Rabbi David ben Nissim Elkaim (185?–1940) was a poet and maskil in Essaouira (Mogador) who influenced Hebrew poetry and Jewish cultural traditions in Morocco with his creativity, his innovative and diverse themes, and the cultural activities he initiated. He was associated with the Hebrew Haskala (Enlightenment) movement, which was established in Essaouira at the end of the nineteenth century around the figure of Yiṣhaq ben Ya‘ish Halevi, a bookseller and journalist. Following in his footsteps, Elkaim contributed as a poet to the tradition of shir yedidot (songs of friendship) and ba…