Papers by Tsafi Sebba Elran
Jewish Folklore and Ethnology, 2023
The vast research literature on disaster jokes demonstrates that no calamity is too horrific to b... more The vast research literature on disaster jokes demonstrates that no calamity is too horrific to be followed by jokes that typically recontextualize traumatic events and channel the threatening voices that these events provoke. Why, then, did no jokes circulate after the deadliest civil disaster in Israel's history, which occurred on Mount Meron during the Lag Ba'Omer celebrations in April 2021? Drawing upon the anthropological concept of "joking relationships," this essay documents representations of ultra-Orthodox Jews (Haredim) in contemporary Israeli memes and explains the restraint that Israeli society shows toward this group with whom the Meron disaster is associated. The absence of jokes is employed here as a prism through which one can gain insight not only into prevalent Israeli beliefs, emotions, and perceptions, but also into the function of jokes in delineating internal social boundaries.
Why Were There No Jokes After the 2021 Meron Crowd Crush? On Israeli “Joking Relationships”, 2023
The vast research literature on disaster jokes demonstrates that no calamity is too horrific to b... more The vast research literature on disaster jokes demonstrates that no calamity is too horrific to be followed by jokes that typically recontextualize traumatic events and channel the threatening voices that these events provoke. Why, then, did no jokes circulate after the deadliest civil disaster in Israel’s history, which occurred on Mount Meron during the Lag Ba’Omer celebrations in April 2021? Drawing upon the ethnographic concept of “joking relationships,” this essay documents representations of ultra-Orthodox Jews ( Haredim ) in contemporary Israeli memes and explains the restraint that Israeli society shows toward this group with whom the Meron disaster is associated. The absence of jokes is employed here as a prism through which one can gain insight not only into prevalent Israeli beliefs, emotions, and perceptions but also into the function of jokes in delineating internal social boundaries.
ישראל (כתב עת לחקר הציונות ומדינת ישראל), גיליון 30, 2023
ריבוי האנתולוגיות העבריות בתחילת המאה העשרים משקף את שיאו של מפעל הכינוס כמפעל לאומי של הצלת והט... more ריבוי האנתולוגיות העבריות בתחילת המאה העשרים משקף את שיאו של מפעל הכינוס כמפעל לאומי של הצלת והטמעת מסורות יהודיות בתרבות העברית המתחדשת. המאמר עוסק באחד מענפיו הפוריים של מפעל זה: קבצי בדיחות והומור עבריים, ומתמקד באנתולוגיה הפופולארית של ההיסטוריון, האתנוגרף והעורך אלתר דרויאנוב: ספר הבדיחה והחדוד (1922). בהנחה שיצירת אוסף כזה אינה יכולה להיות מלאכה תמימה של תיעוד לצורך ייצוג בלבד, כי אם עבודה פרשנית, המשתייכת לפוליטיקה של התרבות וההיסטוריה, המאמר מנתח את שלבי עבודתו של העורך ודן בהרחבה בהכרעותיו הספרותיות בניסיון לברר איזה מין אתר זיכרון היא האנתולוגיה ומה טיבו של המודל הקאנוני שהיא מעצבת.
העיון במאפייניה של האסופה בהקשרה ההיסטורי והתרבותי, ולצדם, בחומרים פאראטקסטואליים (כגון, המבוא והנספחים) וארכיוניים (כגון, טיוטות ומכתבים) מלמד, כי האנתולוגיה הייתה כלי לביטוי זהות מרובת זיקות, מחויבויות ונאמנויות, ולא כלי סטרילי להנעת משנה אידיאולוגית סדורה. לפיכך, גם אם הדחף שהניע מפעל זה היה דחף אידיאולוגי של מיעוט אינטלקטואלי, תוצריו היו מקיפים וייצוגיים, והתקבלותם הרחבה מלמדת על אופיים העממי וריבוי תפקידיהם עבור החברה היהודית בת הזמן.
The multiplicity of Hebrew anthologies of traditional Jewish sources at the beginning of the twentieth century and their widespread acceptance may indicate on their central role in the ingathering project (kinus) - a national endeavor to rescue and assimilate Jewish traditions in the renewed Hebrew culture. The article deals with one of the fruitful branches of this project - collections of Hebrew jokes, and focuses on the popular anthology of Alter Druyanow: The Book of Jokes and Witticisms (Sefer habediha vehahiddud, 1922). Assuming that the creation of such a collection cannot be an innocent work of documentation for representational purposes only, but is rather an interpretive composition, belonging to the politics of culture and history. The article analyzes different stages of the editor's work, and discusses in detail his literary decisions in order to point out the roles of the canonical model the anthology has generated.
Examining the collection's characteristics in its historical and cultural contexts, and alongside them, paratextual and archival materials (such as the introduction, appendices, and drafts) shows that the anthology has preserved a complex of cultural tensions and reflected a multifaceted identity rather than distributing orderly ideological thought. Thus, even if the motive that activated this project was an ideological one, its products were often comprehensive and representative, and their wide acceptance indicates on their popular character and multiple roles in the contemporary Jewish society.
