User:Hms2026/Ahad Ha'am

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we plan on integrating the changes made in here into the published article

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decided to migrate some changes to biography section over to the mainspace in order to see what people will say (testing the waters) :)

Visits to Palestine

Truth from Eretz Israel

Ahad Ha'am first visited Palestine in 1891 (the Ottoman Vilayet (province) of Beirut and the Sanjak (district) of Jerusalem), to observe the progress of the First Aliyah, or the first wave of Jewish immigration to Palestine (1882-1903). When he returned home, he published a series of five essays in the St. Petersburg-based Hebrew paper Ha-Melitz entitled "Truth From Eretz Israel". The essays were a comprehensive critique of the immigration efforts from both logistical and ethical perspectives, presenting a somber report of future Jewish colonization efforts there.

"Truth from Eretz Israel" raised concerns about the Turkish government and native Arab population, both of whom would heavily resist the transformation of Palestine into a Jewish state. The essay also questioned the survival and prosperity of Jewish settlers currently in Palestine. The reliance on viticulture was unproven and currently unsustainable for Jewish farmers. This, along with inflated land prices, also raised serious barriers to any goal of Zionism.

The series of essays is considered to be among the first works to seriously address the "Arab Issue" within the Zionist movement. Ahad Ha'am was critical of the Jewish people's treatment and attitude towards the native Arab population, stating that:

"We who live abroad are accustomed to believing that the Arabs are all wild desert people who, like donkeys, neither see nor understand what is happening around them. But this is a grave mistake."

The series was criticized heavily within the Zionist movement, with many claiming that the essays provided a one-sided view of the Jewish national efforts, and others claiming that the series defamed Jewish settlers, both generally and specifically in Palestine. This essay cemented Ahad Ha'am's reputation as an internal critic of Zionism, as well as an advocate for Cultural Zionism.

Asher Zvi Hirsch Ginsberg (18 August 1856 – 2 January 1927) was a Hebrew journalist and essayist. Primarily known by his Hebrew name and pen name Ahad Ha'am (Hebrew: אחד העם, lit. 'one of the people', Genesis 26:10), he was one of the foremost pre-state Zionist thinkers. His writings were often critical of the Political Zionist movement, and his opinions constituted what is known today as Cultural Zionism. With his vision of a Jewish "spiritual center" in Israel, his views regarding the purpose of a Jewish state contrasted with those of prominent political Zionists such as Theodor Herzl. Unlike Herzl, Ahad Ha'am strived for "a Jewish state and not merely a state of Jews".

Biography[edit]

Asher Zvi Hirsch Ginsberg (Ahad Ha'am) was born on August 18, 1856, in Skvyra, in the Kiev Governorate of the Russian Empire (present-day Ukraine) to wealthy Hasidic parents. His father was a village merchant. The town was located in the Pale of Settlement, which constituted an area in the Russian Empire in which Jews were legally aloud to reside. Ginsberg felt little affection for the town, describing it as "one of the most benighted spots in the Hasidic districts of Russia." Jewish segregation in the Russian Empire as well as his strong Orthodox upbringing served to cultivate an identity fundamentally based in Jewish Nationalism. Ginsberg was sent to Heder at the age of three, where he was taught to read Hebrew. His education was based in traditional Judaism without interference from sources outside of Judaism. For example, he was forbidden from even looking at the letters of the Russian alphabet in school, much less learning the language. Ginsberg began to learn Russian and German in his early 20s.When his father became the administrator of a large estate in the village of Gopitshitza in the Kiev Governorate, he moved the family there and took private tutors for his son, who excelled at his studies.

From a young age, Ginsberg was interested in the Haskalah movement. He was critical of the dogmatic nature of Hasidic Judaism, and began to distance himself from Hasidism by the time he was 16. Still, he remained loyal to his cultural heritage, especially the ethical ideals of Judaism. Ginsberg felt uncomfortable with taking the identity of mitnagid (non-Hasidic Orthodox jew) or maskil (Jewish Enlightener), so he simply referred to himself as "Ohev Yisrael", or "Lover of Israel". He married his wife Rivke at the age of 17. They had three children, Shlomo, Leah, and Rachel. In 1886, at age 30, he settled in Odessa with his parents, wife, and children, and entered the family business. Ginsburg's career as a Zionist writer and thinker was solidified in Odessa, and there he became involved in several Zionist organizations. In 1908, following a trip to Palestine, Ginsberg moved to London to manage the office of the Wissotzky Tea company. He settled in Tel Aviv in early 1922, where he served as a member of the Executive Committee of the city council until 1926. Plagued by ill health, Ginsberg died there in 1927.

