Nitza Davidovitch

This paper describes S.Y. Agnon’s ironic, dual, modern attitude to the Song of Songs, as a traditionalist and as one who identifies himself with the doctor’s statements: “We are enlightened individuals, modern people, we seek freedom for ourselves and for all humanity, and in point of fact we are worse than the most die-hard reactionaries.” Agnon’s attitude to the world of love is the attitude of a young Jewish artist of the late 19th century who lives in a world of revolutionary changes that also affect the Jewish world. Agnon’s work stands as a tombstone of the gradually unraveling Jewish shtetl and its institutions and values, specifically, the declining status of love and its significance for the values of family, society, and the Jewish nation. The young Jewish man experiences the changing seasons of the late 19th century and early 20th century, reflected in the vacillation between the traditional conception of love by the traditional world, and the modern perception that views love as an element in individual self-realization. “They say that love exists in the world” – but what is love in Agnon’s world? What are the sources of the gap that many of Agnon’s protagonists experience – the gap between yearning, dreams, and heart’s desires, and the potential for their realization in practice?

Holocaust teaching is a foundation for deepening Jewish identity. Despite the stated goals of the trips to Poland, studies involving participating youngsters indicate that Holocaust education per se does not significantly affect their sense of Jewish identity. Nonetheless, Holocaust teaching through the journey to Poland enhances participants’ self-concept as Israelis, possibly because their Israeliness is associated with emotions such as power, pride, and hope. In view of these findings, the aim of this study is to examine whether and to what degree faith plays a role in the Holocaust teaching that is part of public and public-religious schools’ efforts to reinforce Jewish identity.

The story “At the Outset of the Day” by S. Y. Agnon is short, but contains many meanings. It is a story about a father whose daughter’s dress burns to ashes, and who throughout the story attempts, unsuccessfully, to cover her nakedness. As the article shows, the story can be defined as symbolic, with a connotative level open to interpretation as well as biblical foundations and symbols that express its hidden level.