The Ashkenazi Revolution

116personal failings, wounded his heart forever, and his poetry was first andforemost a crying out from this wound.The title of national poet, which was given to Bialik, was a worthless title.Bialik is not a national poet but a poet who expresses his own feelings andthoughts as an individual, whose personal tragedy is the fruit of nationalcollapse. Bialik’s cries over his misfortune mainly take the form of curses,reviling and ridicule directed both at the People of Israel and at the God ofIsrael. Bialik is first and foremost a poet of curses and not a poet whorebukes at the gate, as his followers wish to portray him. For one whorebukes at the gate has a positive truth and a method by which he calls tothe people. Bialik had no such truth and no such method. Moreover: Hesaw doom (and rightfully so!), but saw no way to prevent the catastrophe,nor did he see hope to take encouragement from. At the end of his poem“And so it was, who is the man” Bialik says:The hidden tears will come as redemption for the shame of my life, andatonement for the disgrace of my torture”.And so “the shame of my life” and “the disgrace of my torture” are clearlyreferences that Bialik makes to himself. But he is careful to not caste allthe blame upon himself lest he collapse under its weight. He laid a largeportion of it upon those who were near him: Upon the God of Israel andupon the People of Israel. They are guilty! After he ceased believing inGod, the power of directing blame and blasphemies toward Himautomatically became weakened. The People of Israel became, therefore,the primary target of the missiles, rage and reviling that Bialik directedoutward. The following lines, from “Will not be forgotten”, are typical forBialik’s relationship to Jews:Alone, alone on the dark nights, in secret, in secret I hurt and dispair; Ignash my teeth on the hearts of the uncircumcised: “A lost people, adegenerate people, a lost people I have whispered.”