Ela Bauer

During March–April 1905 and from October 1905 until February 1906, Nahum Sokolow (1859–1936), a renowned journalist, editor, Zionist and public figure who lived and was active in Warsaw, stayed in St. Petersburg. During that time he wrote almost every day in his diary about the political meetings he attended and the existence of the city during those crucial moments. Most of the diary is written in Polish, and some parts are written in Hebrew and Yiddish. His notes indicate that he was fully aware of being a witness to significant historical events and saw them as an opportunity to gain some advantages for the Jewish residents of the Russian Empire and for himself. As a result we can learn about the daily life of the city and get a sense of how the political life was conducted in the shadow of the revolution. Although Sokolow was fully aware of the significance of the 1905 events for the entire Russian Empire, he was not aware of the transition that was taking place in the Jewish public sphere. He believed that the old political methods were still relevant and did not realize that a new era in the Jewish political life in the Russian Empire had begun. Sokolow’s diary provides an opportunity to learn of the events that took place in St. Petersburg from the perspective of a journalist and political activist who knew the city quite well, but nevertheless remained an outsider.

This paper presents the tasks and aims that Nahum Sokolow believed Hebrew literature should have in Jewish life and in the Jewish national movement. Before his official joining the Zionist movement, Sokolow believed that the contribution of Hebrew literature to the formation of Jewish nationalism was more significant than the return of the Jews to their historical territory. This position did not change significantly after his joining the Zionist movement in 1897. In addition the paper evaluates Sokolow’s significant input to the development of the Jewish literary center in Warsaw and a new Hebrew literary style.