Oxford Bibliographies Online Datasets
Israel Studies, 2019
ABSTRACT:The article discusses popular joke cycles about American tourists and comparable "o... more ABSTRACT:The article discusses popular joke cycles about American tourists and comparable "others", published in the first decades of the twentieth century in the satirical press of the Yishuv. This rich corpus of humoristic literature, which has never received adequate scholarly attention, might shed new light on the nascent Israeli view of competing Jewish centers, and expose the difficulties that accompanied the early formation of local Israeli identity. The article focuses on the satirical expression of identity representations and images, and their affinity to different humoristic genres. It shows how parodies on pilgrimages to Israel allowed Yishuv writers to express self-criticism and mark symbolic inner boundaries, while the more universal jokes let them express ideological criticism and apparently mark symbolic external boundaries. However, since the satirical press of the Yishuv was written in Hebrew for local readerships, we can assume that its "boundary work" was aimed in each case at establishing a new social hierarchy, by setting new criteria for inclusion, and deepening readers' solidarity and self-awareness, at the expense of similar Others from competing Jewish centers.
Narrative Culture, 2016
A rich variety of humoristic memes was spread during the 2014 military conflict in Gaza by Israel... more A rich variety of humoristic memes was spread during the 2014 military conflict in Gaza by Israeli WhatsApp and Facebook groups, as well as various Internet sites. This study focuses on a selection of popular memes from this corpus, which deals with the difficulty of understanding and controlling the balance of power characterizing the geocultural landscape of Israel. As a popular medium, the meme enables us to examine the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through new eyes, as a contemporary (rather than historical) struggle over the realization of autonomous routines. It reflects not only threatening feelings such as fear, anger, and frustration but also the local longing for an “overview,” or a way in which to better know and understand the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Journal of Modern Jewish Studies, 2016
The article discusses Alter Druyanow's popular work: The Book of Jokes and Witticisms (Sefer habe... more The article discusses Alter Druyanow's popular work: The Book of Jokes and Witticisms (Sefer habediha vehahiddud, Frankfurt, 1922) as a turning point in the development of modern Jewish humour. The acceptance of the book is ascribed mainly to its Zionist agenda expressed not only in the formation of its repertoire, but also in the censorship of a large collection of sexual jokes. Following a discussion of Druyanow's main motives and anthologizing principals, the article includes a first exposure of these jokes, aiming to analyse their social roles. The comparative reading of the jokes in their historical and cultural contexts points at what the Jewish society of that time considered as its "other"from competing religious groups to other threatening reference groups within this society, such as women and assimilated Jews. In this way, the censored jokes shed light not only on the marginality of the East European Jews and their feelings of inferiority but also on their creative response to them and their ideological horizons.
Connected Jews
This chapter investigates the new Jewish–Israeli discourse that has evolved on multiple fronts si... more This chapter investigates the new Jewish–Israeli discourse that has evolved on multiple fronts since the last decades of the twentieth century. It discusses the establishment of pluralistic batei midrash or houses of study in Israel, which were dedicated to the study of Jewish literature, the practice of Jewish rituals, and the formation of local communities. It also discloses the renewal of the Jewish bookshelf as a modern term that refers to traditional Jewish writings and modern works that echo earlier publications. The chapter analyses the modern rereading that involves Rabbi Hiya bar Ashi and his struggle with the yetser hara, which has recently sprung to new life as part of an emerging discussion on the relationship between femininity, sexuality, Jewishness, and Zionism. It covers contemporary readings of Rabbi Hiya bar Ashi's story, which is infused with new substance that mainly involves feminist interpretations and set within modern genres.
HUMOR, 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic that broke out in Israel in February 2020 prompted widespread public respon... more The COVID-19 pandemic that broke out in Israel in February 2020 prompted widespread public response, which included a deluge of humorous memes. The current article discusses the main meme cycles of the pandemic with the aim of uncovering the functions of the humorous meme, and particularly its singular language, which incorporates the universal and the particular, the global and the local, the hegemonic and the subversive. The memes are examined in their immediate context, as responses to news announcements, restrictions, and rumors relating to the pandemic, and from a comparative perspective, with emphasis on the various functions of disaster jokes and the use of folklore in response to previous epidemics, crises, or risks. Alongside the hybrid nature of the genre, these meme cycles demonstrate that COVID-19 is not just a threatening virus but a new reality that undermines our experience of time and space, evoking old beliefs and new, and threatening to change everyday practices. T...