Education

Childhood Education

Ginsberg's childhood education was fundamentally steeped in Orthodox Judaism. At the age of 3, he was sent to Heder. He had a desire to learn the Russian alphabet, but had to do so in secret as his family forbade instruction in languages other than Hebrew; according to Ginsberg, "my mother’s father had with his own ears heard one of the great tsaddikim [Hasidic leaders] say that the sight of a foreign letter made the eyes unclean.” Still, he was able to persuade some of his classmates to teach him the letters of the Russian alphabet. From a young age, Ginsberg displayed intellectual independence form the doctrine of Hasidism. He attempted to further his knowledge of Russian by reading street signs on his way home from Heder. His learning of Russian was exposed, however, when he returned home late, and his habit was subsequently banned. Ginsberg was also interested in algebra and geometry, and began to teach himself the subjects using a book he found in his father's study. His pursuit was cut short again, though, when his grandmother told his parents he was practicing witchcraft after witnessing algebraic formulae written on the windows of the family's home.

Teen Years and Early Adulthood

After moving the family to Gopitshitza, Ginsberg's father took tutors for his son. Asher excelled in the study of the Talmud, which contributed heavily to his affinity for the moral, ethical, and mystical teachings of Judaism. Additionally, his aptitude for talmudic learning gave hope to his father that Ginsburg would become a rabbi. His hopes were diminished, however, as Asher broke away from Hasidism around the time of the family's move to Gopitshitza. Although he displayed obvious intelligence, Ginsberg's father forbade him from attending high school, which would later complicate his attempts to enroll in a university. Ginsberg displayed an interest in literature outside of Hasidism, particularly medieval Jewish works, the Bible, and Haskalah literature. His father did not forbid his reading outside of Hasidism, but did limit it heavily.

In his late teens and early twenties, Ginsberg dedicated himself to the study of religion, as well as subjects outside of Judaism such as Russian and German. During his first visit to Odessa in 1878, he became acquaintances with another young man staying in the same hotel as him. There, he was introduced to the literature of Russian philosopher Dmitry Pisarev, who inspired him greatly. He returned home with the goal of enrolling in a university, and resolved to master the subjects required in a high school curriculum. However, he found that he had little time or desire to master the "intrinsically unimportant details" that students were required to learn in order to pass their exams, and abandoned the idea of enrolling at a Russian university. His subsequent attempts to attend university in Breslau, Berlin, Vienna and Leipzig faced various roadblocks, and his lack of higher education caused deep frustration. He experienced dissatisfaction with his lack of higher education, and this in part inspired his move to Odessa.

Journalism Career

Ginsberg's literary career began after moving to Odessa in 1886, adopting the pen name "Ahad Ha'am". His first article was published in 1889. Ginsberg wrote a number of articles and essays during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries focused on the Jewish community and the direction of Zionism. He was mainly a proponent of a moderate movement focused on cultural Zionism in contrast to the practical Zionism he observed when visiting Palestine. Some of his famous essays include "Truth from Eretz Israel" and "Lo zu haderekh" (This is not the way).

He also founded the Hebrew monthly newspaper Ha-Shiloaḥ, a prominent Hebrew-language literary journal in the early twentieth century, and was chief editor from 1886-1902 before stepping down.

After his move to Tel Aviv in Palestine he published a 4-volume collection of his essays called "Al Parashat Derakhim" as well as a 6-volume collection of his edited letters.

Ha-Shiloah

With the collapse of his family business in 1896, Ginsberg had to turn to Hebrew literature to be his main source of income. He subsequently accepted a position as Director of the Ahiasaf Publishing Company, moving to Warsaw to be at the company's headquarters. Ginsberg had to help produce the company's annual almanac for 1896, but he left soon after for Berlin to pursue a more appealing project, a monthly Hebrew journal where he would take the role of chief editor.

Ahad Ha'am named the publication Ha-Shiloah after a river in the Bible. The river in the Bible was known for water that goes softly, and he wanted his monthly to reflect the slow, methodical development of Hebrew literature he hoped his monthly would curate.

