Hebrew has survived as a continuously written literature for
nearly 3,000 years. It is the oldest, and in some ways most
successful, minority literature. While Hebrew is central to the
social history of the Jews, its history also offers a panoramic
window into the relationships of other minority literatures to
their majority cultures.
Until 1948, written Hebrew was created primarily under the rule
of empires, notably those of ancient Mesopotamia, Rome, medieval
Islam, and Tsarist Russia. In this controversial volume, David
Aberbach analyzes Hebrew's development, arguing that several of the
most original periods in its history coincided with--and resulted
partially from--imperial crisis. During these periods, social and
political instability set off violence against the Jews. In each
case a revolutionary body of Hebrew literature emerged, influenced
decisively by the dominant culture, but asserting Jewish separatism
and, to varying degrees, nationalism.
Revolutionary Hebrew offers a historical account of Judaism from
biblical times to 1948, as exemplified through the growth or
decline of Hebrew writing. Examining patterns in the social
development of Hebrew, Aberbach explicates the role of Hebrew in
the survival of Judaism and sheds light on the significance of
literary creativity in ethnic survival.
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