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Hebrew literature consists of ancient, medieval, and modern writings in theHebrew language. It is one of the primary forms ofJewish literature, though there have been cases of literature written in Hebrew bynon-Jews, mostly among theArab citizens of Israel.[1] Hebrew literature was produced in many different parts of the world throughout the medieval and modern eras, while contemporary Hebrew literature is largelyIsraeli literature.In 1966,Agnon won theNobel Prize for Literature for novels and short stories that employ a unique blend of biblical, Talmudic and modern Hebrew, making him the first Hebrew writer to receive this award.
There have been manybibliographies recording Hebrew books and authors, one of the most comprehensive beingThe Bibliography of the Hebrew Book 1473-1960, a bibliography of all printed Hebrew books published before 1960 which lists some 12,000 authors and 9000 titles.[2]
Literature in Hebrew begins with theoral literature of theLeshon HaKodesh (לְשׁוֹן הַקֹּדֶשׁ), "TheHoly Language", since ancient times and with theteachings ofAbraham, the first of thebiblical patriarchs ofIsrael, c. 2000 BCE.[3] Beyond comparison, the most important work of ancient Hebrew literature is theHebrew Bible (Tanakh).
TheMishna, compiled around 200 CE, is the primary rabbinic codification of laws as derived from theTorah. It was written inMishnaic Hebrew, but the major commentary on it, theGemara, was largely written inAramaic. Many works of classicalmidrash were written in Hebrew.
During the medieval period, the majority of Jewish and Hebrew literature was composed in Islamic North Africa, Spain, Palestine, and the Middle East. Many works of medievalphilosophical literature such as Maimonides'Guide to the Perplexed andThe Kuzari, as well as many works of fiction, were written inJudeo-Arabic. Works ofrabbinic literature were more often written in Hebrew, including:Torah commentaries byAbraham ibn Ezra,Rashi and others; codifications ofJewish law, such asMaimonides'Mishneh Torah, theArba'ah Turim, and theShulchan Aruch; and works ofMusar literature (didactic ethical literature) such asBahya ibn Paquda'sChovot ha-Levavot (The Duties of the Heart). One work of fiction which was written in Hebrew was the "Fox Fables" byBerechiah ben Natronai ha-Nakdan, Hebrew fables which resembleAesop's Fables.
Much medieval Jewish poetry was written in Hebrew, including liturgicalpiyyutim in Palestine in the seventh and eighth centuries byYose ben Yose,Yannai, andEleazar Kalir.[4] These poems were added to the Hebrew-language liturgy. This liturgy was compiled in book form as "the siddur" by rabbis includingAmram Gaon andSaadia Gaon. Later Spanish, Provençal, and Italian poets wrote both religious and secular poems; particularly prominent poets wereSolomon ibn Gabirol,Yehuda Halevi, andYehuda al-Harizi. Most were also active in translating Jewish rabbinic and secular literature from Arabic into Hebrew.
Only one Hebrew poem by a woman is attested for the medieval period (and is both the first and the last for some centuries): composed by the wife ofDunash ben Labrat, it laments Dunash's departure into exile.[5]
In addition to writing traditionalrabbinic literature in Hebrew, modern Jews developed new forms of fiction, poetry, and essay-writing, which are typically called "Modern Hebrew Literature".
By the early eighteenth century, Jewish literature was still dominated by Sephardic authors, often writing inJudeo-Arabic.Moses Hayyim Luzzatto's allegorical drama "La-Yesharim Tehillah" (1743) may be regarded as the first product of modern Hebrew literature. It has been referred to as "a poem that in its classic perfection of style is second only to the Bible".[6] Luzzatto's pupil in Amsterdam,David Franco Mendes (1713–92), in his imitations ofJean Racine ("Gemul 'Atalyah") and ofMetastasio ("Yehudit"), continued his master's work, though his works are not as respected as were Luzzatto's.[6]
Later in the eighteenth century, theHaskalah (Jewish enlightenment) movement worked to achievepolitical emancipation for Jews in Europe, and European Jews gradually began to produce more literature in the mould of earlier Middle Eastern Jewish authors.Moses Mendelssohn's translation of the Hebrew Bible intoGerman inspired interest in the Hebrew language that led to the founding of a quarterly review written in Hebrew. Other periodicals followed. Poetry byNaphtali Hirz Wessely such as "Shire Tif'eret," or "Mosiade," made Wessely, so to speak, poet laureate of the period.[6]
In nineteenth-century Galicia, poets, scholars, and popular writers who contributed to the dissemination of Hebrew and to the emancipation of the Jews of Galicia included:
In 19th centuryAmsterdam, Hebrew-language authors included the poetSamuel Molder (1789–1862).Prague became an active center for theHaskalah. One of the leadingHaskalah writers there was Jehudah Loeb Jeiteles (1773–1838), author of witty epigrams ("Bene ha-Ne'urim") and criticism ofHasidism andsuperstition. InHungary, Hebrew-language authors included Solomon Lewison of Moor (1789–1822), author of "Melitzat Yeshurun";Gabriel Südfeld, a poet who was the father ofMax Nordau; and the poetSimon Bacher.[8] A notable Jewish author inRomania during the nineteenth century was the physician and writerJulius Barasch.[9]
Italian Jews of the nineteenth-century who wrote in Hebrew includedI. S. Reggio (1784–1854), Joseph Almanzi, Hayyim Salomon, Samuel Vita Lolli (1788–1843). Another figure of note wasRachel Morpurgo (1790–1860), who was one of the few female writers in theHaskalah movement, and whose poems have been described as characterized by "religious piety and a mystic faith in Israel's future".[8] The best known Italian writer wasSamuel David Luzzatto (1800–65) was the first modern writer to introduce religiousromanticism into Hebrew and to attack northern rationalism in the name of religious and national feeling.[8]
Prominent Hebrew writers in theRussian Empire in the nineteenth century included:
The poetJudah Leib Gordon, also known as "Leon Gordon" (1831–1892), was a well-knownsatirical poet who has been characterized as "an implacable enemy of theRabbis".[8]
AsZionist settlement inPalestine intensified at the start of the twentieth century, Hebrew became the shared language of the various Jewish immigrant communities along with nativePalestinian Jews of theOld Yishuv, who continued the literary traditions of earlier Sephardic and Arab-Jewish writers such as Maimonedes (Moshe ibn Maimoun) and al-Harizi.Eliezer Ben-Yehuda in particular worked to adapt Hebrew to the needs of the modern world, turning to Hebrew sources from all periods and locales to develop a language that went beyond the sacred and poetic and was capable of articulating the modern experience.
