Literatureאסתר ראב

Esther Raab

Esther Raab was a Hebrew poet and prose writer, known as "the first Sabra poet."

1894 to 1981Called the first Sabra poetThe poetry book ThistlesFree verse about the land

Born: 25 April 1894, Petah Tikva
Died: 4 September 1981, Kiryat Tiv'on
Occupation: writer, poet

Esther Raab was born in 1894 in Petah Tikva

Esther Raab was born in 1894 in the moshava of Petah Tikva, where her parents, Yehuda and Leah Raab, were among the founders. She was the second of four children. In late 1909 the local school became co-ed, and her father did not allow her to attend, a decision she later said hurt her.

In 1913 she moved to Degania with pioneers of the Second Aliyah, and in 1914 she returned to Petah Tikva. In December 1921 she married her cousin Yitzhak Green in Cairo, and the couple lived near Cairo for several years.

She later lived in Tel Aviv, where her home became a literary salon. Her first poetry book, Thistles, came out in 1930, the year Green died. She was married to artist Arieh Alwei from 1932 to 1935.

In 1945 she returned to Petah Tikva, studied education and worked in teaching and farming. Her poetry is mostly free verse and centers on nature and the landscape of the land. She died in 1981, and her collected poems and prose were published later, edited by her nephew Ehud Ben Ezer.