The Russian-Jewish Tradition Intellectuals, Historians, Revolutionaries [Hardcover]

This book argues that Jews were not a people apart but were culturally integrated in Russian society. In their diasporic cultural creations Russias Jews employed the general themes of artists under tsars and Soviets, but they modified these themes to fit their own needs. The result was a hybrid, Russian-Jewish culture, unique and dynamic. Few today consider that Jewish Eastern Europe, the old world, was in fact a power incubator of modern Jewish consciousness. Brian Horowitz, a well-known scholar of Russian Jewry, presents essays on Jewish education (the heder), historiography, literature and Jewish philosophy that intersect with contemporary interests on the big questions of Jewish life. The book lets us grasp the meaning of secular Judaism and gives models from the past in order to stimulate ideas for the present. Brian Horowitz's beautifully written essays illustrate the vibrancy and vicissitudes of Russian Jewish thought in the late Imperial and early Soviet periods. With mastery of Hebrew, Yiddish, Russian, and German sources, he plumbs the depths of philosophy and fiction to convey the subtleties of Jewish intellectual history all the while countering the stereotype of Jewish victimization. Through this learned, wide-ranging collection of articles on a fascinating generation of Jewish intellectuals, historians and authors, Brian Horowitz provides an invaluable set of insights into the many different connections between Russian and Jewish cultures and societies. With articles on S. An-sky, Simon Dubnow, Vladimir Jabotinsky and other key figures, this book will soon become required reading for students and scholars of Russian, Jewish and East European histories. Brian Horowitzis the holder of the Sizeler Family Chair in Jewish Studies at Tulane University in New Orleans. He is an expert on the Jews of Eastern Europe and author of a number of books, includingEmpire Jews,Jewish Philanthropy and Education in Late-Tsarist Russia, andRussiló¿