The 10 Lirot (Bank of Israel series III) depicts on its obverse Chaim Nachman Bialik (1873-1934), one of the pioneers of modern Hebrew poetry and recognized as Israel's national poet. Born and educated in the Ukraine, he published his first Hebrew poem, "El Hatzipor" (To the Bird) in 1892, expresing his longing for Zion. The next two decades are considered Bialik's "golden period", when he attained literary fame. During that period Bialik wrote his epic poem "City of Slaughter", a powerful statement of anguish at the situation of the Jews after the Kishinev pogroms of 1903. In the early 1900s  he co-founded a Hebrew publishing house, Moriah, in Odessa, which issued Hebrew classics and school literature. He translated into Hebrew various European works, such as Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Schiller's Wilhelm Tell, Cervantes' Don Quixote, and Heine's poems; and from Yiddish S. Ansky's The Dybbuk. He published Sefer Ha Aggadah (1908-1911, The Book of Legends), a three-volume edition of the folk tales and proverbs scattered throughout the Talmud, selecting hundreds of texts and arranging them thematically. The Book of Legends was immediately recognized as a masterwork and has been reprinted numerous times. Bialik also edited the poems of the medieval poet and philosopher Ibn Gabirol and began a modern commentary on the Mishna, the oral law. He additionally added several commentaries on the Talmud. After closure of the Moriah publishing house by the Soviet authorities in 1923, Bialik moved to Berlin, where together with several friends he founded the Dvir publishing house. In 1924 he relocated with his publishing house to Tel Aviv, devoting himself to cultural activities and public affairs. Bialik was immediately recognized as a celebrated literary figure. He delivered the address that marked the opening of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and was a member of its Board of Governors, and in 1927 he became head of the Hebrew Writers Union, a position he retained for the remainder of his life. In 1933 his 60th birthday was celebrated with festivities by the entire Jewish community of Palestine, and all the schoolchildren of Tel Aviv were taken to meet him and pay their respects. After his death in 1934, the street on which he lived was renamed Bialik Street, and his house at No. 22 is now a beautifully restored museum. By writing his works in Hebrew, Bialik contributed significantly to the revival of the Hebrew language, which before his days existed primarily as an ancient, scholarly and religious tongue. His influence is felt deeply in all modern Hebrew literature. Bialik's poems have been translated into at least 30 languages, and set to music as popular songs. These poems, and the songs based on them, have become an essential part of the education and culture of modern Israel.