In 1965, three prominent scholars attempted an ambitious project: making modern Hebrew poetry accessible to English readers through a systematic four-step methodology. Their anthology "The Modern Hebrew Poem Itself" promised unprecedented access to sixty-nine poems by twenty-four poets, yet ultimately failed to bridge the linguistic and cultural divide it sought to overcome. Critical analysis of the volume's approach—combining Hebrew text, phonetic transcription, literal translation, and interpretive commentary—reveals significant methodological shortcomings. Examples from Tchernichovsky, Lea Goldberg, and Fichman demonstrate editorial inconsistencies in pronunciation standards and problematic correlations between Hebrew originals and English transcriptions. The commentators frequently default to basic lexicographical definitions rather than exploring contextual poetic meanings, while excessive literalism in translation obscures rather than illuminates the poetry's essence. Crucial allusive patterns and biblical references, fundamental to the poems' deeper significance, are frequently misidentified or overlooked entirely. While the anthology offers valuable representative selections and occasional perceptive insights, it primarily serves readers already familiar with Hebrew rather than achieving its stated goal of presenting "the poem itself" to newcomers—highlighting the persistent challenges of translating poetry across linguistic and cultural boundaries.