Hebrew literature
Encyclopedia
Hebrew literature consists of ancient, medieval, and modern writings in the Hebrew language
. It is one of the primary forms of Jewish literature
, though there have been cases of literature written in Hebrew by non-Jews. Hebrew literature was produced in many different parts of the world throughout the medieval and modern eras, while contemporary Hebrew literature is largely Israeli literature
.
(Tanakh
).
The Mishna, compiled around 200 CE, is the primary rabbinic codification of laws as derived from the Torah
. It was written in Mishnaic Hebrew, but the major commentary on it, the Gemara
, was largely written in Aramaic
. Many works of classical midrash
were written in Hebrew.
were written in Hebrew, including: Torah commentaries by Abraham ibn Ezra
, Rashi
and others; codifications of Jewish law
, such as Maimonides
' Mishneh Torah
, the Arba'ah Turim
, and the Shulchan Aruch
; and works of Musar literature
(didactic ethical literature) such as Bahya ibn Paquda
's Chovot ha-Levavot
(The Duties of the Heart). Many works of medieval philosophical literature such as the Guide to the Perplexed and The Kuzari
, as well as many works of fiction, were written in Judeo-Arabic. One work of fiction which was written in Hebrew was the "Fox Fables" by Berechiah ben Natronai ha-Nakdan, Hebrew fables which resemble Aesop's fables
.
Much medieval Jewish poetry was written in Hebrew, including liturgical piyyutim in Palestine in the seventh and eighth centuries by Yose ben Yose, Yanai
, and Eleazar Kalir
. These poems were added to the Hebrew-language liturgy. This liturgy was compiled in book form as "the siddur" by rabbis including Amram Gaon
and Saadia Gaon
.
Later Spanish, Provencal, and Italian poets wrote both religious and secular poems; particularly prominent poets were Solomon ibn Gabirol
and Yehuda Halevi
.
in Hebrew, modern Jews developed new forms of fiction, poetry, and essay-writing, which are typically called "Modern Hebrew Literature."
(1713–92), in his imitations of Jean Racine
("Gemul 'Atalyah") and of Metastasio
("Yehudit"), continued his master's work, though his works are not as respected as were Luzzatto's.
In the eighteenth century, the Haskalah
(Jewish enlightenment) movement worked to achieve political emancipation for Jews in Europe
. Moses Mendelssohn
's translation of the Hebrew Bible into German
inspired interest in the Hebrew language that led to the founding of a quarterly review written in Hebrew. Other periodicals followed. Poetry by Naphtali Hirz Wessely
such as "Shire Tif'eret," or "Mosiade," made Wessely, so to speak, poet laureate of the period.
In Amsterdam
, a circle of Hebrew-language literary artists emerged in the nineteenth century, including the poet Samuel Molder (1789–1862).
Prague
became an active center for the Haskalah
in the nineteenth century, and the best known among the Haskalah
writers there was Jehudah Loeb Jeiteles (1773–1838), author of witty epigrams ("Bene ha-Ne'urim") and of works directed against Hasidism and against superstition
.
In Hungary
, Hebrew-language authors included Solomon Lewison of Moor (1789–1822), author of "Melitzat Yeshurun"; Gabriel Südfeld, a poet who was the father of Max Nordau
; and the poet Simon Bacher
. A notable Jewish author in Romania
during the nineteenth century was the physician and writer Julius Barasch.
Italian Jews of the nineteenth-century who wrote in Hebrew included I. S. Reggio (1784–1854), Joseph Almanzi, Hayyim Salomon, Samuel Vita Lolli (1788–1843). Another figure of note was Rachel Morpurgo (1790–1860), who was one of the few female writers in the Haskalah
movement, and whose poems have been described as characterized by "religious piety and a mystic faith in Israel's future." The best known Italian writer was Samuel David Luzzatto
(1800–65) was the first modern writer to introduce religious romanticism
into Hebrew and to attack northern rationalism in the name of religious and national feeling.
Prominent Hebrew writers in the Russian empire
in the nineteenth century included:
The poet Judah Leib Gordon
, also known as "Leon Gordon" (1831–1892), was a well-known satirical poet who has been characterized as "an implacable enemy of the Rabbis."
settlement in Palestine
intensified at the start of the twentieth century, Hebrew became the shared language of the various Jewish immigrant communities. Eliezer Ben-Yehuda
in particular worked to adapt Hebrew to the needs of the modern world, turning to Hebrew sources from all periods to develop a language that went beyond the sacred and was capable of articulating the modern experience.