Jewish Studies Quarterly, 2013
Sometimes adventure is acting within limits. It can then calculate its end, and reach it. Such ad... more Sometimes adventure is acting within limits. It can then calculate its end, and reach it. Such adventures are the ripples of change within one type of civilization, by which an epoch of given type preserves its freshness. But, given the vigor of adventures, sooner or later the leap of imagination reaches beyond the safe limits of the epoch, and beyond the safe limits of learned rules of taste. It then produces the dislocations and confusions marking the advent of new ideals for civilized effort. Alfred North Whitehead, Adventures of Ideas The manifest popularity of H. N. Bialik and Y. H. Ravnitzkys Sefer Haaggadah, its influence on the educational curriculum in the Yishuv and later in the State of Israel and the various languages into which it is translated all bear witness to the formative role of this book through the years in the construction of modern cultural memory. 2 Other famous
HUMOR: International Journal of Humor Research, 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic that broke out in Israel in February 2020
prompted widespread public respon... more The COVID-19 pandemic that broke out in Israel in February 2020
prompted widespread public response, which included a deluge of humorous memes. The current article discusses the main meme cycles of the pandemic with the aim of uncovering the functions of the humorous meme, and particularly its singular language, which incorporates the universal and the particular, the global and the local, the hegemonic and the subversive. The memes are examined in their immediate context, as responses to news announcements, restrictions, and rumors relating to the pandemic, and from a comparative perspective, with emphasis on the various functions of disaster jokes and the use of folklore in response to previous epidemics, crises, or risks. Alongside the hybrid nature of the genre, these meme cycles demonstrate that COVID-19 is not just a threatening virus but a new
reality that undermines our experience of time and space, evoking old beliefs and new, and threatening to change everyday practices. These narratives not only reflect the incongruities evoked by the virus, but also give vent to anxieties and aggressions brought on by the pandemic and convey a communal need to protect and foster group cohesion and a local sense of belonging.
(העולם היהודי - מבטים מישראל (עורכים: אופיר עבו, תניא ציון-וולדקס , 2020
ההומור, ה'משמן את גלגלי מנגנון התקשורת', כדברי אבנר זיו, ומאפיין קבוצות מיעוט המבקשות להיחלץ ממעמ... more ההומור, ה'משמן את גלגלי מנגנון התקשורת', כדברי אבנר זיו, ומאפיין קבוצות מיעוט המבקשות להיחלץ ממעמדן השולי, משמש במאמר זה כמעבדה לבחינת מחשבותיו ורגשותיו הסמויים של היישוב כלפי מרכזים יהודיים מתחרים, ובפרט, כלפי התפוצה היהודית האמריקאית. המאמר מבוסס על עיון במחזור הבדיחות שעוסק בתייר היהודי האמריקאי ושלוחותיו; בדיחות שהתפרסמו על גבי העיתונות ההיתולית של היישוב ועל גבי אנתולוגיות הומוריסטיות בנות הזמן. הוא עוסק בבירור טיבם ומקומם של דימויי וייצוגי זהות רווחים בקורפוס זה ובמוסכמות שהם מפרים, ולחלופין, מאשרים. מוסכמות אלו, וביניהן, הזיקה להיסטוריה היהודית, למקורות היהודיים ולשפה העברית, משמשות בבדיחה כקריטריונים להכלה ולהדרה או להזדהות ולדחייה. קריטריונים אלו מתווים את מקומם של גבולות פנים חברתיים חדשים. עיקר זה מתברר גם מעיון בנוסחים האמריקאים המקבילים פחות או יותר לבדיחות העבריות. למרות הדמיון הרב בין הרפרטואר האמריקאי לרפרטואר העברי, המספר האמריקאי אינו מאמץ את המבט הארץ-ישראלי כדי לבחון דרכו את הייצוג הדיאספורי, כי אם את המבט האמריקאי הציוני כדי לבחון דרכו ולהתבדל באמצעותו מייצוגים דיאספוריים אחרים, כגון ייצוגיהם של נשים, של יהודים ממוצא גרמני ושל תיירים זרים. כך, מתברר תפקידה של הבדיחה כ'קונספירציה חברתית', היוצרת פירוד בלב ההזמנה לשותפות.
קתדרה, 2020
ספרות ההומור העשירה של היישוב היהודי בארץ-ישראל במחצית הראשונה של המאה העשרים כמעט לא נחקרה עד כה... more ספרות ההומור העשירה של היישוב היהודי בארץ-ישראל במחצית הראשונה של המאה העשרים כמעט לא נחקרה עד כה, למרות ערכה ההיסטורי והספרותי כאחד. ספרות זו התבססה גם על עיתונות היתולית ענפה, שכללה חוברות רבות, ואלה שמורות היום בארכיון המכון לחקר התפוצות באוניברסיטת תל אביב ובמרכז לחקר הפולקלור באוניברסיטה העברית. המאמר מתמקד במחזור פופולרי ומייצג של בדיחות על משפחת בן-יהודה שפורסמו בעיתונות ההיתולית בתקופה הנדונה. הדיון עוסק בעזרת דוגמאות בשאלות מדוע עלה הצורך לציין את אחרותה של משפחת בן-יהודה? למה דווקא בהומור? ומה ניתן ללמוד מכך על היישוב היהודי בן הזמן?
