HAYIM NAHMAN BIALIK (1873-1934) is the leading Hebrew poet of the twentieth century. Born in the Ukraine, he moved to Odessa in 1891 where he was drawn to the circle of Ahad Ha'am. In 1921, he left Soviet Russia for Berlin  and emigrated to the land of Israel in 1924.

YEHOSHUA HANA RAVNITZKY (1859-1944) was a pioneer of modern Hebrew journalism and publishing. A native of Odessa, he became Bialik's closest collaborator. Together they founded the publishing house of Moriah, which brought forth the first edition of Sefer Ha-Aggadah in 1908-11. Ravnitzky settled in Tel Aviv in 1921, where he and Bialik subsequently founded the Dvir Publishing House.