Hayim Nahman Bialik (1873–1934) was one of the pioneers of modern Hebrew poets and came to be recognized as Israel
's national poet. Bialik contributed significantly to the revival of the Hebrew language
, which before his days existed primarily as an ancient, scholarly tongue. His influence is felt deeply in all modern Hebrew literature. Bialik, like other great literary figures from the early part of the 20th century such as Ahad Ha-Am and Tchernichovsky
, spent his last years in Tel Aviv, exerting a great influence on younger Hebrew writers.
The foundations of modern Israel
i writing were laid by a group of literary pioneers from the Second Aliyah
including Shmuel Yosef Agnon
, Moshe Smilansky, Yosef Haim Brenner
, David Shimoni
and Jacob Fichman
. In contrast, Yitzhaq Shami
, was a native of Palestine, and he holds a unique place in Hebrew literature, since his work is also recognized as Palestinian literature. In 1966, Agnon
won the Nobel Prize for Literature for novels and short stories that employ a unique blend of biblical, Talmudic and modern Hebrew.
Literary translators
into Modern Hebrew
, most notably Leah 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.
, Nathan Shaham
, and Moshe Shamir
, and the poets Yehudah Amichai, Amir Gilboa
, and Haim Gouri
. The novels My Michael (1968) and Black Box (1987) by Amos Oz
and The Lover (1977) and Mr. Mani (1990) by A. B. Yehoshua
describe life in the new state. These works also explore topics such the as conflict between parents and children
and the rejection of some once-sacred ideals of Judaism
and Zionism
.
Many Hebrew writers in the late twentieth century dealt with the Holocaust
, women's issues, and the conflict between Israelis and Arabs. Another topic was the tension between Jews of European origin, the Ashkenazim, and Jews of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean origin, the Mizrahim and Sephardim.
Modern Hebrew authors include Ruth Almog
, Aharon Appelfeld
, Yitzhak Ben-Ner, David Grossman
, Amalia Kahana-Carmon
, Etgar Keret
, Savyon Liebrecht
, Sami Michael
, Yaakov Shabtai
, David Shahar, Meir Shalev
, and Tseruyah Shalev.
Hebrew poets include David Avidan
, Maya Bejerano
, Erez Biton
, Yitzchak Laor, Dan Pagis
, Dalia Ravikovitch, Ronny Someck
, Meir Wieseltier
, and Yona Wallach
.
Contemporary Israeli authors whose works have been translated into other languages and attained international recognition are Ephraim Kishon
, Yaakov Shabtai
, A. B. Yehoshua
, Amos Oz
, Irit Linur
, Etgar Keret
and Yehoshua Sobol
.
Today thousands of new books are published in Hebrew each year, both translations from other languages and original works by Israeli authors.
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
. It is one of the primary forms of Jewish literature
Jewish literature
Jewish Literature refers to works written by Jews on Jewish themes, literary works of various themes written in Jewish languages, or literary works in other languages written by Jewish writers. Ancient Jewish literature includes Biblical literature and rabbinic literature...
, though there have been cases of literature written in Hebrew by non-Jews. Hebrew literature was produced in many different parts of the world throughout the medieval and modern eras, while contemporary Hebrew literature is largely Israeli literature
Israeli literature
Israeli literature is literature written in the State of Israel by Israelis. Most works classed as Israeli literature are written in the Hebrew language, although some Israeli authors write in Yiddish, English, Arabic and Russian...
.
Ancient Hebrew literature
Beyond comparison, the most important such work is the Hebrew BibleHebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
(Tanakh
Tanakh
The Tanakh is a name used in Judaism for the canon of the Hebrew Bible. The Tanakh is also known as the Masoretic Text or the Miqra. The name is an acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah , Nevi'im and Ketuvim —hence...
).
The Mishna, compiled around 200 CE, is the primary rabbinic codification of laws as derived from the Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
. It was written in Mishnaic Hebrew, but the major commentary on it, the Gemara
Gemara
The Gemara is the component of the Talmud comprising rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah. After the Mishnah was published by Rabbi Judah the Prince The Gemara (also transliterated Gemora or, less commonly, Gemorra; from Aramaic גמרא gamar; literally, "[to] study" or "learning by...
, was largely written in Aramaic
Aramaic language
Aramaic is a group of languages belonging to the Afroasiatic language phylum. The name of the language is based on the name of Aram, an ancient region in central Syria. Within this family, Aramaic belongs to the Semitic family, and more specifically, is a part of the Northwest Semitic subfamily,...
