Hebrew literature consists of ancient, medieval, and modern writings in the

Hebrew language Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

. It is one of the primary forms of

Jewish literature Jewish literature includes works written by Jews on Jewish themes, literary works written in Jewish languages on various themes, and literary works in any language written by Jewish writers. Ancient Jewish literature includes Biblical literature a ...

, though there have been cases of literature written in Hebrew by

non-Jews Gentile () is a word that usually means "someone who is not a Jews, Jew". Other Groups claiming affiliation with Israelites, groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, sometimes use the term ''gentile'' to describe outsiders. More ra ...

. Hebrew literature was produced in many different parts of the world throughout the medieval and modern eras, while contemporary Hebrew literature is largely

Israeli literature Israeli literature is literature written in the State of Israel by Israelis. Most works classed as Israeli literature are written in the Hebrew language, although some Israeli authors write in Yiddish, English, Arabic and Russian. History Heb ...

. In 1966, Agnon won the

Nobel Prize for Literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...

for novels and short stories that employ a unique blend of biblical, Talmudic and modern Hebrew, making him the first Hebrew writer to receive this award.

Ancient era

Literature in Hebrew begins with the

oral literature Oral literature, orature or folk literature is a genre of literature that is spoken or sung as opposed to that which is written, though much oral literature has been transcribed. There is no standard definition, as anthropologists have used vary ...

of the ' (), "The

Holy Language A sacred language, holy language or liturgical language is any language that is cultivated and used primarily in church service or for other religious reasons by people who speak another, primary language in their daily lives. Concept A sacr ...

", since ancient times and with the teachings of

Abraham Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jew ...

, the first of the biblical patriarchs of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, c. 2000 BCE . Beyond comparison, the most important work of ancient Hebrew literature is the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...

(

Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''

Mishna The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Torah ...

, compiled around 200 CE, is the primary rabbinic codification of laws as derived from the

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...

. It was written in

Mishnaic Hebrew Mishnaic Hebrew is the Hebrew of Talmudic texts. Mishnaic Hebrew can be sub-divided into Mishnaic Hebrew proper (also called Tannaitic Hebrew, Early Rabbinic Hebrew, or Mishnaic Hebrew I), which was a spoken language, and Amoraic Hebrew (also cal ...

, but the major commentary on it, the

Gemara The Gemara (also transliterated Gemarah, or in Yiddish Gemo(r)re; from Aramaic , from the Semitic root ג-מ-ר ''gamar'', to finish or complete) is the component of the Talmud comprising rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah w ...

, was largely written in

Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...

. Many works of classical

midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...

were written in Hebrew.

Medieval era

During the medieval period, the majority of Jewish and Hebrew literature was composed in Islamic North Africa, Spain, Palestine, and the Middle East. Many works of medieval

philosophical Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

literature such as Maimonides' ''

Guide to the Perplexed ''The Guide for the Perplexed'' ( ar, دلالة الحائرين, Dalālat al-ḥā'irīn, ; he, מורה נבוכים, Moreh Nevukhim) is a work of Jewish theology by Maimonides. It seeks to reconcile Aristotelianism with Rabbinical Jewish the ...

'' and '' The Kuzari'', as well as many works of fiction, were written in

Judeo-Arabic Judeo-Arabic dialects (, ; ; ) are ethnolects formerly spoken by Jews throughout the Arabic-speaking world. Under the ISO 639 international standard for language codes, Judeo-Arabic is classified as a macrolanguage under the code jrb, encomp ...

. Works of

rabbinic literature Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, is the entire spectrum of rabbinic writings throughout Jewish history. However, the term often refers specifically to literature from the Talmudic era, as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic writ ...

were more often written in Hebrew, including:

Torah commentaries Jewish commentaries on the Bible are biblical commentaries of the Hebrew Bible (the Tanakh) from a Jewish perspective. Translations into Aramaic and English, and some universally accepted Jewish commentaries with notes on their method of approach a ...

by Abraham ibn Ezra,

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki ( he, רבי שלמה יצחקי; la, Salomon Isaacides; french: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (see below), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a compre ...

and others; codifications of

Jewish law ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Judaism, Jewish religious laws which is derived from the Torah, written and Oral Tora ...

