An Answer to the Slav

Reuben Kulisher

1849

Sensitive Content

This text contains depictions of antisemitism and violence against Jewish people. The text provides insight into Jewish history; however, The Posen Library does not condone or promote violence or oppression of any kind.

Introduction

I hesitate to sound immodest,

So I must warn you in advance,

If you will listen now in earnest,

Then please excuse my stance.

More startling than other words,

And I will use this frightening word—

It is as novel to your ears

As the whistle of steam that I first heard.

Perhaps your ears are all too tender,

Unused to terrifying sounds…

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Creator Bio

Reuben Kulisher

1828–1896

Educated in both a European and a traditional Jewish fashion, Reuben (Ruvim) Kulisher was one of the first Jewish students to graduate from a Russian university. A physician, he served in the Russian army medical corps and, from 1860, was on the staff of the Kiev Military Hospital. He also published widely in the Russian and Hebrew press on medical topics, Jewish history, communal living, and education. While still a student, Kulisher penned the famous poem “Otvet slavianinu” (“An Answer to the Slav”), a work that circulated in manuscript form for decades before being published in 1911. There he expresses the alienation of the Jew in Russian society, demands equality, and condemns Slavic antisemitism. His memoirs were serialized in the Russian Jewish journal Voskhod (1892–1894) and published in expanded book form in 1896.

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An Answer to the Slav

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An Answer to the Slav

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