Yehuda Leib Gordon (1830-1892) – a foremost Hebrew poet during the Jewish Enlightenment period. His oeuvre includes original and translated poems, allegories, feuilletons, stories, research essays and criticism. YL"G was born in Vilnius in 1830, as a child studies in a "Heder" and mastered proficiency in Talmud and the bible. As an adolescent he approached the Enlightenment movement and started reading general literature, learning foreign languages and became friend with some of the leaders of the movement who had a significant influence on him. For 20 years YL"G worked as a teacher in Ponivezh, Siauliai and Telz. Having an established reputation as a poet he was invited to St. Petersburg in 1872 to serve as the Jewish Community secretary and the director of the "Society for the Spread of Enlightenment". Wrote for "HaMelitz" periodical and was one of "HaMaggid" editors. In 1892 Died in St. Petersburg.
In front of us is a collection of YL"G original manuscripts; copied-letters, letters sent to YL"G and other documents. Most of the documents bear comments by YL"G and by the Enlightenment movment expert Prof. Gedalya Alkoshi and earlier comments by Ephraim Reuven Mashevitsky, signed "ER"M". Collection includes:
- "Amtachat Yehuda – Ziklon Rishon", 1859 – Complete notebook handwritten by YL"G. Contains 17 complete texts, some with corrections and changes compared with the printed text. Among them: response to SHADAL, riddles, essays, poems.
- Original portrait photograph of YL"G, 11.5X8.5 cm.
- Letter handwritten by YL"G, to "an intelligent young man" with criticism about a work written by the addressee + copy handwritten by ER"M.
- Letter handwritten by YL"G to "an intelligent woman" + copy handwritten by ER"M.
- Letter handwritten by YL"G, probably to Ya'akov Mazeh + copy handwritten by ER"M.
- Three letters written by YL"G in pencil. One to David Frishman; one in Yiddish.
- Handwritten letter, addressed to Ya'akov Mazeh, 1879; the famous poem by YL"G "Kutzo shel Yod" is mentioned in this letter.
- Letters by YL"G to Lilienblum, to RH"L Katzenelnbogen, P. Moses, A.Y. Shapira.
- Short handwritten letter, with Prof. Alkoshi's comment "Not printed".
- Letter by Israel Isser Goldblum, Paris, 1886. At its end a handwritten reply by YL"G.
- Essay handwritten by Israel ben Yedida Yaffe of Kalish, "research essay about the 'Magen David'", 1883. YL"G added a handwritten comment at the top of it.
- Copies of missives and letters by YL"G, mainly handwritten by ER"M, and other items. The collection contains 36 items, half of them handwritten by YL"G. Sizes and conditions vary.