, such as

Maimonides Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...

Mishneh Torah The ''Mishneh Torah'' ( he, מִשְׁנֵה תּוֹרָה, , repetition of the Torah), also known as ''Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka'' ( he, ספר יד החזקה, , book of the strong hand, label=none), is a code of Rabbinic Jewish religious law ('' ...

, the

Arba'ah Turim ''Arba'ah Turim'' ( he, אַרְבָּעָה טוּרִים), often called simply the ''Tur'', is an important Halakhic code composed by Yaakov ben Asher (Cologne, 1270 – Toledo, Spain c. 1340, also referred to as ''Ba'al Ha-Turim''). The f ...

, and the

Shulchan Aruch The ''Shulchan Aruch'' ( he, שֻׁלְחָן עָרוּך , literally: "Set Table"), sometimes dubbed in English as the Code of Jewish Law, is the most widely consulted of the various legal codes in Judaism. It was authored in Safed (today in Is ...

; and works of

Musar literature Musar literature is didactic Jewish ethical literature which describes virtues and vices and the path towards character improvement. This literature gives the name to the Musar movement, in 19th century Lithuania, but this article considers such l ...

(didactic ethical literature) such as Bahya ibn Paquda's '' Chovot ha-Levavot'' (''The Duties of the Heart''). One work of fiction which was written in Hebrew was the "Fox Fables" by Berechiah ben Natronai ha-Nakdan, Hebrew fables which resemble

Aesop's fables Aesop's Fables, or the Aesopica, is a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and storyteller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 564 BCE. Of diverse origins, the stories associated with his name have descended to ...

. Much medieval Jewish poetry was written in Hebrew, including liturgical

piyyutim A ''piyyut'' or ''piyut'' (plural piyyutim or piyutim, he, פִּיּוּטִים / פיוטים, פִּיּוּט / פיוט ; from Greek ποιητής ''poiētḗs'' "poet") is a Jewish liturgical poem, usually designated to be sung, ch ...

in Palestine in the seventh and eighth centuries by Yose ben Yose, Yanai, and

Eleazar Kalir Eleazar ben Kalir, also known as Eleazar HaKalir, Eleazar ben Killir or Eleazar Kalir (c. 570c. 640) was a Byzantine Jew and a Hebrew poet whose classical liturgical verses, known as '' piyut'', have continued to be sung through the centuries dur ...

. These poems were added to the Hebrew-language liturgy. This liturgy was compiled in book form as "the siddur" by rabbis including

Amram Gaon Amram Gaon ( he, עמרם גאון, or Amram bar Sheshna, Hebrew: עמרם בר רב ששנא, or sometimes: Amram ben Sheshna or Amram b. Sheshna; died 875) was a '' gaon'', head of the Jewish Talmud Academy of Sura during the 9th century. H ...

and

Saadia Gaon Saʻadiah ben Yosef Gaon ( ar, سعيد بن يوسف الفيومي ''Saʻīd bin Yūsuf al-Fayyūmi''; he, סַעֲדְיָה בֶּן יוֹסֵף אַלְפַיּוּמִי גָּאוֹן ''Saʿăḏyāh ben Yōsēf al-Fayyūmī Gāʾōn''; ...

. Later Spanish, Provençal, and Italian poets wrote both religious and secular poems; particularly prominent poets were

Solomon ibn Gabirol Solomon ibn Gabirol or Solomon ben Judah ( he, ר׳ שְׁלֹמֹה בֶּן יְהוּדָה אִבְּן גָּבִּירוֹל, Shlomo Ben Yehuda ibn Gabirol, ; ar, أبو أيوب سليمان بن يحيى بن جبيرول, ’Abū ’Ayy ...

Yehuda Halevi Judah Halevi (also Yehuda Halevi or ha-Levi; he, יהודה הלוי and Judah ben Shmuel Halevi ; ar, يهوذا اللاوي ''Yahuḏa al-Lāwī''; 1075 – 1141) was a Spanish Jewish physician, poet and philosopher. He was born in Spain, ...