עבור עורכי העיתונים ומחבריהם היה בן-יהודה יריב אידיאולוגי ופוליטי לא רק על רקע התחרות על ההון התרבותי הצנוע של היישוב, אלא גם בשל זיקותיו הסותרות לכאורה לקבוצות המרכזיות שפעלו בו באותה עת. הומור היה הכלי הלגיטימי ביותר לערער על סמכותו של בן-יהודה בלי לפגוע במוניטין של הכותבים, שכן הוא אפשר לעיתונאים להתנסות בעיתונות צהובה בלי לוותר על סגנונם ההגון. כך תרם ההומור לא רק לתיעול ביקורת פנימית, אלא גם להתבססותה של קבוצה חברתית חדשה ביישוב בעלת סדר יום תרבותי משלה.
מסורת חיה: ל"ב עיונים ועיון מוגשים בהוקרה לפרופסור חיה בר-יצחק, 2020
מבצע "צוק איתן", שהחל ב-8 ביולי 2014, הוליד מגוון עשיר של בדיחות. בדיחות אלו הופצו בעיקר באמצעות ... more מבצע "צוק איתן", שהחל ב-8 ביולי 2014, הוליד מגוון עשיר של בדיחות. בדיחות אלו הופצו בעיקר באמצעות קבוצות ווטסאפ, דפי פייסבוק ואתרי אינטרנט שונים, ואף זכו לתהודה חברתית ותקשורתית. המאמר מתמקד במחזורי ממים פופולאריים מתקופה זו, העוסקים בקושי לתפוס ולהבין את יחסי הכוחות המאפיינים את הנוף הגיאו-תרבותי של ישראל. כמדיום ורנקולרי, המם האינטרנטי מאפשר לנו לבחון את הסכסוך הישראלי-פלסטיני בעיניים חדשות, כמאבק מקומי (ולאו דווקא היסטורי) על הגשמתן של פרקטיקות ושגרות יומיומיות. הוא משקף לא רק רגשות מאיימים כחרדה, כעס ותסכול, אלא גם את הגעגוע הקולקטיבי להבין וליישב את המאבק הישראלי-פלסטיני.
Israel Studies, 2019
The article discusses popular joke cycles about American tourists and
comparable “others”, publis... more The article discusses popular joke cycles about American tourists and
comparable “others”, published in the first decades of the twentieth century in the satirical press of the Yishuv. This rich corpus of humoristic literature, which has never received adequate scholarly attention, might shed new light on the nascent Israeli view of competing Jewish centers, and expose the difficulties that accompanied the early formation of local Israeli identity. The article focuses on the satirical expression of identity representations and images, and their affinity to different humoristic genres. It shows how parodies on pilgrimages to Israel allowed Yishuv writers to express self-criticism and mark symbolic inner boundaries, while the more universal jokes let
them express ideological criticism and apparently mark symbolic external boundaries. However, since the satirical press of the Yishuv was written in Hebrew for local readerships, we can assume that its “boundary work” was aimed in each case at establishing a new social hierarchy, by setting new criteria for inclusion, and deepening readers’ solidarity and self-awareness, at the expense of similar Others from competing Jewish centers.
Jewish Cultural Studies: Connected Jews, Expressions of Community in Analogue and Digital Culture Edited by Simon J. Bronner and Caspar Battegay, 2018
Any discussion on the ongoing renewal of the Jewish bookcase and the establishment of the plural... more Any discussion on the ongoing renewal of the Jewish bookcase and the establishment of the pluralistic Batei-Midrash in Israel, would not be complete without considering the influence of specific clusters of stories that have been reread and studied among various Jewish communities in Israel as popular legends. Such a story is the story on R. Hiya Bar Ashi’s struggle with his evil inclination (Kiddushin 81b) that recently gained new life as part of an emerging Israeli-Jewish discourse on the relations between femininity, Jewishness, and Zionism.
The proposed article is based on a comparative reading of nine contemporary interpretations (called by their authors “midrashim”) of this story written by Israeli teachers, rabbis, researchers and local leaders of new communities involved in the spiritual awakening in Israel today. The article deals with the questions of why was this forgotten story picked to represent Jewish renewal in Israel? And how did it change in order to fit its new literary and ideological contexts?
While the initial aspiration of contemporary authors of this story grew from the feminist wish to give rabbinic feminine figures a voice, their final aim was different. The feminine figure in the story, Heruta, is constrained between the two opposing cultural images of the ultimate mother (Eve) on the one hand, and the whore (Lilit) on the other, and encounters a tragic end. The solution of the contemporary Israeli midrash to this tragedy requires trading freedom for peace. This way R. Hiya Bar Ashi’s wife loses her apparent autonomy as a whore but gains real intimacy with her husband. The artistic formation of the contemporary midrash also reflects this solution, and the new interpretations are based on new writing formats such as various combinations of dialogues, letters, confessions and rock songs, that emphasize the dialogic nature of the new story. The allegoric meaning of the rabbinic legend is also discussed in the article as an optional explanation of the revival of this story and other similar popular legends. The desired intimacy between R. Hiya bar Ashi and his wife in the eyes of contemporary readers represents, in this allegoric context, the desired communication between the “feminine” Jewishness and the “masculine” Zionism. Accordingly, the late return to the Jewish bookcase in Israel and the mediated readings of rabbinic legends bear also contemporary political significance as an ongoing attempt to bridge over the historical rupture between competing religious and secular groups.
הצחוק: קובץ מאמרים רב-תחומי בחקר ההומור בעריכת אריה סובר , 2018
מאמר זה בוחן את תפקידיה של הבדיחה היהודית האינטרטקסטואלית ממפנה המאות ה-19 וה-20 , כפי שהיא משתקפ... more מאמר זה בוחן את תפקידיה של הבדיחה היהודית האינטרטקסטואלית ממפנה המאות ה-19 וה-20 , כפי שהיא משתקפת באנתולוגיה הפופולרית של אלתר דרויאנוב, "ספר הבדיחה והחידוד" (1922, 1938-1935) ובאוסף הבדיחות המיניות שדרויאנוב גנז. ריבוי הציטוטים מן המקורות היהודיים נבחן תוך הגדרתם מחדש של סוגי הבדיחה האינטרטקסטואלית: בדיחת האלוזיה, הבדיחה הנרטיבית, הבדיחה הפרודית והבדיחה הסאטירית. שעה שרוב הבדיחות משקפות את שאיפתו של האתנוגרף היהודי בן הזמן לבסס באמצעות הבדיחה את שימושיה של העברית כשפת דיבור, דיון נוסף בהקשריה התרבותיים הרחבים של הבדיחה מלמד גם על יסודותיה החתרניים. שכן, דרויאנוב ובני זמנו נהגו בציטוטים מכתבי הקודש בחופשיות, כ"כלים" בלבד, העשויים להעניק לתכניה האוניברסליים של המהפכה הציונית סמכות ואפילו קדוּשה. זאת ועוד; אוסף הבדיחות שנגנזו חושף את היסודות הסאטיריים המגולמים בבדיחה האינטרטקסטואלית, ואת משמעותו הרדיקלית של חילוּן "לשון הספר" העברית.
Humor - International Journal of Humor Research, 2018
The article examines the role of the intertextual Jewish joke at the turn
of the twentieth centur... more The article examines the role of the intertextual Jewish joke at the turn
of the twentieth century, in its historical and cultural contexts. The case studies would be Alter Druyanow’s popular anthology, Sefer Habediha Vehahiddud (The Book of Jokes and Witticisms, Frankfurt 1922) and his
archived, unpublished collection of sexual jokes. The frequent use of quotations from sacred Jewish texts, characteristic of these collections, is discussed in light of the distinction between sub-genres of the intertextual joke: the allusive joke, the parodic joke, and the satiric joke. While most reflect the folklorist’s ambition to bridge the gap between Hebrew as a holy language and Yiddish as a Jewish vernacular, a deeper examination of the jokes may discover Druyanow’s subversive
motivations as a national activist as well. Druyanow and his contemporaries engaged the biblical and rabbinical sources freely, as vessels capable of sanctifying the secular subject matter of the Jewish national revival. Moreover, the unpublished collection exposes satirical elements embodied in the intertextual Jewish joke of the time, potentially threatening the traditional Jewish worldview.
Te'uda 28: Essays in folklore and Jewish Studies in Honor of Professor Eli Yassif, 2017
Isaac Margolis’ Sippurei Yeshurun (Berlin 1877) is one of the first Hebrew collections of Jewish ... more Isaac Margolis’ Sippurei Yeshurun (Berlin 1877) is one of the first Hebrew collections of Jewish folk narratives that reflect the modernization of the European Jewish society of the time. The article discusses this anthology’s main innovations in its historical and cultural contexts, with a focus on the anthology’s affinity to parallel European collections, the significance of its editorial principles, and its unique formation of folk genres. Margolis’ attempt to adapt the rabbinic texts to various audiences such as children, historians and Jewish preachers, and to bridge the gap between orthodox and liberal Jews of his time, resulted in a diverse and original compilation, which nevertheless elicited unfavorable criticism and rejection.
Narrative Culture, 2017
A rich variety of humoristic memes was spread during the 2014 military conflict in Gaza by Israel... more A rich variety of humoristic memes was spread during the 2014 military conflict in Gaza by Israeli WhatsApp and Facebook groups, as well as various internet sites. This study focuses on a selection of popular memes from this corpus, which deals with the difficulty to understand and control the balance of power characterizing the geo-cultural landscape of Israel. As a popular medium, the meme enables us to examine the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through new eyes, as a contemporary (rather than historical) struggle over the realization of autonomous routines. It reflects not only threatening feelings such as fear, anger, and frustration, but also the local longing for an “overview”, or a way in which to better know and understand the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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Papers by Tsafi Sebba Elran
העיון במאפייניה של האסופה בהקשרה ההיסטורי והתרבותי, ולצדם, בחומרים פאראטקסטואליים (כגון, המבוא והנספחים) וארכיוניים (כגון, טיוטות ומכתבים) מלמד, כי האנתולוגיה הייתה כלי לביטוי זהות מרובת זיקות, מחויבויות ונאמנויות, ולא כלי סטרילי להנעת משנה אידיאולוגית סדורה. לפיכך, גם אם הדחף שהניע מפעל זה היה דחף אידיאולוגי של מיעוט אינטלקטואלי, תוצריו היו מקיפים וייצוגיים, והתקבלותם הרחבה מלמדת על אופיים העממי וריבוי תפקידיהם עבור החברה היהודית בת הזמן.
The multiplicity of Hebrew anthologies of traditional Jewish sources at the beginning of the twentieth century and their widespread acceptance may indicate on their central role in the ingathering project (kinus) - a national endeavor to rescue and assimilate Jewish traditions in the renewed Hebrew culture. The article deals with one of the fruitful branches of this project - collections of Hebrew jokes, and focuses on the popular anthology of Alter Druyanow: The Book of Jokes and Witticisms (Sefer habediha vehahiddud, 1922). Assuming that the creation of such a collection cannot be an innocent work of documentation for representational purposes only, but is rather an interpretive composition, belonging to the politics of culture and history. The article analyzes different stages of the editor's work, and discusses in detail his literary decisions in order to point out the roles of the canonical model the anthology has generated.
Examining the collection's characteristics in its historical and cultural contexts, and alongside them, paratextual and archival materials (such as the introduction, appendices, and drafts) shows that the anthology has preserved a complex of cultural tensions and reflected a multifaceted identity rather than distributing orderly ideological thought. Thus, even if the motive that activated this project was an ideological one, its products were often comprehensive and representative, and their wide acceptance indicates on their popular character and multiple roles in the contemporary Jewish society.
prompted widespread public response, which included a deluge of humorous memes. The current article discusses the main meme cycles of the pandemic with the aim of uncovering the functions of the humorous meme, and particularly its singular language, which incorporates the universal and the particular, the global and the local, the hegemonic and the subversive. The memes are examined in their immediate context, as responses to news announcements, restrictions, and rumors relating to the pandemic, and from a comparative perspective, with emphasis on the various functions of disaster jokes and the use of folklore in response to previous epidemics, crises, or risks. Alongside the hybrid nature of the genre, these meme cycles demonstrate that COVID-19 is not just a threatening virus but a new
reality that undermines our experience of time and space, evoking old beliefs and new, and threatening to change everyday practices. These narratives not only reflect the incongruities evoked by the virus, but also give vent to anxieties and aggressions brought on by the pandemic and convey a communal need to protect and foster group cohesion and a local sense of belonging.
עבור עורכי העיתונים ומחבריהם היה בן-יהודה יריב אידיאולוגי ופוליטי לא רק על רקע התחרות על ההון התרבותי הצנוע של היישוב, אלא גם בשל זיקותיו הסותרות לכאורה לקבוצות המרכזיות שפעלו בו באותה עת. הומור היה הכלי הלגיטימי ביותר לערער על סמכותו של בן-יהודה בלי לפגוע במוניטין של הכותבים, שכן הוא אפשר לעיתונאים להתנסות בעיתונות צהובה בלי לוותר על סגנונם ההגון. כך תרם ההומור לא רק לתיעול ביקורת פנימית, אלא גם להתבססותה של קבוצה חברתית חדשה ביישוב בעלת סדר יום תרבותי משלה.
comparable “others”, published in the first decades of the twentieth century in the satirical press of the Yishuv. This rich corpus of humoristic literature, which has never received adequate scholarly attention, might shed new light on the nascent Israeli view of competing Jewish centers, and expose the difficulties that accompanied the early formation of local Israeli identity. The article focuses on the satirical expression of identity representations and images, and their affinity to different humoristic genres. It shows how parodies on pilgrimages to Israel allowed Yishuv writers to express self-criticism and mark symbolic inner boundaries, while the more universal jokes let
them express ideological criticism and apparently mark symbolic external boundaries. However, since the satirical press of the Yishuv was written in Hebrew for local readerships, we can assume that its “boundary work” was aimed in each case at establishing a new social hierarchy, by setting new criteria for inclusion, and deepening readers’ solidarity and self-awareness, at the expense of similar Others from competing Jewish centers.
The proposed article is based on a comparative reading of nine contemporary interpretations (called by their authors “midrashim”) of this story written by Israeli teachers, rabbis, researchers and local leaders of new communities involved in the spiritual awakening in Israel today. The article deals with the questions of why was this forgotten story picked to represent Jewish renewal in Israel? And how did it change in order to fit its new literary and ideological contexts?
While the initial aspiration of contemporary authors of this story grew from the feminist wish to give rabbinic feminine figures a voice, their final aim was different. The feminine figure in the story, Heruta, is constrained between the two opposing cultural images of the ultimate mother (Eve) on the one hand, and the whore (Lilit) on the other, and encounters a tragic end. The solution of the contemporary Israeli midrash to this tragedy requires trading freedom for peace. This way R. Hiya Bar Ashi’s wife loses her apparent autonomy as a whore but gains real intimacy with her husband. The artistic formation of the contemporary midrash also reflects this solution, and the new interpretations are based on new writing formats such as various combinations of dialogues, letters, confessions and rock songs, that emphasize the dialogic nature of the new story. The allegoric meaning of the rabbinic legend is also discussed in the article as an optional explanation of the revival of this story and other similar popular legends. The desired intimacy between R. Hiya bar Ashi and his wife in the eyes of contemporary readers represents, in this allegoric context, the desired communication between the “feminine” Jewishness and the “masculine” Zionism. Accordingly, the late return to the Jewish bookcase in Israel and the mediated readings of rabbinic legends bear also contemporary political significance as an ongoing attempt to bridge over the historical rupture between competing religious and secular groups.
of the twentieth century, in its historical and cultural contexts. The case studies would be Alter Druyanow’s popular anthology, Sefer Habediha Vehahiddud (The Book of Jokes and Witticisms, Frankfurt 1922) and his
archived, unpublished collection of sexual jokes. The frequent use of quotations from sacred Jewish texts, characteristic of these collections, is discussed in light of the distinction between sub-genres of the intertextual joke: the allusive joke, the parodic joke, and the satiric joke. While most reflect the folklorist’s ambition to bridge the gap between Hebrew as a holy language and Yiddish as a Jewish vernacular, a deeper examination of the jokes may discover Druyanow’s subversive
motivations as a national activist as well. Druyanow and his contemporaries engaged the biblical and rabbinical sources freely, as vessels capable of sanctifying the secular subject matter of the Jewish national revival. Moreover, the unpublished collection exposes satirical elements embodied in the intertextual Jewish joke of the time, potentially threatening the traditional Jewish worldview.
העיון במאפייניה של האסופה בהקשרה ההיסטורי והתרבותי, ולצדם, בחומרים פאראטקסטואליים (כגון, המבוא והנספחים) וארכיוניים (כגון, טיוטות ומכתבים) מלמד, כי האנתולוגיה הייתה כלי לביטוי זהות מרובת זיקות, מחויבויות ונאמנויות, ולא כלי סטרילי להנעת משנה אידיאולוגית סדורה. לפיכך, גם אם הדחף שהניע מפעל זה היה דחף אידיאולוגי של מיעוט אינטלקטואלי, תוצריו היו מקיפים וייצוגיים, והתקבלותם הרחבה מלמדת על אופיים העממי וריבוי תפקידיהם עבור החברה היהודית בת הזמן.
The multiplicity of Hebrew anthologies of traditional Jewish sources at the beginning of the twentieth century and their widespread acceptance may indicate on their central role in the ingathering project (kinus) - a national endeavor to rescue and assimilate Jewish traditions in the renewed Hebrew culture. The article deals with one of the fruitful branches of this project - collections of Hebrew jokes, and focuses on the popular anthology of Alter Druyanow: The Book of Jokes and Witticisms (Sefer habediha vehahiddud, 1922). Assuming that the creation of such a collection cannot be an innocent work of documentation for representational purposes only, but is rather an interpretive composition, belonging to the politics of culture and history. The article analyzes different stages of the editor's work, and discusses in detail his literary decisions in order to point out the roles of the canonical model the anthology has generated.
Examining the collection's characteristics in its historical and cultural contexts, and alongside them, paratextual and archival materials (such as the introduction, appendices, and drafts) shows that the anthology has preserved a complex of cultural tensions and reflected a multifaceted identity rather than distributing orderly ideological thought. Thus, even if the motive that activated this project was an ideological one, its products were often comprehensive and representative, and their wide acceptance indicates on their popular character and multiple roles in the contemporary Jewish society.
prompted widespread public response, which included a deluge of humorous memes. The current article discusses the main meme cycles of the pandemic with the aim of uncovering the functions of the humorous meme, and particularly its singular language, which incorporates the universal and the particular, the global and the local, the hegemonic and the subversive. The memes are examined in their immediate context, as responses to news announcements, restrictions, and rumors relating to the pandemic, and from a comparative perspective, with emphasis on the various functions of disaster jokes and the use of folklore in response to previous epidemics, crises, or risks. Alongside the hybrid nature of the genre, these meme cycles demonstrate that COVID-19 is not just a threatening virus but a new
reality that undermines our experience of time and space, evoking old beliefs and new, and threatening to change everyday practices. These narratives not only reflect the incongruities evoked by the virus, but also give vent to anxieties and aggressions brought on by the pandemic and convey a communal need to protect and foster group cohesion and a local sense of belonging.