With the rise of the Zionist movement amongst Jews in Europe, Ashkenazi Jews embraced Hebrew literature and began to dominate it for the first time. The foundations of modernIsraeli writing were laid by a group of literary pioneers from theSecond Aliyah includingShmuel Yosef Agnon,Moshe Smilansky,Yosef Haim Brenner,David Shimoni andJacob Fichman.Hayim Nahman Bialik (1873–1934) was one of the pioneers of modern Hebrew poets and came to be recognized asIsrael'snational poet. Bialik contributed significantly to the revival of theHebrew language, which before his days existed primarily as an ancient, scholarly, or poetic tongue. Bialik, like other great literary figures from the early part of the 20th century such asAhad Ha-Am andTchernichovsky, spent his last years in Tel Aviv, and exerted a great influence on younger Hebrew writers; the impact of his work is evident throughout modern Hebrew literature.[10]
In parallel, a number of Palestinian and Levantine Jewish writers were influenced by the resurgence of Hebrew literature, and adopted Hebrew for their writings. In contrast to the experiences of pioneers such as Bialik, who were Ashkenazi immigrants from Europe, the Levantine Jewish writers were educated in Arabic literary traditions, and thus they incorporated many Arabic, Sephardic, and vernacular Palestinian themes and linguistic elements in their writing. NovelistYehuda Burla, born in Jerusalem in 1886, served in the Ottoman army, and later taught Hebrew and Arabic in Damascus. In 1961, he was awarded theIsrael Prize, forliterature.[11] The novelistYitzhaq Shami was a Palestinian Jewish native of Hebron, and his work—which was written from the perspective of both Arabic-speaking Jews and Muslim Palestinians—incorporated diverse Arabic, Sephardic, and Middle Eastern themes. Shami holds a relatively unique place in Hebrew literature, since his writing is also recognized as Palestinian literature; in 2004 Shami was recognized by the Palestinian Academic Society as one of the important Palestinian writers.
In 1966,Agnon won theNobel Prize for Literature for novels and short stories that employ a unique blend of biblical, Talmudic and modern Hebrew.Literary translators intoModern Hebrew, most notablyLeah Goldberg among others, also contributed a great deal to Israeli-Hebrew literature through bringing international literature and literary figures into Hebrew circles through translation.Goldberg herself was also noted for being a prolific writer and pioneer of Israeli children's literature as well.
A new generation of Hebrew writers emerged with the establishment of theState of Israel in 1948. This new generation included the novelistsAharon Megged,Nathan Shaham, andMoshe Shamir, and the poetsYehudah Amichai,Amir Gilboa, andHaim Gouri. The novelsMy Michael (1968) andBlack Box (1987) byAmos Oz andThe Lover (1977) andMr. Mani (1990) byA. B. Yehoshua describe life in the new state. These works also explore topics such as theconflict between parents and children and the rejection of some once-sacred ideals ofJudaism andZionism. Many Hebrew writers in the late twentieth century dealt withthe Holocaust, women's issues, and theconflict between Israelis and Arabs. Another topic was the tension between Jews of European origin, theAshkenazim, and Jews of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean origin, theMizrahim andSephardim. In 1986, the Palestinian-Israeli authorAnton Shammas published the Hebrew novel "Arabesques", marking a milestone with the first major work of Hebrew literature written by a non-Jewish Israeli. Shammas's novel has been translated into a number of foreign languages.
Modern Hebrew authors includeRuth Almog,Aharon Appelfeld,David Grossman,Amalia Kahana-Carmon,Etgar Keret,Savyon Liebrecht,Sami Michael,Yaakov Shabtai,Meir Shalev, andZeruya Shalev. Contemporary Israeli authors whose works have been translated into other languages and attained international recognition areEphraim Kishon,Yaakov Shabtai,A. B. Yehoshua,Amos Oz,Irit Linur,Etgar Keret andYehoshua Sobol. Hebrew poets includeDavid Avidan,Maya Bejerano,Erez Biton,Dan Pagis,Dalia Ravikovitch,Ronny Someck,Meir Wieseltier, andYona Wallach. In the 2010s, thousands of new books are published in Hebrew each year, both translations from other languages and original works by Israeli authors.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Richard Gottheil, N. Slouschz (1901–1906)."LITERATURE, MODERN HEBREW". InSinger, Isidore; et al. (eds.).The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
Works related toHebrew language and literature at Wikisource