Ahad's desire for a respected Hebrew journal drove him to run the monthly with a high standard and tight control. His goal was to create a journal that was Judeocentric with the same quality of respected European journals at the time. To create this standard, prose and fictional writings were kept to separate sections, and had to maintain the theme of focus on the Jewish experience. Ahad Ha'am's editorial style was also thorough and aggressive, often omitting entire pages of articles and restructuring whole essays where he deemed fit. Though the journal was respected by Western scholars the sales were small and dwindled every year, and Ahad eventually resigned in October 1902 as he predicted the paper would soon be closed.

Despite Ha-Shiloah's low sales, Ahad Ha'am's strict curation and editorial style led to him being recognized as a key contributor in the development of a new, secular Hebrew essay writing style that is now known as the Odessa Style. This style is often described as being clear, succinct, positivist, and anti-romantic, and it almost entirely focuses on Jewish topics. As editor of Ha-Shiloa from 1896 until 1902, Ahad Ha-Am established the Odessa Style as a benchmark for Hebrew writing.

Zionist Activism[edit]

In his early thirties, Ginsberg moved to Odessa where he was influenced by Leon Pinsker, a leader in the Hovevei Zion (Lovers of Zion) movement, whose goal was settlement of Jews in Palestine. He briefly joined the Hovevei Zion movement but soon after became a critic of its leadership and settlement activities in Palestine. Unlike Pinsker, Ginsberg did not believe in the ideology of political Zionism, which he fought 'with a vehemence and austerity which embittered that whole period'. He believed that the goal of establishing national autonomy in Palestine was unrealistic. Ginsberg was also critical of Practical Zionism. Instead he hailed the spiritual value of the Hebrew renaissance to counter the debilitating fragmentation (hitpardut) in the Jewish diaspora, and he believed that the ingathering of Jews in Palestine was not an answer to the "Jewish Question". The real answer lay in achieving a spiritual centre, or 'central domicile', within Palestine, that of Eretz Israel, which would form an exemplary model for the dispersed world of Jewry in exile to imitate; a spiritual focus for the circumferential world of the Jewish diaspora. His first essay criticizing Practical Zionism was entitled "Lo zu haderekh", or "This is Not the Way", and the article was published in 1888.

The is Not the Way

Published in 1889, "This is Not the Way", also known as "The Wrong Way", was Ginsberg's first essay criticizing the practical Zionist movement.

The ideas presented in this essay served as the basis for the ideology of the B'nei Moshe, a secret society founded by Ginsberg in the same year to promote Hebrew language and Jewish cultural revival, which operated until 1897.

The First Zionist Congress

He split from the Zionist movement after the First Zionist Congress, feeling that the program of political Zionism proposed by Theodore Herzl and other leaders was impractical and did not properly address issues pertaining to the Jewish Diaspora. In an essay entitled The First Zionist Congress (1897), he states that:

“the emancipation of ourselves from the inner slavery and the spiritual degradation which assimilation has produced in us, and the strengthening of our national unity by joint action in every sphere of our national life, until we become capable and worthy of a life of dignity and freedom at some time in the future.”

His criticism of political Zionism would give way to the development of his doctrine of cultural Zionism.

Cultural Zionism[edit]

The ideas perpetuated through Ginsberg's essays and criticisms regarding the Zionist movement constituted what is known today as Cultural Zionism. This ideology promoted cultural and linguistic revival throughout the Jewish diaspora, and allowed for, but did not require, the creation of a Jewish state which would serve as a cultural and spiritual center for the diaspora. Ginsberg and the ideology of cultural Zionism placed importance on issues plaguing Judaism as an identity rather than the problems of individual Jews. Throughout his career Ahad Ha'am worked to keep the flame of Jewish nationalism alive. Emphasis fell on the moral underpinnings of Judaism and national revitalization.

Importance of Hebrew and Jewish Culture[edit]

Ahad Ha'am's ideas were popular at a very difficult time for Zionism beginning after the failures of the First Aliyah (1882-1903) to establish effective farming settlements and continued conflict between the Arab natives of Palestine. His writings emphasized the importance of reviving Hebrew and Jewish culture both in Palestine and throughout the Jewish Diaspora. Ahad Ha'am played an important role in the revival of the Hebrew language and Jewish culture, and in cementing a link between the proposed Jewish state and Hebrew culture.