. Many works of classical midrash
Midrash
The Hebrew term Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible....
were written in Hebrew.
Medieval Hebrew literature
Many works of medieval rabbinic literatureRabbinic literature
Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, can mean the entire spectrum of rabbinic writings throughout Jewish history. However, the term often refers specifically to literature from the Talmudic era, as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic writing, and thus corresponds with the Hebrew term...
were written in Hebrew, including: Torah commentaries by Abraham ibn Ezra
Abraham ibn Ezra
Rabbi Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra was born at Tudela, Navarre in 1089, and died c. 1167, apparently in Calahorra....
, Rashi
Rashi
Shlomo Yitzhaki , or in Latin Salomon Isaacides, and today generally known by the acronym Rashi , was a medieval French rabbi famed as the author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, as well as a comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh...
and others; codifications of Jewish law
Halakha
Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...
, such as Maimonides
Maimonides
Moses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...
' Mishneh Torah
Mishneh Torah
The Mishneh Torah subtitled Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka is a code of Jewish religious law authored by Maimonides , one of history's foremost rabbis...
, the Arba'ah Turim
Arba'ah Turim
Arba'ah Turim , often called simply the Tur, is an important Halakhic code, composed by Yaakov ben Asher...
, and the Shulchan Aruch
Shulchan Aruch
The Shulchan Aruch also known as the Code of Jewish Law, is the most authoritative legal code of Judaism. It was authored in Safed, Israel, by Yosef Karo in 1563 and published in Venice two years later...
; and works of Musar literature
Musar literature
Musar literature is the term used for didactic Jewish ethical literature which describes virtues and vices and the path towards perfection in a methodical way.- Definition of Musar literature :...
(didactic ethical literature) such as Bahya ibn Paquda
Bahya ibn Paquda
Bahya ben Joseph ibn Paquda was a Jewish philosopher and rabbi who lived at Zaragoza, Spain, in the first half of the eleventh century...
's Chovot ha-Levavot
Chovot ha-Levavot
Chovot HaLevavot or Ḥovot HaLebabot, , is the primary work of the Jewish philosopher Bahya ibn Paquda, full name Bahya ben Joseph ibn Pakuda...
(The Duties of the Heart). Many works of medieval philosophical literature such as the Guide to the Perplexed and The Kuzari
Kuzari
The Kitab al Khazari, commonly called the Kuzari, is one of most famous works of the medieval Spanish Jewish philosopher and poet Rabbi Yehuda Halevi, completed around 1140. Its title is an Arabic phrase meaning Book of the Khazars...
, as well as many works of fiction, were written in Judeo-Arabic. One work of fiction which was written in Hebrew was the "Fox Fables" by Berechiah ben Natronai ha-Nakdan, Hebrew fables which resemble Aesop's fables
Aesop's Fables
Aesop's Fables or the Aesopica are a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and story-teller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 560 BCE. The fables remain a popular choice for moral education of children today...
.
Much medieval Jewish poetry was written in Hebrew, including liturgical piyyutim in Palestine in the seventh and eighth centuries by Yose ben Yose, Yanai
Yanai (Payetan)
Yannai was the first payyetan to employ rhyme and introduce his name in acrostics. He flourished, probably in the land of Israel, in the first half of the 7th century. He was apparently a very prolific poet, for reference is made to "the liturgical poems of Yannai"; he is also said to have...
, and Eleazar Kalir
Eleazar Kalir
Eleazar ben Kalir was one of Judaism's earliest and most prolific of the paytanim, liturgical poets. Many of his hymns have found their way into festive prayers of the Ashkenazi Jews synagogal rite....
. These poems were added to the Hebrew-language liturgy. This liturgy was compiled in book form as "the siddur" by rabbis including Amram Gaon
Amram Gaon
Amram Gaon was a famous Gaon or head of the Jewish Talmud Academy of Sura in the 9th century. He was the author of many Responsa, but his chief work was liturgical.He was the first to arrange a complete liturgy for the synagogue...
and Saadia Gaon
Saadia Gaon
Saʻadiah ben Yosef Gaon was a prominent rabbi, Jewish philosopher, and exegete of the Geonic period.The first important rabbinic figure to write extensively in Arabic, he is considered the founder of Judeo-Arabic literature...
.
