verse

Some of Levinsohn's first literary efforts were in the domain of Hebrew poetry. Among others, he wrote a patriotic poem on the expulsion of the French from Russia, which was transmitted to the minister of the interior by General Giers, the commandant of the Radzivilov garrison. Levinsohn himself regarded his verses as mere literary exercises, did not attempt to print them, and the greater part of them were lost. Excessive study brought on nervous disorders, and Levinsohn journeyed to Brody, then thecenter of the Jewish Haskalah, in order to consult the local physicians. There the future reformer of the Russian Jews found a congenial atmosphere in the circle of the Maskilim. He soon made the acquaintance of Dr. Isaac Erter, the Hebrew satirist, and later of Solomon Löb Rappoport. Though engaged as a bookkeeper in the local bank, he found time to continue his studies. Before long he passed the teacher's examinations and was appointed to teach Hebrew at the gymnasium of Tarnopol. There he soon became intimate with the scholar Joseph Perl, through whose influence he secured an instructorship at the Hebrew college of Brody.