, and Yehuda al-Harizi. Most were also active in translating Jewish rabbinic and secular literature from Arabic into Hebrew. Only one Hebrew poem by a woman is attested for the medieval period (and is both the first and the last for some centuries): composed by the wife of Dunash ben Labrat, it laments Dunash's departure into exile.

Modern era

In addition to writing traditional

in Hebrew, modern Jews developed new forms of fiction, poetry, and essay-writing, which are typically called "Modern Hebrew Literature."

18th century

By the early eighteenth century, Jewish literature was still dominated by Sephardic authors, often writing in

. Moses Hayyim Luzzatto's allegorical drama "La-Yesharim Tehillah" (1743) may be regarded as the first product of modern Hebrew literature. It has been referred to as "a poem that in its classic perfection of style is second only to the Bible." Luzzatto's pupil in Amsterdam,

David Franco Mendes David Franco Mendes (; 13 August 1713 – 10 October 1792), also known as David Ḥofshi (), was a Dutch-Jewish Hebrew-language poet. He was an early member of the Haskalah in Holland. Biography A businessman, he devoted his leisure hours to the ...

(1713–92), in his imitations of

Jean Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditio ...

("Gemul 'Atalyah") and of

Metastasio Pietro Antonio Domenico Trapassi (3 January 1698 – 12 April 1782), better known by his pseudonym of Pietro Metastasio (), was an Italian poet and librettist, considered the most important writer of ''opera seria'' libretti. Early life Me ...

("Yehudit"), continued his master's work, though his works are not as respected as were Luzzatto's. Later in the eighteenth century, the

Haskalah The ''Haskalah'', often termed Jewish Enlightenment ( he, השכלה; literally, "wisdom", "erudition" or "education"), was an intellectual movement among the Jews of Central and Eastern Europe, with a certain influence on those in Western Euro ...

(Jewish enlightenment) movement worked to achieve political emancipation for Jews in Europe, and European Jews gradually began to produce more literature in the mould of earlier Middle Eastern Jewish authors.

Moses Mendelssohn Moses Mendelssohn (6 September 1729 – 4 January 1786) was a German-Jewish philosopher and theologian. His writings and ideas on Jews and the Jewish religion and identity were a central element in the development of the ''Haskalah'', or 'Je ...

's translation of the Hebrew Bible into

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

inspired interest in the Hebrew language that led to the founding of a quarterly review written in Hebrew. Other periodicals followed. Poetry by

Naphtali Hirz Wessely Naphtali Hirz (Hartwig) Wessely ( yi, נפתלי הירץ וויזעל, translit=Naftali Hirtz Vizel; 9 December 1725 – 28 February 1805) was an 18th-century German-Jewish Hebraist and educationist. Family history One of Wessely's ancestors, ...

such as "Shire Tif'eret," or "Mosiade," made Wessely, so to speak, poet laureate of the period.

19th century

In nineteenth-century Galicia, poets, scholars, and popular writers who contributed to the dissemination of Hebrew and to the emancipation of the Jews of Galicia included: *

Joseph Perl Joseph Perl (also ''Josef Perl''; November 10, 1773, Ternopil – October 1, 1839, Ternopil), was an Ashkenazi Jewish educator and writer, a scion of the Haskalah or Jewish Enlightenment. He wrote in Hebrew, Yiddish, and German; in 1819, he publi ...

(1773–1839), writer and educator who, in 1819, published '' Revealer of Secrets'', the first Hebrew novel. *

Nachman Krochmal Nachman HaKohen Krochmal ( he, נחמן קְרוֹכְמַל; born in Brody, Galicia, on 17 February 1785; died at Ternopil on 31 July 1840) was a Jewish Galician philosopher, theologian, and historian. Biography He began the study of the Talmud ...

(1785–1840), a philosopher, theologian, and historian. *

Solomon Judah Loeb Rapoport Solomon Judah Löb HaKohen Rapoport ( he, שלמה יהודה כהן רפאפורט; June 1, 1786 – October 15, 1867) was a Galician and Czech rabbi and Jewish scholar. Rapoport was known by an acronym "Shir", שי"ר occasionally שיל ...