Later Spanish, Provencal, and Italian poets wrote both religious and secular poems; particularly prominent poets were Solomon ibn Gabirol
Solomon ibn Gabirol
Solomon ibn Gabirol, also Solomon ben Judah , was an Andalucian Hebrew poet and Jewish philosopher with a Neoplatonic bent. He was born in Málaga about 1021; died about 1058 in Valencia.-Biography:...
and Yehuda Halevi
Yehuda Halevi
Judah Halevi was a Spanish Jewish physician, poet and philosopher. He was born in Spain, either in Toledo or Tudela, in 1075 or 1086, and died shortly after arriving in Palestine in 1141...
.
Modern Hebrew literature
In addition to writing traditional rabbinic literatureRabbinic literature
Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, can mean the entire spectrum of rabbinic writings throughout Jewish history. However, the term often refers specifically to literature from the Talmudic era, as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic writing, and thus corresponds with the Hebrew term...
in Hebrew, modern Jews developed new forms of fiction, poetry, and essay-writing, which are typically called "Modern Hebrew Literature."
Eighteenth Century
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." Luzzatto's pupil in Amsterdam, David Franco MendesDavid Franco Mendes
David Franco Mendes was a Jewish Hebrew-language poet, born in Amsterdam Aug. 13, 1713; died there Oct. 10, 1792. A business man, he devoted his leisure hours to the study of the Talmud, in which he became very proficient. He knew several languages, and was especially well versed in Hebrew...
(1713–92), in his imitations of Jean Racine
Jean Racine
Jean Racine , baptismal name Jean-Baptiste Racine , was a French dramatist, one of the "Big Three" of 17th-century France , and one of the most important literary figures in the Western tradition...
("Gemul 'Atalyah") and of Metastasio
Metastasio
Pietro Antonio Domenico Trapassi, better known by his pseudonym of Metastasio, was an Italian poet and librettist, considered the most important writer of opera seria libretti.-Early life:...
("Yehudit"), continued his master's work, though his works are not as respected as were Luzzatto's.
In the eighteenth century, the Haskalah
Haskalah
Haskalah , the Jewish Enlightenment, was a movement among European Jews in the 18th–19th centuries that advocated adopting enlightenment values, pressing for better integration into European society, and increasing education in secular studies, Hebrew language, and Jewish history...
(Jewish enlightenment) movement worked to achieve political emancipation for Jews in Europe
Jewish Emancipation
Jewish emancipation was the external and internal process of freeing the Jewish people of Europe, including recognition of their rights as equal citizens, and the formal granting of citizenship as individuals; it occurred gradually between the late 18th century and the early 20th century...
. Moses Mendelssohn
Moses Mendelssohn
Moses Mendelssohn was a German Jewish philosopher to whose ideas the renaissance of European Jews, Haskalah is indebted...
's translation of the Hebrew Bible into German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
inspired interest in the Hebrew language that led to the founding of a quarterly review written in Hebrew. Other periodicals followed. Poetry by Naphtali Hirz Wessely
Naphtali Hirz Wessely
NaphtaliHerz Wessely, aka NaphtaliHirz Wessely, also Wesel was a 18th-century German Jewish Hebraist and educationist born at Hamburg.-Family History:...
such as "Shire Tif'eret," or "Mosiade," made Wessely, so to speak, poet laureate of the period.
Nineteenth Century
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:- Nachman KrochmalNachman KrochmalNachman Kohen Krochmal was a Jewish Galician philosopher, theologian, and historian.-Biography:...
(1785–1840), a philosopher, theologian, and historian. - Solomon Judah Loeb Rapoport (1790–1867), a rabbi, poet, and biographer
- Isaac ErterIsaac ErterIsaac Erter was a Polish-Jewish satirist.He was born at Janischok, Galicia. The first part of his life was full of struggles and hardships...
(1792–1841), a satirical poet whose collection of essays, "Ha-Tzofeh le-Bet Yisrael," is one of the purest works of modern Hebrew literature, attacking Hasidic superstitions and prejudices in a vigorous and classical style. - Meir Halevy Letteris (1800–1871), a lyric poet also known for his adaption of Goethe's FaustFaustFaust is the protagonist of a classic German legend; a highly successful scholar, but also dissatisfied with his life, and so makes a deal with the devil, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. Faust's tale is the basis for many literary, artistic, cinematic, and musical...
into Hebrew.
In Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, a circle of Hebrew-language literary artists emerged in the nineteenth century, including the poet Samuel Molder (1789–1862).
Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
became an active center for the Haskalah
Haskalah
Haskalah , the Jewish Enlightenment, was a movement among European Jews in the 18th–19th centuries that advocated adopting enlightenment values, pressing for better integration into European society, and increasing education in secular studies, Hebrew language, and Jewish history...
in the nineteenth century, and the best known among the Haskalah
Haskalah
Haskalah , the Jewish Enlightenment, was a movement among European Jews in the 18th–19th centuries that advocated adopting enlightenment values, pressing for better integration into European society, and increasing education in secular studies, Hebrew language, and Jewish history...
writers there was Jehudah Loeb Jeiteles (1773–1838), author of witty epigrams ("Bene ha-Ne'urim") and of works directed against Hasidism and against superstition
Superstition
Superstition is a belief in supernatural causality: that one event leads to the cause of another without any process in the physical world linking the two events....
.
In Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, Hebrew-language authors included Solomon Lewison of Moor (1789–1822), author of "Melitzat Yeshurun"; Gabriel Südfeld, a poet who was the father of Max Nordau
Max Nordau
Max Simon Nordau , born Simon Maximilian Südfeld in Pest, Hungary, was a Zionist leader, physician, author, and social critic....
; and the poet Simon Bacher
Simon Bacher
Simon Bacher was a Hungarian Neo-Hebraic poet.Bacher, whose name was originally Bachrach, came of a family of scholars, and counted as one of his ancestors the well-known Moravian-German rabbi Jair Ḥayyim Bacharach. He studied Talmud in his native city, and in Mikulov under Menahem Nahum...
. A notable Jewish author in Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
during the nineteenth century was the physician and writer Julius Barasch.
Italian Jews of the nineteenth-century who wrote in Hebrew included I. S. Reggio (1784–1854), Joseph Almanzi, Hayyim Salomon, Samuel Vita Lolli (1788–1843). Another figure of note was Rachel Morpurgo (1790–1860), who was one of the few female writers in the Haskalah
Haskalah
Haskalah , the Jewish Enlightenment, was a movement among European Jews in the 18th–19th centuries that advocated adopting enlightenment values, pressing for better integration into European society, and increasing education in secular studies, Hebrew language, and Jewish history...
movement, and whose poems have been described as characterized by "religious piety and a mystic faith in Israel's future." The best known Italian writer was Samuel David Luzzatto
Samuel David Luzzatto
Samuel David Luzzatto was an Italian Jewish scholar, poet, and a member of the Wissenschaft des Judentums movement. He is also known by his Hebrew acronym, Shadal ....
(1800–65) was the first modern writer to introduce religious romanticism
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
into Hebrew and to attack northern rationalism in the name of religious and national feeling.
Prominent Hebrew writers in the Russian empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
in the nineteenth century included:
- the poet and mathematician Jacob Eichenbaum (1796–1861)
- the Haskalah leader Isaac Baer LevinsohnIsaac Baer LevinsohnIsaac Baer Levinsohn , born Kremenetz, October 13, 1788; died there, February 12, 1860, was a notable Russian-Hebrew scholar, satirist, writer and Haskalah leader. He was called "the Russian Mendelssohn"...
- Kalman Schulman (1826–1900), who introduced the romantic form into Hebrew
- the romantic poetRomantic poetryRomanticism, a philosophical, literary, artistic and cultural era which began in the mid/late-1700s as a reaction against the prevailing Enlightenment ideals of the day , also influenced poetry...
Micah Joseph LebensohnMicah Joseph LebensohnMicah Joseph Lebensohn Russian Hebrew poet.His father, the poet Abraham Bär Lebensohn, implanted in him the love of Hebrew poetry, and Micah Joseph began very early to translate and to compose Hebrew songs. He suffered from consumption during the last five or six years of his short life...
(1828–52) - the LithuanianLithuaniansLithuanians are the Baltic ethnic group native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,765,600 people. Another million or more make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the United States, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Russia, United Kingdom and Ireland. Their native language...
author Mordecai Aaron Ginzburg, known as "the father of prose" - Lithuanian poet Abraham Baer Lebensohn, known as the "father of poetry," whose poems "Shire Sefat Kodesh" were extraordinarily successful.
- Abraham MapuAbraham MapuAbraham Mapu was a Lithuanian-born Hebrew novelist of the Haskalah movement. His novels later served as a basis for the Zionist movement.-Biography:...
(1808–67), the creator of the Hebrew novel, whose historical romance "Ahabat Tziyyon" exercised an important influence on the development of Hebrew.
The poet Judah Leib Gordon
Judah Leib Gordon
Judah Leib Gordon, also known as Leon Gordon, was among the most important Hebrew poets of the Jewish Enlightenment....
