The Book of the People: The Hebrew Encyclopedic Project and the National Self

Dan Tsahor

Published by De Gruyter 2023

The Book of the People

The Hebrew Encyclopedic Project and the National Self

Dan Tsahor

Volume 117 in the series Studia Judaica

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111062464

Overview
Contents

About this book

Hebrew encyclopedias have an intriguing history. The genre, which began as modest initiatives to disseminate general knowledge and strengthen literacy among Russian Jews, quickly became the most popular in modern Hebrew literature, with tens of thousands of subscribers to publications such as Encyclopaedia Hebraica and Encyclopaedia Biblica.
The makers of these vast bodies of knowledge hoped to demonstrate Hebrew’s mimetic power and the vitality of newly created Jewish research institutions. They also hoped that the encyclopedias would be an essential tool in shaping and reshaping Zionist national culture and nurturing an ideal national persona. Thus, the printed pages of the encyclopedias give us unique access to what Zionists were saying about themselves, how they perceived their neighbors, and what they were hoping for the future, thereby going beyond the official Zionists documents, newspaper articles, and the writings of intellectuals that have been used extensively by historians to narrate national consciousness.
By bringing to the fore these unique texts, The Book of the People presents common perceptions of memory and collective identity that often do not fit with the narratives offered by historians of Zionism. In doing so, the book also exposes ethical codes that regulated the production of Zionist knowledge and endowed the encyclopedias with a rare status as a bona fide source for truths by people from diverse political and social backgrounds.

Author / Editor information

Dan Tsahor, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem, Israel.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	I
Acknowledgment Publicly Available Download PDF	VII
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	XI
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Chapter One Amass: Knowledge in the Making of a Nation Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	16
Chapter Two Introspection: Creating Singularity at the Outset of the Zionist Movement Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	48
Chapter Three Decentralization: The Breakdown of the National Utopia Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	96
Chapter Four Normality: The Migration of Knowledge to Palestine Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	142
Chapter Five Omnipotence: Making the Israeli Canon Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	172
Aftermath Zionist Historiography from a Bird’s Eye View Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	205
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	208
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	214

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: De Gruyter
Audience: Scholars in the fields of Modern Jewish History, Zionism and Israel Studies.
Pages
- Front matter: 10
- Main content: 218
Illustrations
- Illustrations: 3
- Coloured Illustrations: 27
Keywords: Zionism; National Knowledge; Encyclopedias; Objectivity

eBook

Published: July 4, 2023
ISBN: 9783111062464

Hardcover

Published: August 7, 2023
ISBN: 9783111061375