(1790–1867), a rabbi, poet, and biographer *

Isaac Erter Isaac Erter (, ; 1792 – April 1851) was a Polish-Jewish satirist and poet of the Galician Haskalah. His Hebrew prose has been compared to that of writers Heinrich Heine and Ludwig Börne. Biography Isaac Erter was born into the family of a po ...

(1792–1841), a satirical poet whose collection of essays, "Ha-Tzofeh le-Bet Yisrael," is one of the purest works of modern Hebrew literature, attacking

Hasidic Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contem ...

superstitions and prejudices in a vigorous and classical style. * Meir Halevy Letteris (1800–1871), a lyric poet also known for his adaption of

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...

's ''

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroads ...

'' into Hebrew. In

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, a circle of Hebrew-language literary artists emerged in the nineteenth century, including the poet Samuel Molder (1789–1862).

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

became an active center for the

in the nineteenth century, and the best known among the

writers there was Jehudah Loeb Jeiteles (1773–1838), author of witty epigrams ("Bene ha-Ne'urim") and of works directed against

Hasidism Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contem ...

and against

superstition A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly applied to beliefs and ...

. In

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

, Hebrew-language authors included Solomon Lewison of Moor (1789–1822), author of "Melitzat Yeshurun"; Gabriel Südfeld, a poet who was the father of

Max Nordau Max Simon Nordau (born ''Simon Maximilian Südfeld''; 29 July 1849 – 23 January 1923) was a Zionist leader, physician, author, and social critic. He was a co-founder of the Zionist Organization together with Theodor Herzl, and president or vic ...

; and the poet

Simon Bacher Simon Bacher (February 1, 1823, Liptovský Mikuláš – November 9, 1891, Budapest), born Shimon ben Yitzḥak Bacharach (), was a Hungarian Jewish Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. H ...

. A notable Jewish author in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

during the nineteenth century was the physician and writer Julius Barasch. Italian Jews of the nineteenth-century who wrote in Hebrew included

I. S. Reggio Isaac Samuel Reggio (YaShaR) (Hebrew: , ) (15 August 1784 – 29 August 1855) was an Austro-Italian scholar and rabbi. He was born and died in Gorizia. Reggio studied Hebrew and rabbinics under his father, Abraham Vita, later rabbi of Gorizia, acq ...

(1784–1854), Joseph Almanzi, Hayyim Salomon, Samuel Vita Lolli (1788–1843). Another figure of note was Rachel Morpurgo (1790–1860), who was one of the few female writers in the

movement, and whose poems have been described as characterized by "religious piety and a mystic faith in Israel's future." The best known Italian writer was

Samuel David Luzzatto Samuel David Luzzatto ( he, שמואל דוד לוצאטו, ; 22 August 1800 – 30 September 1865), also known by the Hebrew acronym Shadal (), was an Italian Jewish scholar, poet, and a member of the Wissenschaft des Judentums movement. Early ...

(1800–65) was the first modern writer to introduce religious

romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

into Hebrew and to attack northern rationalism in the name of religious and national feeling. Prominent Hebrew writers in the

Russian empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

in the nineteenth century included: *the poet and mathematician Jacob Eichenbaum (1796–1861) *the Haskalah leader Isaac Baer Levinsohn *

Kalman Schulman Kalman Schulman (1819 – January 2, 1899) was a Jewish writer who pioneered modern Hebrew literature. Life Schulman was born in 1819 in Bykhaw, Mogilev Governorate, Russia. He came from a Hassidic family. Schulman studied Hebrew and the Talmu ...

(1826–1900), who introduced the romantic form into Hebrew *the

romantic poet Romantic poetry is the poetry of the Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. It involved a reaction against prevailing Enlightenment ideas of the 18t ...

Micah Joseph Lebensohn Micah Joseph Lebensohn (; (2 February 1828 – 17 February 1852), also known by the pen name Mikhal (), was one of the foremost poets and translators of the Haskalah in Vilna. He is best known for his innovative narrative Biblical romances a ...

