Saul Berlin's contribution to Hebrew Haskalah literature has been reevaluated in the past twenty years, as part of the reassessment of Haskalah literature. His role as a creative writer and as an active participant in the Hebrew Enlightenment has been re-examined. Ktav Yosher, a small yet intensive satiric booklet, is one of Berlin's works which is the topic of this article. It was written in defense of Naphtali Herz Wessely's controversial Divrei Shalom Ve'emet, possibly in 1784, but it was published only posthumously in 1794. This study highlights the literary aspects of Ktav Yosher, analyzing its satiric modes. Ktav Yosher is delineated as a sophisticated work of art, where structure, satiric techniques, use of figurative language for satire, and the secularization of the sacred idiom are skillfully employed in order to present a critical and mocking view of contemporary Jewish society, the state of its culture and education. Berlin's satiric techniques are said to be uniquely Hebraic, in his mastery of the Hebrew language and in his clever use of the sacred textual sources, although some affinity with contemporary European satiric trends are noted as well.
Hebrew Union College Annual is the flagship journal of Hebrew Union College Press and the primary face of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion to the academic world. From its inception in 1924, its goal has been to facilitate the dissemination of cutting-edge scholarship across the spectrum of Jewish Studies, including biblical studies, rabbinics, history, liturgy, literature, philology, law, philosophy, and religion.
Hebrew Union College Press , founded in 1921, publishes books across the entire spectrum of Jewish Studies and interest. The Press’s publications include literature, poetry, history, Bible, Rabbinics, language, philosophy, and religion, with special attention to historical monographs and bilingual editions that present Hebrew or Yiddish texts along with English translations. Their flagship journal, the Hebrew Union College Annual, founded in 1924 and to this day one of its field’s most esteemed journals, is devoted to publishing the finest scholarship in Jewish Studies, ancient and modern.
This item is part of a JSTOR Collection.
For terms and use, please refer to our
Hebrew Union College Annual
© 1993 Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion