B"H

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Ahad Ha'am (Asher Ginsburg)

 

One of the Tribe

Biography

1856

- Born in Kiev Province, Ukraine-Russia, to Hasidic parents.

- Education: Traditional with tutoring in Talmud and Medieval Philosophy.

-Self-taught in Haskala: German, Latin, French, English

1884-1907

- Family moved to Odessa.

- Member of Pinsker's Hibbat Zion Committee.

- Founder of Bnei Moshe movement advocating cultural-educational renaissance.

- Publicist, author, and editor in Zionist newspapers.

- Attacked all premature attempts to establish Hebrew culture, political Zionism, etc…

1907-1922

- London - worked as representative of Wissotsky Tea Co.

- Traveled to Israel several times.

1922 - Tel Aviv writer and teacher,

1927 - Died in Tel Aviv.

 

From the Writings of Ahad Ha'am

 

"This is the conception of Judaism on which our literature must be based. We must revitalize the idea of the national renaissance, and use every possible means to strengthen its hold and deepen its roots, until it becomes an organic element in the Jewish consciousness and an independent dynamic force. Only in that way, it seems to me, can the Jewish soul be freed from its shackles and regain contact with the broad stream of human life without having to pay for its freedom by the sacrifice of its individuality."

The Law of the Heart, 1894

"The secret of our people's persistence is that at a very early period the Prophets taught it to respect only the power of the spirit and not to worship material power. Therefore, unlike the other nations of antiquity, the Jewish people never reached the point of losing its self-respect in the face of more powerful enemies. As long as we remain faithful to this

principle, our existence has a secure basis, and we shall not lose our self-respect, for we are not spiritually inferior to

any nation…"

 

"...Jewish settlement, which will be a gradual growth, will become in course of time the center of the nation, in which its spirit will find pure expression and develop in all its aspects to the highest degree of perfection of which it is capable. Then, from this center, the spirit of Judaism will radiate to the great circumference, to all the communities

of the Galut, to inspire them with new life and to preserve over-all unity of our people. When our national culture

in Palestine has attained that level, we may be confident that it will produce men in the Land of Israel itself who

will be not merely a State of Jews, but a really Jewish state... "

 

The Jewish State and the Jewish Problem, 1897

 

"'...The spirit of our people demands liberty and freedom of movement in its historical setting in order to wake up from its long slumber and be able to revive the national ideal and fashion it appropriately in accordance with our present needs - so that it may once again be a shield for the Ga1ut people, preserve it from moral decline and boost its strength in order to enable it to undergo its sufferings to the very end with a clear knowledge and consciousness of what it is

suffering for - and that it is worthwhile suffering..."

 

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