(1828–52) *the Lithuanian author Mordecai Aaron Ginzburg, known as "the father of prose" *Lithuanian poet Abraham Baer Lebensohn, known as the "father of poetry," whose poems "Shire Sefat Kodesh" were extraordinarily successful. *

Abraham Mapu Abraham Mapu (1808 in Vilijampolė, Kaunas1867 in Königsberg, Prussia) was a Lithuanian novelist. He wrote in Hebrew as part of the Haskalah (enlightenment) movement. His novels, with their lively plots encompassing heroism, adventure and romanti ...

(1808–67), the creator of the Hebrew novel, whose historical romance "Ahabat Tziyyon" exercised an important influence on the development of Hebrew. The poet

Judah Leib Gordon Judah Leib (Ben Asher) Gordon, also known as Leon Gordon, (December 7, 1830, Vilnius, Lithuania – September 16, 1892, St. Petersburg, Russia) (Hebrew: יהודה לייב גורדון) was among the most important Hebrew poets of the Jewish En ...

, also known as "Leon Gordon" (1831–1892), was a well-known

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...

poet who has been characterized as "an implacable enemy of the

Rabbis A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

20th century

Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

settlement in

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

intensified at the start of the twentieth century, Hebrew became the shared language of the various Jewish immigrant communities along with native

Palestinian Jews Palestinian Jews or Jewish Palestinians were the Jewish inhabitants of the Palestine region (known in Hebrew as ''Eretz Yisrael'', ) prior to the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. The common term used to refer to the Jewish commu ...

of the

Old Yishuv The Old Yishuv ( he, היישוב הישן, ''haYishuv haYashan'') were the Jewish communities of the southern Syrian provinces in the Ottoman period, up to the onset of Zionist aliyah and the consolidation of the New Yishuv by the end of Wor ...

, who continued the literary traditions of earlier Sephardic and Arab-Jewish writers such as Maimonedes (Moshe ibn Maimoun) and al-Harizi.

Eliezer Ben-Yehuda Eliezer Ben‑Yehuda ( he, אֱלִיעֶזֶר בֵּן־יְהוּדָה}; ; born Eliezer Yitzhak Perlman, 7 January 1858 – 16 December 1922) was a Russian–⁠Jewish linguist, grammarian, and journalist, renowned as the lexicographer of ...

in particular worked to adapt Hebrew to the needs of the modern world, turning to Hebrew sources from all periods and locales to develop a language that went beyond the sacred and poetic and was capable of articulating the modern experience. With the rise of the Zionist movement amongst Jews in Europe, Ashkenazi Jews embraced Hebrew literature and began to dominate it for the first time. The foundations of modern

i writing were laid by a group of literary pioneers from the

Second Aliyah The Second Aliyah ( he, העלייה השנייה, ''HaAliyah HaShniya'') was an aliyah (Jewish emigration to Palestine) that took place between 1904 and 1914, during which approximately 35,000 Jews immigrated into Ottoman-ruled Palestine, mos ...

including

Shmuel Yosef Agnon Shmuel Yosef Agnon ( he, שמואל יוסף עגנון; July 17, 1888 – February 17, 1970) was one of the central figures of modern Hebrew literature. In Hebrew, he is known by the acronym Shai Agnon (). In English, his works are published und ...

Moshe Smilansky Moshe Smilansky ( he, משה סמילנסקי; February 24, 1874 – October 6, 1953) was a pioneer of the First Aliyah, a Zionist leader who advocated peaceful coexistence with the Arabs in Mandatory Palestine, a farmer, and a prolific author ...

Yosef Haim Brenner Yosef Haim Brenner ( he, יוֹסֵף חַיִּים בְּרֶנֶר, translit=Yosef Ḥayyim Brener; 11 September 1881 – 2 May 1921) was a Hebrew-language author from the Russian Empire, and one of the pioneers of modern Hebrew literature. Bi ...

David Shimoni David Shimoni (Hebrew: דוד שמעוני) (25 August 1891 – 10 December 1956) was an Israeli poet, writer and translator. Shimonovitch (later David Shimoni) was born in Babruysk in Belarus (then part of the Russian Empire) to Nissim Shimo ...

and

Jacob Fichman Jacob Fichman ( he, יעקב פיכמן) also transliterated as Yakov Fichman (25 November 1881 – 18 May 1958), was an acclaimed Hebrew poet, essayist and literary critic. Biography Fichman was born in Bălți, Bessarabia, Moldova in 18 ...

