One of the most moving poets who wrote in modern Hebrew was Shaul Tchernikovsky, whose motifs were reminiscent of the ancient Greek poets.

Tchernikovsky was born in Crimea into a religious Jewish family. As a young man, he had a hard time finding his place in Europe. In order to survive, he studied medicine and graduated as a physician at the University of Heidelberg. Notwithstanding, his tremendous love for language helped him gain acclaim as a translator and editor. Although he was born in the Diaspora, he eventually moved to Jerusalem and lived out the rest of his life in the city he loved the best. Many of his motifs were based on the ancient Greeks' love for freedom and democracy.

"Creed" - Poem by Shaul Tchernichovsky

"Laugh, laugh at all my dreams!

What I dream shall yet come true!

Laugh at my belief in man,

At my belief in you.

Freedom still my soul demands,

Unbartered for a calf of gold.

For still I do believe in man,

And in his spirit, strong and bold.

And in the future I still believe

Though it be distant, come it will

When nations shall each other bless,

And peace at last the earth shall fill."