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Theodor Herzl, George Eliot, and Me

by Erika Dreifus on
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If you follow me on Goodreads, you know that not long ago, I was reading George Eliot’s Daniel Deronda.

Today’s edition of Jewish Ideas Daily features some reflections on that reading.

In the beginning, there was Theodor Herzl. Or so I thought. I have a Ph.D. in European history, but I have long been aware of the deficiencies in my knowledge of Jewish history and my Israel literacy. So when I discovered the opportunity to take a non-credit course on Zionism here in New York, I jumped at the chance.

Once enrolled, I learned just how much Zionist history there was before Herzl. Our initial sessions were devoted to a variety of Zionist forerunners and an extensive documentary legacy that anticipated Herzl’s visionary 1896 pamphlet, The Jewish State.

I was dutifully taking notes during our second class meeting when our professor mentioned another text that expressed Zionist sentiments well before Herzl took up his mission. But unlike the writings of Rabbis Yehuda Alkalai and Zvi Hirsch Kalischer, or those of Leon Pinsker and Ahad Ha’am, this text was written in English, and by a woman who wasn’t even Jewish. Somewhat surprisingly, it wasn’t a polemic or a pamphlet. It was a novel by George Eliot (the pen name of Mary Anne Evans), Daniel Deronda, published in 1876, 21 years before Herzl convened the First Zionist Congress.

To read the rest of my essay, please click here.

Jewish Literary Links for Shabbat

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

Photo Credit: Reut Miryam Cohen
Every Friday morning My Machberet presents an assortment of links, primarily of the literary variety.

  • Can you describe your Jewish mom in six words? The Forward would like you to try.
  • “This is a complicated story, but here goes.” So begins Joan Acocella’s (The New Yorker) tale of book-reviewing, Primo Levi, and Israel.
  • This month’s Jewish Book Carnival is hosted by the Jewish Book Council, and there are some real goodies included.
  • A fascinating glimpse into Albert Einstein’s last speech.
  • Finally, I wish I could attend the “Holocaust Lives” panel at this weekend’s Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. Panelists include Jonathan Kirsch, Jewish Journal Books Editor and author of a book I’m especially eager to read: The Short, Strange Life of Herschel Grynszpan. (See Michael Berenbaum’s review.)

    • Shabbat shalom.

    Jewish Literary Links for Shabbat

    by Erika Dreifus on
    3

    Photo Credit: Reut Miryam Cohen
    Every Friday morning My Machberet presents an assortment of links, primarily of the literary variety.

  • Rebecca Klempner presents a true Passover story that epitomizes an instance when reality seems stranger than fiction.
  • Many of us perceive Tay-Sachs disease to be a malady that strikes only Jewish families; Emily Rapp isn’t Jewish, but her son, Ronan, recently succumbed to the disease. Judy Bolton-Fasman writes about Rapp’s new memoir, which opens with Ronan’s diagnosis.
  • Canada-based author Ayelet Tsabari recently wrote a series of guest posts, my favorite of which deals with the challenges she has faced in writing about Israel.
  • Beth Kissileff profiles Shimon Adaf, most recent recipient of Israel’s prestigious Sapir Prize.
  • Latest Quiet Americans news.

    • Shabbat shalom.

    Jewish Literary Links for Shabbat

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

    Photo Credit: Reut Miryam Cohen
    Every Friday morning My Machberet presents an assortment of links, primarily of the literary variety.

  • Tempting conference coming up at Princeton University on Sunday, April 7: “American Jewish Culture: ‘Fresh Vitality in Every Direction.'” Including literary directions.
  • If you aspire to write Jewish-themed children’s books, you may want to look into this workshop, scheduled for June at the Highlights Foundation in Honesdale, Penn.
  • The Ilanot Review seeks “hybrid literary texts” for its next issue. Deadline: April 30.
  • New to me this week: TheTower.org, which “features reporting and analysis of geopolitical, security, economic, social and other events and trends affecting the Middle East and America’s interests in the region.” (h/t @dg_myers)
  • Thanks to David Remnick, you may feel as though you, too, were able to attend Philip Roth’s 80th birthday party.

    • Shabbat shalom.