Hayim Nahman Bialik Hayim Nahman Bialik ( he, חיים נחמן ביאַליק; January 9, 1873 – July 4, 1934), was a Jewish poet who wrote primarily in Hebrew but also in Yiddish. Bialik was one of the pioneers of modern Hebrew poetry. He was part of the vangu ...

(1873–1934) was one of the pioneers of modern Hebrew poets and came to be recognized as

national poet A national poet or national bard is a poet held by tradition and popular acclaim to represent the identity, beliefs and principles of a particular national culture. The national poet as culture hero is a long-standing symbo ...

. Bialik contributed significantly to the revival of the

, which before his days existed primarily as an ancient, scholarly, or poetic tongue. Bialik, like other great literary figures from the early part of the 20th century such as

Ahad Ha-Am Asher Zvi Hirsch Ginsberg (18 August 1856 – 2 January 1927), primarily known by his Hebrew name and pen name Ahad Ha'am ( he, אחד העם, lit. 'one of the people', Genesis 26:10), was a Hebrew essayist, and one of the foremost pre-state Z ...

and Tchernichovsky, spent his last years in Tel Aviv, and exerted a great influence on younger Hebrew writers; the impact of his work is evident throughout modern Hebrew literature. In parallel, a number of Palestinian and Levantine Jewish writers were influenced by the resurgence of Hebrew literature, and adopted Hebrew for their writings. In contrast to the experiences of pioneers such as Bialik, who were Ashkenazi immigrants from Europe, the Levantine Jewish writers were educated in Arabic literary traditions, and thus they incorporated many Arabic, Sephardic, and vernacular Palestinian themes and linguistic elements in their writing. Novelist

Yehuda Burla Yehuda Burla ( he, יהודה בורלא; born 18 September 1886, died 7 November 1969) was an Israeli author. Biography Burla was born in 1886 in Jerusalem, then part of the Ottoman Empire, to a Sephardi Jewish family with rabbinical roots, or ...

, born in Jerusalem in 1886, served in the Ottoman army, and later taught Hebrew and Arabic in Damascus. In 1961, he was awarded the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize ( he, פרס ישראל; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state cer ...

, for

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

. The novelist

Yitzhaq Shami Yitzhaq Shami ( he, יצחק שמי) (August 4, 1888 – March 1, 1949) was a Palestinian Jewish and Israeli writer, who wrote both in Arabic and Hebrew. He is one of the earliest modern Hebrew literature writers in Palestine, prior to Israeli s ...

was a Palestinian Jewish native of Hebron, and his work—which was written from the perspective of both Arabic-speaking Jews and Muslim Palestinians—incorporated diverse Arabic, Sephardic, and Middle Eastern themes. Shami holds a relatively unique place in Hebrew literature, since his writing is also recognized as Palestinian literature; in 2004 Shami was recognized by the Palestinian Academic Society as one of the important Palestinian writers. In 1966, Agnon won the

for novels and short stories that employ a unique blend of biblical, Talmudic and modern Hebrew.

Literary translators Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

into

Modern Hebrew Modern Hebrew ( he, עברית חדשה, ''ʿivrít ḥadašá ', , '' lit.'' "Modern Hebrew" or "New Hebrew"), also known as Israeli Hebrew or Israeli, and generally referred to by speakers simply as Hebrew ( ), is the standard form of the He ...

, most notably

Leah Goldberg Leah Goldberg or Lea Goldberg ( he, לאה גולדברג; May 29, 1911, Königsberg – January 15, 1970, Jerusalem) was a prolific Hebrew-language poet, author, playwright, literary translator, and comparative literary researcher. Her writ ...

among others, also contributed a great deal to Israeli-Hebrew literature through bringing international literature and literary figures into Hebrew circles through translation.

