How and When Was Modern Hebrew Literature Born?

A Synchronic Historiographical Examination

Abstract

In this article we examine the moment Modern Hebrew literature was "invented" and argue that it did not come to be through a single writer or single work, but rather through the joint effort of various Eastern and Central European writers who were motivated by the same passion - to create a sense of life new and different from that of the past. We seek to describe the literary scene at the point in space-time that enabled the birth of Modern Hebrew literature. We focus on three authors whose contribution we consider crucial. We argue that the different literary embodiments were fueld by the urgent need to create a new sense of life, and thus the formation of a new national literary field was enabled.