Bidspirit auction | Rare Berdichev Imprint: Sefer Niv

Rare Berdichev Imprint: Sefer Niv Sefatayim (1893) – Yehuda Steinberg - Title: Sefer Niv Sefatayim (ספר ניב שפתים / Linguistic Expressions). Subtitled: Style of language divisions in poetry and prose, in two parts: theoretical and practical. Author: The celebrated European Hebrew author, essayist, and Haskalah educator Yehuda Steinberg (יהודה שטיינברג; 1863–1908). Steinberg is famous for his foundational Hasidic tales, poetic allegories, and pioneering contributions to modern Hebrew children's literature. Content: Written in an exceptionally lyrical, elevated, and poetic style. The work features dramatic dialogues, allegorical prose, and philosophical reflections concerning the emotional state of man, hope, and the spiritual trajectory of the soul. Print Origin & Date: Published in the historic Ukrainian center of Chassidism, Berdichev (ברדיטשוב), in 5653 (1893) by the press of Chaim Yaakov Sheftel. The title page beautifully features parallel titles and author credits in Cyrillic/Russian script (НИБЪ СЕФАТАИМЪ / Ю. Штейнбергъ). Notable Connection: This book holds an interesting place in the history of early modern Hebrew literature. Steinberg's attempt to capture the poetic rhythm of Biblical Hebrew while adapting it to modern prose and philosophical dialogue drew intense interest and debate among late 19th-century intellectual circles, who fiercely contested the proper linguistic evolution of the Hebrew language.