Goldberg Goldberg or Goldberger may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Goldberg Ensemble, a British string ensemble * ''Goldberg Variations'', a set of 30 keyboard variations by Johann Sebastian Bach * ''The Goldbergs (broadcast series)'', American radio ...

herself was also noted for being a prolific writer and pioneer of Israeli children's literature as well.

Contemporary era

A new generation of Hebrew writers emerged with the establishment of the

State of Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

in 1948. This new generation included the novelists

Aharon Megged Aharon Megged () (10 August 1920 – 23 March 2016) ( Hebrew year 5680) was an Israeli author and playwright. In 2003, he was awarded the Israel Prize for literature. Biography Aharon Greenberg (later Megged) was born in Włocławek, Poland. I ...

Nathan Shaham Nathan Shaham (Hebrew: נתן שחם; January 29, 1925 – June 18, 2018) was an Israeli writer. Biography Born in Tel Aviv, Shaham was a member of Kibbutz Beit Alfa from 1945-2018, and served with the Palmach in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. He w ...

, and

Moshe Shamir Moshe Shamir ( he, משה שמיר; 15 September 1921 – 20 August 2004) was an Israeli author, playwright, opinion writer, and public figure. He was the author of a play upon which Israeli film '' He Walked Through the Fields'' was based. Biogr ...

, and the poets Yehudah Amichai, Amir Gilboa, and

Haim Gouri Haim Gouri ( he, חיים גורי; Gurfinkel; 9 October 1923 – 31 January 2018) was an Israeli poet, novelist, journalist, and documentary filmmaker. Widely regarded as one of the country's greatest poets, he was awarded the Israel Prize ...

. The novels ''My Michael'' (1968) and ''Black Box'' (1987) by

Amos Oz Amos Oz ( he, עמוס עוז; born Amos Klausner; 4 May 1939 – 28 December 2018) was an Israeli writer, novelist, journalist, and intellectual. He was also a professor of Hebrew literature at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. From 1967 onw ...

and ''The Lover'' (1977) and ''Mr. Mani'' (1990) by A. B. Yehoshua describe life in the new state. These works also explore topics such as the conflict between parents and children and the rejection of some once-sacred ideals of

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...

and

Zionism Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a Nationalism, nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is ...

. Many Hebrew writers in the late twentieth century dealt with

the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

, women's issues, and the conflict between Israelis and Arabs. Another topic was the tension between Jews of European origin, the

Ashkenazim Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...

, and Jews of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean origin, the

Mizrahim Mizrahi Jews ( he, יהודי המִזְרָח), also known as ''Mizrahim'' () or ''Mizrachi'' () and alternatively referred to as Oriental Jews or ''Edot HaMizrach'' (, ), are a grouping of Jewish communities comprising those who remained i ...

and

Sephardim Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefar ...

. In 1986, the Palestinian-Israeli author

Anton Shammas Anton Shammas ( ar, أنطون شماس, he, אנטון שמאס; born 1950), is a Palestinian writer, poet and translator of Arabic, Hebrew and English. Biography Anton Shammas was one of six children born to a Palestinian father and a Lebanese ...

published the Hebrew novel "Arabesques", marking a milestone with the first major work of Hebrew literature written by a non-Jewish Israeli. Shammas's novel has been translated into a number of foreign languages. Modern Hebrew authors include

Ruth Almog Ruth Almog ( he, רות אלמוג) is an Israeli novelist. Life Almog was born 15 May 1936 in Petah Tikva, Mandatory Palestine to parents who immigrated from Hamburg in 1933. She studied at the David Yellin Teachers College, and at Tel Aviv Uni ...

, Aharon Appelfeld,

David Grossman David Grossman ( he, דויד גרוסמן; born January 25, 1954) is an Israeli author. His books have been translated into more than 30 languages. In 2018, he was awarded the Israel Prize for literature. Biography David Grossman was born i ...

Amalia Kahana-Carmon Amalia Kahana-Carmon () was an Israeli author and literary critic. She was awarded the Israel Prize for literature in 2000. Biography Amalia Kahana-Carmon was born in Kibbutz Ein Harod on October 18, 1926. She moved to Tel Aviv as a child and stu ...

