Hebrew literature, literary works, from ancient to modern, written in the Hebrew

language.

Early Literature

The great monuments of the earliest period of Hebrew literature are the Old Testament and the
Apocrypha. Parts of the Pseudepigrapha and of the Dead Sea Scrolls were also produced before
the conquest of Judaea by Titus. The literature of the Jews developed mainly in the Hebrew
language, although there were also works in Greek, Aramaic, and Arabic.

In the 2d cent. A.D. began the Talmudic period, which lasted well into the 6th cent. In these
centuries the great anonymous encyclopedic work of religious and civil law, the Talmud, was
compiled, edited, and interpreted. The Midrash-a collection of halakah (found also in the
Talmud) and haggadic material-likewise forms part of the Hebrew literature of that period. In the
4th cent. the Targum to the Pentateuch and to the Prophets was finished. The 6th and 7th cent.
saw the development of the Masora in Palestine. In Babylonia meanwhile many valuable
additions to Hebrew literature were made by the Gaonim after the 6th cent.

Medieval Literature

Commentaries on the Talmud and haggadic material continued to be written until the 11th cent.,
when the Babylonian academies were suppressed and the center of Jewish literary activity
shifted to Spain. France and Germany became the main centers of Talmudic commentary. In
Spain, and to some extent in Italy, Hebrew literature flourished for centuries. The finest work
was accomplished in the realms of poetry-influenced by Arab and Indian literature-and
philosophy. Philology, exegesis, and codification also flourished. By the 14th cent. the largely
Aramaic mystical treatise, the Zohar, had appeared-the masterpiece of a flourishing literature of
Jewish mysticism (see kabbalah).

Famous scholars and authors of Hebrew literature in the Middle Ages included Aha of Shabcha,
Saadia ben Joseph al-Fayumi, Dunash ben Tamim, Dunash ben Labrat, Gershom ben Judah, Al-
Fasi, Solomon ben Judah Ibn Gabirol, Rashi, Judah ha-Levi, Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra,
Maimonides, Immanuel ben Solomon, Isaac Abravanel, and Joseph ben Ephraim Caro. In the
persecutions following the Crusades, when the Jews were driven from country to country, they
clung to their literature-which leaned increasingly to mysticism and asceticism-and especially to
the Hebrew Bible.

Beginnings of Modern Hebrew Literature

On the threshold of the transition from the old isolated life to a wider one was the poet Moses
Hayyim Luzzatto-a contemporary of the Gaon of Vilna, Elijah ben Solomon-but the modern
period of Hebrew literature really began with Moses Mendelssohn. While Nachman Krochmal
and Shloime Ansky (Solomon Seinwel Rapoport) were contributing to biblical criticism and
historical scholarship, writers such as Peretz (Peter) Smolenskin were devoting themselves to
Haskalah, or literature of enlightenment, intended to shake the Jews of Central Europe from their
medieval attitudes. Other important figures of the period are the scholar Joseph Halévy, the poet
Jehuda (Leon) Gordon, and the novelist Solomon Yakob Abramovich, whose pseudonym was
Mendele mocher sforim.

Zionism and Literature in Israel

The rise of Zionism, particularly reflected in the writings of Ahad Ha-am (Asher Ginzberg), gave
Hebrew literature fresh impetus, and Palestine became again the center of publication in Hebrew.
Hebrew was proclaimed the national language of the Jews even before the establishment (1948)
of the state of Israel. The two great poets of modern Hebrew literature are Hayyim Nahman
Bialik and Saul Tchernihovsky, who was strongly influenced by ancient Greek literature. The
poetry of Abraham Shlonsky, Lea Goldberg, and Nathan Alterman deals with social and political
themes.

Among the many writers of prose are Joseph H. Brenner, who described Jewish life in Eastern
Europe and pioneer life in Palestine, and Salman Shneur, who wrote of the simple and
uneducated Jews. The Nobel laureate S. Y. Agnon portrayed the Eastern European milieu and
pioneer life in Palestine; his works have become classics in modern Hebrew epic literature.
Hebrew writers who are native to Israel seek inspiration in the classical Hebrew past or in the
new life of Israel. The most outstanding writer of this group is Moshe Shamir, who in his two
novels-one depicting a Hasmonean king and the other dealing with the Arab-Israeli War of 1948-
gave new dimensions to Hebrew fiction.

Aron David Gordon (1856-1922) was one of the greatest social and political essayists of Hebrew
literature; significant Hebrew language literary critics include David Frishman (1861-1922) and
Yosef Klausner (1874-1958). In recent years the Israeli novelists Amos Oz, Abraham B.
Yehoshua, and Aharon Appelfeld, and the poet Yehuda Amichai have been widely translated and
have achieved international distinction. Outside Israel, the writing of the Jews is ordinarily in the
language of the countries in which they live or in Yiddish, whose literary use developed rapidly
after the middle of the 19th cent.
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.[1] 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.

Ancient Hebrew literature

Beyond comparison, the most important such work is the Hebrew Bible (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.

Medieval Hebrew literature

Many works of medieval rabbinic literature 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.[2] 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, Provençal, and Italian poets wrote both religious and secular poems; particularly
prominent poets were Solomon ibn Gabirol and Yehuda Halevi.

Modern Hebrew literature

In addition to writing traditional rabbinic literature 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."[3] Luzzatto's pupil in Amsterdam, David Franco
Mendes (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.[4]

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.[5]

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 Krochmal (1785–1840), a philosopher, theologian, and historian.

Solomon Judah Loeb Rapoport (1790–1867), a rabbi, poet, and biographer
Isaac Erter (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
Faust into Hebrew.

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.[6] A notable Jewish author in Romania during the nineteenth century was the
physician and writer Julius Barasch.[7]

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."[8] 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.[9]
Prominent Hebrew writers in the Russian empire in the nineteenth century included:

the poet and mathematician Jacob Eichenbaum (1796–1861)

the Haskalah leader Isaac Baer Levinsohn
Kalman Schulman (1826–1900), who introduced the romantic form into Hebrew
the romantic poet Micah Joseph Lebensohn (1828–52)
the Lithuanian 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 Mapu (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, also known as "Leon Gordon" (1831–1892), was a well-known
satirical poet who has been characterized as "an implacable enemy of the Rabbis."[10]

Twentieth Century

As Zionist 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.[11]

The foundations of modern Israeli 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.

Contemporary Hebrew literature

Israeli 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 Megged, 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.