Language:
English
Year of publication:
2024
Titel der Quelle:
European Journal of Jewish Studies
Angaben zur Quelle:
18,1 (2024) 106-129
Keywords:
Asch, Sholem,
;
Mary In literature
;
Rachel In literature
;
Yiddish fiction History and criticism
;
Mothers in literature
;
Judaism Relations
;
Christianity
;
Christianity and other religions Judaism
Abstract:
A close examination of early twentieth-century literature written in Hebrew and Yiddish reveals that many of its first representations of Christianity put a central emphasis on Mary. This fact has been overlooked in previous scholarship fixated on the role of Jesus. Our article aims to fill this lacuna by focusing on Mary’s appearance in a short, controversial story published in 1909 by Sholem Asch. Through a close reading of Mary’s encounter with the matriarch Rachel, we define Asch’s ‘maternal model,’ an alternative paradigm for Jewish-Christian relations. We argue that the marginalization of Mary from the scholarly conversation is not a slipup. Rather, it is part of a gendered scheme that prioritized Jesus over his mother and narratives of persecution and victimhood over care and obligation. We show how Asch’s artfully constructed fictional formation offers a political position founded on empathy and interconnectivity.
DOI:
10.1163/1872471x-bja10071
URL:
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