The Yeshiva and the Rise of Modern Hebrew Literature

"Marina Zilbergerts's impressively informed book provides a fresh perspective on the Hebrew literature written in Russia in the nineteenth century in two ways: it persuasively shows how enmeshed the Hebrew works were in the Russian intellectual trends of the era, especially Nihilism; and it makes a good case that the yeshiva experience, formative for most of these writers, was not cast aside, as often is claimed, but rather carried over in the attitudes of the writers about textuality, interpretation, and the value of literature."—Robert Alter, University of California, Berkeley

"The Yeshiva and the Rise of Modern Jewish Literature is among the most important and original contributions to our understanding of Jewish literary modernity to appear in the last fifty years. Zilbergerts reveals East European Haskalah writing as an outgrowth of the modes of textuality cultivated in the region's iconic yeshivas rather than a complete break from that world."—Glenn Dynner, Sarah Lawrence College

"With clarity and purpose Marina Zilbergerts reveals the rabbinic features of modern Jewish literature. This subversive work will change the way scholars of Hebrew literature look at the Jewish past. It should be required reading for those wishing to understand the relationship of modern literature to premodern canons."—Eliyahu Stern, Yale University