, also known as "Leon Gordon" (1831–1892), was a well-known satirical poet who has been characterized as "an implacable enemy of the Rabbis."
Twentieth Century
As ZionistZionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
settlement in Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
intensified at the start of the twentieth century, Hebrew became the shared language of the various Jewish immigrant communities. Eliezer Ben-Yehuda
Eliezer Ben-Yehuda
Eliezer Ben‑Yehuda was a Jewish lexicographer and newspaper editor. He was the driving spirit behind the revival of the Hebrew language in the modern era.-Biography:...
in particular worked to adapt Hebrew to the needs of the modern world, turning to Hebrew sources from all periods to develop a language that went beyond the sacred and was capable of articulating the modern experience.
Hayim Nahman Bialik (1873–1934) was one of the pioneers of modern Hebrew poets and came to be recognized as Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
's national poet. Bialik contributed significantly to the revival of the Hebrew language
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
, which before his days existed primarily as an ancient, scholarly tongue. His influence is felt deeply in all modern Hebrew literature. Bialik, like other great literary figures from the early part of the 20th century such as Ahad Ha-Am and Tchernichovsky
Shaul Tchernichovsky
Shaul Tchernichovsky , was a Russian-born Hebrew poet. He is considered one of the great Hebrew poets, identified with nature poetry, and as a poet greatly influenced by the culture of ancient Greece.- Life :...
, spent his last years in Tel Aviv, exerting a great influence on younger Hebrew writers.
The foundations of modern Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i writing were laid by a group of literary pioneers from the Second Aliyah
Second Aliyah
The Second Aliyah was an important and highly influential aliyah that took place between 1904 and 1914, during which approximately 40,000 Jews immigrated into Ottoman Palestine, mostly from the Russian Empire, some from Yemen....
including Shmuel Yosef Agnon
Shmuel Yosef Agnon
Shmuel Yosef Agnon , was a Nobel Prize laureate writer and was one of the central figures of modern Hebrew fiction. In Hebrew, he is known by the acronym Shai Agnon . In English, his works are published under the name S. Y. Agnon.Agnon was born in Galicia, Austro-Hungarian Empire...
, Moshe Smilansky, Yosef Haim Brenner
Yosef Haim Brenner
Yosef Haim Brenner was a Russian-born Hebrew-language author, one of the pioneers of modern Hebrew literature.-Biography:Brenner was born to a poor Jewish family in Novi Mlini, Russian Empire...
, David Shimoni
David Shimoni
David Shimoni was an Israeli poet, writer and translator.David Shimonovitch was born in Babruysk in Belarus to Nissim Shimonovitch and Malka Fridland Although he lived in Ottoman Palestine for a year in 1909, he did not immigrate to British-administered Palestine...
and Jacob Fichman
Jacob Fichman
Jacob Fichman also transliterated as Yakov Fichman , was an acclaimed Hebrew poet, essayist and literary critic.-Biography:Fichman was born in Botoşani, Romania in 1881...
. In contrast, Yitzhaq Shami
Yitzhaq Shami
Yitzhaq Shami was a Hebrew writer, one of the earliest modern Hebrew literature writers in Palestine, prior to Israeli statehood. His work was unique for his period, since in contrast with the vast majority of Hebrew writers of the period he crafted his art based on characters who were either...
, was a native of Palestine, and he holds a unique place in Hebrew literature, since his work is also recognized as Palestinian literature. In 1966, Agnon
Shmuel Yosef Agnon
Shmuel Yosef Agnon , was a Nobel Prize laureate writer and was one of the central figures of modern Hebrew fiction. In Hebrew, he is known by the acronym Shai Agnon . In English, his works are published under the name S. Y. Agnon.Agnon was born in Galicia, Austro-Hungarian Empire...
won the Nobel Prize for Literature for novels and short stories that employ a unique blend of biblical, Talmudic and modern Hebrew.
Literary translators
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
into Modern Hebrew
Modern Hebrew
Modern Hebrew , also known as Israeli Hebrew or Modern Israeli Hebrew, is the language spoken in Israel and in some Jewish communities worldwide, from the early 20th century to the present....
, most notably Leah Goldberg
Leah Goldberg
Leah Goldberg was a prolific Hebrew poet, author, playwright, literary translator, and comparative literary researcher. Her writings are considered classics of Israeli literature and remain very popular among Hebrew speaking Israelis.-Biography:...
among others, also contributed a great deal to Israeli-Hebrew literature through bringing international literature and literary figures into Hebrew circles through translation. Goldberg
Leah Goldberg
Leah Goldberg was a prolific Hebrew poet, author, playwright, literary translator, and comparative literary researcher. Her writings are considered classics of Israeli literature and remain very popular among Hebrew speaking Israelis.-Biography:...
herself was also noted for being a prolific writer and pioneer of Israeli children's literature as well.
