Ha-Tsfira

Ha-Tsfirah
Masthead of Ha-Tsfirah, 27 February 1862
Founder(s)Chaim Selig Slonimski
Founded1862, 1874 (1862, 1874)
LanguageHebrew
Ceased publication1931 (1931)
CountryPoland
Free online archivesEditions from the Historical Jewish Press

Ha-Tsfira (Hebrew: הצפירה) was a Hebrew-language newspaper published in Poland in 1862 and 1874–1931.[1]

History

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The first issue of Ha-Tsfira appeared in Warsaw, Congress Poland, in 1862, edited by Chaim Selig Slonimski.[2] Ha-Tsfira was the first Hebrew paper with an emphasis on the sciences.[2]

The paper closed down after six months when Slonimski became principal of the rabbinical seminary in Zhytomyr, and the government began censorship of Hebrew books.[3]

It reopened in 1874 in Berlin, and began to be published in Warsaw in September 1875. Coverage of news and politics was introduced after the First Zionist Congress.[2] From 1886, the paper began to appear as a daily. The driving spirit behind this change was Slonimski's assistant, Nachum Sokolov, who was later appointed editor-in-chief.[2][4]

Ha-Tsfira became part of a network of important Hebrew periodicals, among them Ha-Shahar, Ha-Asif, Ha-Shiloaḥ. Some of the greatest names in early modern Hebrew literature published their work in the paper, including Mendele Mocher Sforim, Y. L. Peretz, and Sholem Aleichem.[2]

References

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  1. ^ Holtzman, Avner (2008). "Tsefirah, Ha-". In Hundert, Gershon (ed.). YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe. Translated by Fachler, David. New Haven: Yale University Press.
  2. ^ a b c d e Segev, Dror. "Spotlighting the 'great events'". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 29 June 2008.
  3. ^  Singer, Isidore; Eisenstein, Judah David (1905). "Slonimski, Ḥayyim Selig". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol. 11. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. pp. 409–410.
  4. ^ The Institute Anniversary Volume (1941–1961). New York: Institute of Jewish Affairs. 1962. p. 322.

Further reading

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  • Soffer, Oren (2004). Antisemitism, Statistics, and the Scientization of Hebrew Political Discourse: The Case Study of Ha-Tsefirah.
  • "Jewish Social Studies: History, Culture, and Society". 10 (2). Winter 2004: 55–79. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  • Soffer, Oren (2007). There is No Place for Pilpul! Hazefirah Journal and the Modernization of Socio-political Discourse (in Hebrew). Mossad Bialik & the Center for the Study of Polish Jewry at Hebrew University of Jerusalem.