Rabbi Moshe Leib Lilienblum, 1843-1910

A scholar and author born in Lithuania, Lilienblum embraced the Hibbat Zion (Lovers of Zion) movement in Russia after the pogroms of 1881 and served as secretary of an Odesa committee on Palestine settlement. His memoir “Sins of My Youth” detailed his shaky faith as an Eastern European Jew. Along with promoting Jewish national unity, Lilienblum believed that Jews would be safe only in the Land of Israel.

Photo: Brockhaus and Efron Jewish Encyclopedia