עבור עורכי העיתונים ומחבריהם היה בן-יהודה יריב אידיאולוגי ופוליטי לא רק על רקע התחרות על ההון התרבותי הצנוע של היישוב, אלא גם בשל זיקותיו הסותרות לכאורה לקבוצות המרכזיות שפעלו בו באותה עת. הומור היה הכלי הלגיטימי ביותר לערער על סמכותו של בן-יהודה בלי לפגוע במוניטין של הכותבים, שכן הוא אפשר לעיתונאים להתנסות בעיתונות צהובה בלי לוותר על סגנונם ההגון. כך תרם ההומור לא רק לתיעול ביקורת פנימית, אלא גם להתבססותה של קבוצה חברתית חדשה ביישוב בעלת סדר יום תרבותי משלה.
comparable “others”, published in the first decades of the twentieth century in the satirical press of the Yishuv. This rich corpus of humoristic literature, which has never received adequate scholarly attention, might shed new light on the nascent Israeli view of competing Jewish centers, and expose the difficulties that accompanied the early formation of local Israeli identity. The article focuses on the satirical expression of identity representations and images, and their affinity to different humoristic genres. It shows how parodies on pilgrimages to Israel allowed Yishuv writers to express self-criticism and mark symbolic inner boundaries, while the more universal jokes let
them express ideological criticism and apparently mark symbolic external boundaries. However, since the satirical press of the Yishuv was written in Hebrew for local readerships, we can assume that its “boundary work” was aimed in each case at establishing a new social hierarchy, by setting new criteria for inclusion, and deepening readers’ solidarity and self-awareness, at the expense of similar Others from competing Jewish centers.
The proposed article is based on a comparative reading of nine contemporary interpretations (called by their authors “midrashim”) of this story written by Israeli teachers, rabbis, researchers and local leaders of new communities involved in the spiritual awakening in Israel today. The article deals with the questions of why was this forgotten story picked to represent Jewish renewal in Israel? And how did it change in order to fit its new literary and ideological contexts?
While the initial aspiration of contemporary authors of this story grew from the feminist wish to give rabbinic feminine figures a voice, their final aim was different. The feminine figure in the story, Heruta, is constrained between the two opposing cultural images of the ultimate mother (Eve) on the one hand, and the whore (Lilit) on the other, and encounters a tragic end. The solution of the contemporary Israeli midrash to this tragedy requires trading freedom for peace. This way R. Hiya Bar Ashi’s wife loses her apparent autonomy as a whore but gains real intimacy with her husband. The artistic formation of the contemporary midrash also reflects this solution, and the new interpretations are based on new writing formats such as various combinations of dialogues, letters, confessions and rock songs, that emphasize the dialogic nature of the new story. The allegoric meaning of the rabbinic legend is also discussed in the article as an optional explanation of the revival of this story and other similar popular legends. The desired intimacy between R. Hiya bar Ashi and his wife in the eyes of contemporary readers represents, in this allegoric context, the desired communication between the “feminine” Jewishness and the “masculine” Zionism. Accordingly, the late return to the Jewish bookcase in Israel and the mediated readings of rabbinic legends bear also contemporary political significance as an ongoing attempt to bridge over the historical rupture between competing religious and secular groups.
of the twentieth century, in its historical and cultural contexts. The case studies would be Alter Druyanow’s popular anthology, Sefer Habediha Vehahiddud (The Book of Jokes and Witticisms, Frankfurt 1922) and his
archived, unpublished collection of sexual jokes. The frequent use of quotations from sacred Jewish texts, characteristic of these collections, is discussed in light of the distinction between sub-genres of the intertextual joke: the allusive joke, the parodic joke, and the satiric joke. While most reflect the folklorist’s ambition to bridge the gap between Hebrew as a holy language and Yiddish as a Jewish vernacular, a deeper examination of the jokes may discover Druyanow’s subversive
motivations as a national activist as well. Druyanow and his contemporaries engaged the biblical and rabbinical sources freely, as vessels capable of sanctifying the secular subject matter of the Jewish national revival. Moreover, the unpublished collection exposes satirical elements embodied in the intertextual Jewish joke of the time, potentially threatening the traditional Jewish worldview.
כרך א פותח ברמח"ל ועוסק בצמיחתו של מרכז ספרותי־משכילי בגרמניה ובמזרח אירופה, כולל דיון בכתביהם של משה מנדלסון, נפתלי הרץ־וייזל, אברהם מאפו, יהודה לייב גורדון ויוצרים נוספים. הכרך עוסק גם בכתיבתן של נשים בתקופת ההשכלה, בהן רחל מוֹרפּוּרגוֹ.
כרך ב מציג את האבות הרוחניים של ספרות התחייה, מנדלי מוכר ספרים, אחד העם ומיכה יוסף ברדיצ'בסקי, ודן גם במשוררי התחייה חיים נחמן ביאליק ושאול טשרניחובסקי.
כרך ג מוקדש לכינונו של מרכז ספרותי ארץ־ישראלי בראשית המאה ה־20 ולהתפתחותה של הפרוזה העברית, ועוסק, בין השאר, ביצירותיהם של נחמה פוחצ'בסקי, יוסף חיים ברנר, אורי ניסן גנסין, דוד פוגל וש"י עגנון. הכרך דן גם בהתפתחות השירה העברית, בהופעת הגל הראשון של משוררות עבריות דוגמת רחל בלובשטיין ואסתר ראבּ ובמשוררים אברהם שלונסקי, נתן אלתרמן, לאה גולדברג, אורי צבי גרינברג ואלכסנדר פן.