Contemporary Hebrew literature
A new generation of Hebrew writers emerged with the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. This new generation included the novelists Aharon MeggedAharon Megged
Aharon Megged is an Israeli author and playwright.-Biography:Aharon Megged was born in 1920 in Włocławek, Poland, and in 1926 immigrated with his parents to Mandate Palestine. He grew up in Ra'anana, attending the Herzliya high school in Tel Aviv...
, Nathan Shaham
Nathan Shaham
-Biography:Born in Tel Aviv, Shaham has been a member of Kibbutz Beit Alfa since 1945, and served with the Palmach in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. He is the son of Eliezer Steinman, the Hebrew author and essayist....
, and Moshe Shamir
Moshe Shamir
Moshe Shamir was an Israeli author, playwright, opinion writer, and public figure.-Biography:...
, and the poets Yehudah Amichai, Amir Gilboa
Amir Gilboa
Amir Gilboa was a prominent Israeli Hebrew poet, born in Ukraine.-Biography:...
, and Haim Gouri
Haim Gouri
Haim Gouri is an Israeli poet, novelist, journalist, and documentary filmmaker.-Biography:Haim Gouri was born in Tel Aviv. After studying at the Kadoorie Agricultural High School, he joined the Palmach militia. In 1947 he was sent to Hungary to assist Holocaust survivors to come to Palestine...
. The novels My Michael (1968) and Black Box (1987) by Amos Oz
Amos Oz
Amos Oz is an Israeli writer, novelist, and journalist. He is also a professor of literature at Ben-Gurion University in Be'er Sheva....
and The Lover (1977) and Mr. Mani (1990) by A. B. Yehoshua
A. B. Yehoshua
Abraham B. Yehoshua is an Israeli novelist, essayist, and playwright. His pen name is A. B. Yehoshua.-Biography:...
describe life in the new state. These works also explore topics such the as conflict between parents and children
Generation gap
The generational gap is and was a term popularized in Western countries during the 1960s referring to differences between people of a younger generation and their elders, especially between children and parents....
and the rejection of some once-sacred ideals of Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
and Zionism
Zionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
.
Many Hebrew writers in the late twentieth century dealt with the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
, women's issues, and the conflict between Israelis and Arabs. Another topic was the tension between Jews of European origin, the Ashkenazim, and Jews of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean origin, the Mizrahim and Sephardim.
Modern Hebrew authors include Ruth Almog
Ruth Almog
-Life:Almog was born 15 May 1936 in Petah Tikva, Israel to parents who immigrated from Hamburg in 1933. She studied at David Yellin Teachers College, and at Tel Aviv University...
, Aharon Appelfeld
Aharon Appelfeld
-Biography:Appelfeld was born in the village of Zhadova near Czernowitz, Romania, now Ukraine. In 1941, when he was eight years old, the Romanian army invaded his hometown and his mother was murdered. Appelfeld was deported with his father to a concentration camp in Ukraine. He escaped and hid for...
, Yitzhak Ben-Ner, David Grossman
David Grossman
David Grossman is an Israeli author. His books have been translated into more than 30 languages, and have won numerous prizes.He is also a noted activist and critic of Israeli policy toward Palestinians. The Yellow Wind, his non-fiction study of the life of Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied...
, Amalia Kahana-Carmon
Amalia Kahana-Carmon
Amalia Kahana-Carmon is an Israeli author, educator, and recipient of the Israel Prize for literature ....
, Etgar Keret
Etgar Keret
Etgar Keret is an Israeli writer known for his short stories, graphic novels, and scriptwriting for film and television.-Personal Life:Keret was born in Ramat Gan, Israel in 1967. He is a third child to parents who survived the Holocaust. He lives in Tel Aviv with his wife, Shira Geffen, and...
, Savyon Liebrecht
Savyon Liebrecht
Savyon Liebrecht is one of Israel's best-known authors, although less known outside Israel. Born as the oldest child in Munich, Germany to Polish Holocaust survivors as Sabine Sosnowski, she moved to Israel in 1950....
, Sami Michael
Sami Michael
Sami Michael is an Israeli author. Since 2001, Michael has been the President of The Association for Civil Rights in Israel .Michael was among the first in Israel to call for the creation of an independent Palestinian state to exist alongside Israel. In his novels Michael writes about the...
