An important discovery has been made concerning the earliest and most prolific Hebrew poet, Elazar Kalir, the problem of whose time and place has perplexed Jewish scholars for centuries. Rabbi Joseph Marcus, a graduate of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, found among the Adler Manuscripts in the Seminary Library a poem by Kalir in which are vividly described the turbulent events of his time and place, and the Messianic hopes raised by those evens for National restoration in Palestine. This discovery will shed much light on the history of his time, as well as on numerous other poems by the same poet, and on the time of his famous teacher Yannai, whose works were published by Professor Israel Davidson. Rabbi Marcus’ article on his discovery, together with many new poems from the Adler Genizah, will soon appear. Rabbi Marcus’ researches on Kalir date back to 1923 when his prize essay on the sources of Kalir’s poetry in Midrash and Pesiktot was written.
Three years ago Rabbi Marcus discovered a new fragment of the original Hebrew of Ecclesiasticus, Ben Sira. He has also been of assistance to the famous Hebrew poet Bialik in his edition of the poetic works of Solomon ibn Gabirol and Moses ibn Ezra.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
