Joseph Elijah Triwosch

TRIWOSCH, JOSEPH ELIJAH (1855–1940), Hebrew writer and biblical commentator. Born in Vilna, Triwosch grew up in its Haskalah atmosphere. He first published poems and short stories – which were among the earliest Hebrew modern fiction – in Ha-Levanon (1873). His story "Ha-Lita'i" (in: Ha-Shaḥar, 10 (1880)) and especially his book Dor Tahpukhot (1881) made a great impression. His stories "Din ve-Ḥeshbon" (1895) and "Pesi'ot Ketannot" (1904) appeared separately. In addition to his stories he also published over the years articles and feuilletons, mainly in Ha-Zeman. After World War I, Triwosch taught at the Hebrew secondary school of Vilna. In his last years, he also engaged in biblical and philological research.

His translations into Hebrew include many works of world literature, among them Tolstoy's War and Peace (1921–24) and Anna Karenina (1918–22). He wrote the major part of the commentary, as well as the introductions, to the individual books of Mikra Meforash (1909, and after), a project of biblical exegesis, which he edited together with N. Lewin, D. Lewin, and D. Nottick. Triwosch also published an anthology of medieval Hebrew literature (1925) together with M.Y. Nadel.

Sources: Encyclopaedia Judaica. © 2007 The Gale Group. All Rights Reserved.