Sepher Barkai Hechadash.

IMBER, NAPHTALI HERZ.

W. Zuckerkandel

Zloczow

1900

FIRST EDITION. Frontispiece portrait. Signed Autograph inscription by the author on front endpaper.

Barkai (“Morning Star”), is a collection of poems about “Israel and her hopes,” organized in three sections: “Malchiyot,” “Zichronot” and “Shofarot,” patterned after the Rosh Hashanah liturgy (as well as a fourth section, since Imber, who calls himself Professor on the cover, was quirky). Noted on the title page is that included is the full text of the poem “Tikvateinu” (Our Hope) which was adopted as the anthem of the Hovevei Zion movement, later the Zionist Movement, and eventually the nascent State of Israel. Imber has inscribed the volume with a poem to another poet, Shmuelevitz. The poem reads: מלקטר להמשורר טובה. שמולעוויץ מאת נפתלי הערץ אימבער. הא שירי לך. חצייו נמניתם. כי אראה בך. סמל ממיטב שירותו. יושיע קול הך מזמרותו.