Hebrew poet. No other literary personality of the 19th century exerted greater influence on Hebrew readers than did J.L. Gordon. He began as a romantic poet, using biblical themes, and later treated tragic moments in Jewish history. His historical poems are noted for their vigor and dramatic quality. A proponent of the Haskalah, he called upon his fellow Jews to leave their self-imposed ghetto life and avail themselves of the educational and cultural opportunities which the gentile world offered them.