The publication of Meir ha-Levi Letteris’s translation-adaptation of
Goethe’s Faust into Hebrew in 1865 was a prominent event in the contemporary
world of Hebrew literature. The translator chose the story of Talmudic sage
Elisha Ben Abuya, charged with connotations of otherness, heresy and rebellion,
as a framework for absorbtion of Goethe’s tragedy. The translation-adaptation
provoked a dispute among 19th century Maskilim about two pivotal questions
of self-identification – their position relative to Jewish tradition and its
canon of exemplary figures, and the role of European literature in the formation
of a Hebrew literary canon. The essay argues that the polemics which
erupted following the publication of the Hebrew Faust indicated a transition
within Maskilic society from universalistic Enlightenment models of self-comprehension
and identification to nationalistic particularistic ones.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:DRESDEN/oai:qucosa:de:qucosa:80329 |
| Date | 05 August 2022 |
| Creators | Natkovich, Svetlana |
| Publisher | De Gruyter |
| Source Sets | Hochschulschriftenserver (HSSS) der SLUB Dresden |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion, doc-type:article, info:eu-repo/semantics/article, doc-type:Text |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
| Relation | 7 |
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