, Yaakov Shabtai
Yaakov Shabtai
Yaakov Shabtai was an Israeli novelist, playwright, and translator.-Biography:Shabtai was born in 1934 in Tel Aviv, Mandate Palestine. In 1957, after completing military service, he joined Kibbutz Merhavia, but returned to Tel Aviv in 1967....
, David Shahar, Meir Shalev
Meir Shalev
Meir Shalev is an Israeli writer. He is the son of the Jerusalemite poet Yitzchak Shalev. His cousin Zeruya Shalev is also a writer.- Biography :...
, and Tseruyah Shalev.
Hebrew poets include David Avidan
David Avidan
David Avidan was an Israeli "poet, painter, filmmaker, publicist, and playwright" . He wrote 20 published books of Hebrew poetry.-Biography and literary career:...
, Maya Bejerano
Maya Bejerano
Maya Bejerano is an Israeli poet.She graduated from Bar-Ilan University with a B.A. in Literature and Philosophy, and from Hebrew University with an M.A...
, Erez Biton
Erez Biton
Erez Biton is an Hebrew poet. Born in North Africa, he immigrated to Israel in 1948. At the age of 10, he was blinded by a stray hand grenade that he found. He spent the rest of his childhood in Jerusalem's Institute for the Blind. He received a degree in social work from The Hebrew University of...
, Yitzchak Laor, Dan Pagis
Dan Pagis
Dan Pagis was an Israeli poet, lecturer and holocaust survivor. He was born in Rădăuţi, Bukovina in Romania and imprisoned as a child in a concentration camp in Ukraine...
, Dalia Ravikovitch, Ronny Someck
Ronny Someck
Ronny Someck is an Israeli poet and author, whose works have been translated into many languages.-Biography:Someck was born in Baghdad and came to Israel as a young child. He studied Hebrew literature and philosophy at Tel Aviv University and drawing at the Avni Academy of Art...
, Meir Wieseltier
Meir Wieseltier
Meir Wieseltier is a prize-winning Israeli poet and translator.-Biography:Meir Wieseltier was born in Moscow in 1941, shortly before the German invasion of Russia. He was taken to Novosibirsk in southwestern Siberia by his mother and two older sisters. His father was killed while serving in the...
, and Yona Wallach
Yona Wallach
-Writing career:She was proud of her bisexuality and stunned her readers with her daring expressions of sexuality and spirituality combined.Wallach also featured Jungian psychology in her work. Wallach also wrote lyrics for, and performed with, Israeli rock bands. Her book, Island Songs, was...
.
Contemporary Israeli authors whose works have been translated into other languages and attained international recognition are Ephraim Kishon
Ephraim Kishon
' was an Israeli author, dramatist, screenwriter, and film director. He is one of the most widely-read contemporary satirists in the world.- Early life and World War II :...
, Yaakov Shabtai
Yaakov Shabtai
Yaakov Shabtai was an Israeli novelist, playwright, and translator.-Biography:Shabtai was born in 1934 in Tel Aviv, Mandate Palestine. In 1957, after completing military service, he joined Kibbutz Merhavia, but returned to Tel Aviv in 1967....
, A. B. Yehoshua
A. B. Yehoshua
Abraham B. Yehoshua is an Israeli novelist, essayist, and playwright. His pen name is A. B. Yehoshua.-Biography:...
, Amos Oz
Amos Oz
Amos Oz is an Israeli writer, novelist, and journalist. He is also a professor of literature at Ben-Gurion University in Be'er Sheva....
, Irit Linur
Irit Linur
-Biography:Irit Linur was married to Alon Ben David, Senior Defense Correspondent for Israel Channel 10 and Middle East Correspondent for Jane's Defense Weekly.-Literary career:Linur started her writing career as a satirical columnist in local newspapers...
, Etgar Keret
Etgar Keret
Etgar Keret is an Israeli writer known for his short stories, graphic novels, and scriptwriting for film and television.-Personal Life:Keret was born in Ramat Gan, Israel in 1967. He is a third child to parents who survived the Holocaust. He lives in Tel Aviv with his wife, Shira Geffen, and...
and Yehoshua Sobol
Yehoshua Sobol
Joshua Sobol, also known as Yehoshua Sobol , is an Israeli playwright, writer, and director at theatres in Israel and abroad.He is married to Edna, set and costume designer...
.
Today thousands of new books are published in Hebrew each year, both translations from other languages and original works by Israeli authors.