Etgar Keret Etgar Keret ( he, אתגר קרת, born August 20, 1967) is an Israeli writer known for his short stories, graphic novels, and scriptwriting for film and television. Personal life Keret was born in Ramat Gan, Israel in 1967. He is a third child ...

Savyon Liebrecht Savyon Liebrecht (Hebrew: סביון ליברכט; born 13 January 1948) is an Israel author. She was born in Munich, Germany, to Polish Holocaust survivors as Sabine Sosnowski, the eldest of three children. She emigrated to Israel in 1950. Liebr ...

Sami Michael Sami Michael ( he, סמי מיכאל, ar, سامي ميخائيل; born August 15, 1926) is an Israeli author, having migrated from Iraq to Israel at the age of 23. Since 2001, Michael has been the President of The Association for Civil Rights ...

Yaakov Shabtai Yaakov Shabtai ( he, יעקב שבתאי; March 8, 1934 – August 4, 1981) was an Israeli novelist, playwright, and translator. Biography Shabtai was born in 1934 in Tel Aviv, Mandatory Palestine. In 1957, after completing military service, he ...

Meir Shalev Meir Shalev ( he, מאיר שלו; born 29 July 1948) is an Israeli writer and newspaper columnist for the daily Yedioth Ahronoth . Shalev's books have been translated into 26 languages. Biography Shalev was born in Nahalal, Israel. Later he ...

, and

Zeruya Shalev Zeruya Shalev ( he, צרויה שלו, born 13 May 1959) is a bestselling Israeli author. Biography Zeruya Shalev was born on Kibbutz Kinneret. She has an MA in Bible studies and works as a literary editor at Keshet publishing house. On 29 Ja ...

. Contemporary Israeli authors whose works have been translated into other languages and attained international recognition are

Ephraim Kishon Ephraim Kishon (: August 23, 1924 – January 29, 2005) was a Hungarian-born Israeli author, dramatist, screenwriter, and Academy Award, Oscar-nominated film director. He was one of the most widely read contemporary satire, satirists in Israel, ...

, A. B. Yehoshua,

, Irit Linur,

and

Yehoshua Sobol Joshua Sobol ( he, יהושע סובול; born 24 August 1939), is an Israeli playwright, writer, and theatre director. Biography Joshua Sobol was born in Tel Mond. His mother's family fled the pogroms in Europe in 1922 and his father's family imm ...

. Hebrew poets include

David Avidan David Avidan (Hebrew: דוד אבידן) (February 21, 1934 – May 11, 1995) was an Israeli "poet, painter, filmmaker, publicist, and playwright" (as he often put it). He wrote 20 published books of Hebrew poetry. Biography and literary career ...

, Maya Bejerano,

Erez Biton Erez Biton ( he, ארז ביטון; born 1942 in Oran, Algeria) is an Algerian-born Israeli poet of Moroccan descent. He is the 2015 recipient of the Israel Prize for Hebrew Literature and Poetry, among other literary awards. Biography Erez Bit ...

Dan Pagis Dan Pagis (October 16, 1930 – June 29, 1986) was an Israeli poet, lecturer and Holocaust survivor. Biography Dan Pagis was born in Rădăuţi, Bukovina in Romania and imprisoned as a child in a concentration camp in Ukraine. He escaped in 19 ...

, Dalia Ravikovitch, Ronny Someck,

Meir Wieseltier Meir Wieseltier (Hebrew: מאיר ויזלטיר, born 1941) is a prize-winning Israeli poet and translator. Biography Meir Wieseltier was born in Moscow in 1941, shortly before the German invasion of Russia. He was taken to Novosibirsk in southwe ...

, and

Yona Wallach Yona Wallach ( he, יונה וולך; June 10, 1944 – September 26, 1985) was an Israeli poet. Her surname also appears as Volach. She is considered a revolutionary Israeli Feminism, feminist and Postmodernism, post-modernist. Wallach was a pr ...

. In the 2010s, thousands of new books are published in Hebrew each year, both translations from other languages and original works by Israeli authors.

References

Bibliography

* * {{Hebrew language Literature by language Hebrew language