Ha-Tekufah

A-TEKUFAH (Heb. הַתְּקוּפָה; "The Season"), Hebrew periodical devoted to literary, scientific, and social subjects which appeared (first as a quarterly, then as an annual) intermittently between 1918 and 1950. Ha-Tekufah received the financial backing of Abraham Joseph *Stybel , a philanthropist who had placed David *Frischmann in charge of launching Hebrew literary projects on an unprecedented large scale. Accordingly, Frischmann established both the Stybel publishing house, and launched Ha-Tekufah, serving as the editor of both projects. The first volume of Ha-Tekufah appeared in Moscowearly in 1918, before the Bolshevik regime had decided to suppress Hebrew literature. Frischmann published the works of the world's best authors and scholars. The literary standards of the periodical were high. Frischmann encouraged young authors, for example Eliezer *Steinman . In all respects and not least for its beautiful graphic work, Ha-Tekufah was a rare phenomenon in Hebrew literature. Following the suppression of Hebrew in Russia, Frischmann moved to Warsaw where he published issues 5–15. After his death in 1922, he was succeeded by Ya'akov *Cahan and F. *Lachower . When Stybel's publishing house underwent a crisis, Ha-Tekufah was moved to Germany and volumes 24–27 (1928–30) were edited in Berlin by Benzion *Katz , S. *Tchernichowsky , and S. *Rawidowicz . The twin volume 26/27 (1930) lists Berlin–Tel Aviv as its places of publication. Volumes 28–29 (1936) were edited by Ya'akov Cahan and published in Tel Aviv. Finally, Ha-Tekufah moved to the United States, volumes 30–35 (1946–1950) appearing in New York, edited by E. *Silberschlag and Aaron *Zeitlin (the last volume by Zeitlin alone).

Ha-Tekufah is a treasure trove of Hebrew literature of all genres, including belles lettres by many of the leading writers of the time. Its scholarly articles and translations were also by the leading figures in their field. The contributors to Ha-Tekufah are listed in an index appended to volume 25 (author's name only), and in an index (authors and subjects) to all the volumes prepared by J. Barzilai-Folman (1961).

Source: Encyclopaedia Judaica. © 2008 The Gale Group. All Rights Reserved.