Political Influence[edit]

Ahad Ha’am's proposal to the Paris Peace Conference, 1919 Ahad Ha'am's influence in the political realm can be ascribed to his charismatic personality and spiritual authority rather than his official functions. For the "Democratic Fraction," a party that espoused cultural Zionism (founded in 1901 by Chaim Weizmann), he served "as a symbol for the movement's culturalists, the faction's most coherent totem. He was, however, not – certainly not to the extent to which members of this group, especially Chaim Weizmann, would later contend – its chief ideological influence."

Ahad Ha'am was a talented negotiator. In this role he was engaged during the "language controversy" that accompanied the founding of the Haifa Technikum (today: the Technion) and in the negotiations culminating in the Balfour Declaration.

Legacy and commemoration[edit]

Many cities in Israel have streets named after Ahad Ha'am. In Petah Tikva there is a high school named after him, Ahad Ha'am High School. There is also a room named after him at the Beit Ariela Library, Ahad Ha'am Room.

Published works[edit]

• Ten Essays on Zionism and Judaism, Translated from the Hebrew by Leon Simon, Arno Press, 1973 (reprint of 1922 ed.). ISBN 0-405-05267-7
• Essays, Letters, Memoirs, Translated from the Hebrew and edited by Leon Simon. East and West Library, 1946.
• Selected Essays, Translated from the Hebrew by Leon Simon. The Jewish Publication Society of America, 1912.
• Nationalism and the Jewish Ethic; Basic Writings of Ahad Ha'am, Edited and Introduced by Hans Kohn. Schocken Books, 1962

*Final Works Put into Wiki Article:**

Visits to Palestine

Ahad Ha'am with Bezalel Art School founder Boris Schatz against backdrop of "The Wandering Jew" by Samuel Hirszenberg

Ahad Ha'am travelled frequently to Palestine and published reports about the progress of Jewish settlement there. The essays were generally critical, focusing on the shortcomings of the movement. They reported on hunger, on Arab dissatisfaction and unrest, on unemployment, and on people leaving Palestine. In an essay soon after his 1891 journey to the area he warned against the 'great error', believing the movement was doom to failure with resistance in land purchases, local attitudes, economic feasibility, and lack of nationalist motivation.

Truth from Eretz Israel

Ahad Ha'am first visited Palestine in 1891 (the Ottoman Vilayet (province) of Beirut and the Sanjak (district) of Jerusalem), to observe the progress of the First Aliyah, or the first wave of Jewish immigration to Palestine (1882-1903). When he returned home, he published a series of five essays in the St. Petersburg-based Hebrew paper Ha-Melitz entitled "Truth From Eretz Israel". The essays were a comprehensive critique of the immigration efforts from both logistical and ethical perspectives, presenting a somber report of future Jewish colonization efforts there.

"Truth from Eretz Israel" raised concerns about the Turkish government and native Arab population, both of whom would heavily resist the transformation of Palestine into a Jewish state. The essay also questioned the survival and prosperity of Jewish settlers currently in Palestine. The reliance on viticulture was unproven and currently unsustainable for Jewish farmers. This, along with inflated land prices, raised additional barriers to any goal of Zionism. Ahad Ha'am ultimately believed the Hovevei Zion movement would be a failure because the new villages were dependent on the largesse of outside benefactors, and the impoverished settlers of his day would struggle to build any Jewish homeland.

The series of essays is considered to be among the first works to seriously address the "Arab Issue" within the Zionist movement. Ahad Ha'am was critical of the Jewish people's treatment and attitude towards the native Arab population:

"We who live abroad are accustomed to believing that the Arabs are all wild desert people who, like donkeys, neither see nor understand what is happening around them. But this is a grave mistake."

The essay then claims that the Arabs knew of Zionist's intentions but played along for the increased wages and property values. Though it was only briefly mentioned, Ahad Ha'am also forewarned that if Jewish settlers began to truly overtake the Arab's way of life, they will not yield lightly, accurately foreshadowing the decades of conflict that would occur in the region.

Ahad Ha'am believed the solution was to bring Jews to Palestine gradually, while turning it into a cultural centre. At the same time, it was incumbent upon Zionism to inspire a revival of Jewish national life in the Diaspora. Only then would the Jewish people be strong enough to assume the mantle of building a nation state.

The series was criticized heavily within the Zionist movement, with many claiming that the essays provided a one-sided view of the Jewish national efforts, and others claiming that the series defamed Jewish settlers, both generally and specifically in Palestine. Ahad Ha'am's critiques of the Hovevei Zionists, an organization of which he was a member, cemented his reputation as an internal critic and moral compass for Zionism.

References for Bibliography