THE JEWISH RENAISSANCE: THE REBIRTH OF A JEWISH AESTHETIC IDENTITY

 Photo: Refugees, by Berman Adolf Avraham.

Between 1914 and the mid-1920s, a Jewish cultural and artistic renaissance elan saw the light in Russia. A new effervescent intellectual Jewish movement nourished with a national Judaic nationalism, Hebraic artist impulse, the strong belief in the rebirth of an authentic Jewish art, and the determination or at least the hope  to create an Israeli-Jewish-Judaic-Hebraic state. Avalanches of Jewish philosophers, writers, thinkers, ethicists, painters, musicians, composers, intellectuals and activists were united in one way or another to redefine a Jewish identity. And the most logical and suitable medium at that time in history was evidently ART. The creation of a Jewish aesthetic has become a necessity and a Jewish priority. The driving force and leading figures of that national-artistic-intellectual movement were: Joseph Tchaikov, Boris Aronson, Issachar Ryback, El Lissitzky, Nathan Altman and later on Marc Chagall upon his return to his native Vitebsk during the first world war. The Jewish renaissance movement was stimulated and empowered by traditional and innovative Jewish artists living in the Ukraine, Latvia, Estonia, Belarus, Lithuania and various parts of Russia. Among the most prominent artists , we recognize Shlomo Zainwil Rapoport, who during his 1912-1914 expedition to Kiev, Odessa, Volhynia and Podolia  studied the Jewish communities life in the “Pale of the Settlement”; a region to which Jewish families were restricted starting in 1772 at the time of the first partition of the lands of Poland. And consequently, more than 600,000 Jews came under the Russian rudimentary rule.

By 1897 there were five million Jews living in the “Pale”. Artists of the Jewish renaissance movement began to work on rescuing and preserving  remnants of the old  Jewish historical, cultural and  spiritual heritage, fearing that regional political events, politico-ecological developments, drastic shifting in European politics, and the profound changes in social and ethical standards due to the new waves and influences  of  “Modernism” or   “The Modernization Movement” in many European regions,  could and would alter, dissipate or annihilate Jewish values, ethics, traditions, folklore and culture. Already, at the beginning of the first world war, much of the Jewish traditions, folklore, culture and heritage were sought or considered to be on the verge of extinction. In many Eastern European countries, where poor Jewish families settled, observing Jewish traditions and preserving folk heritage were already disappearing. Thanks to the exploratory expeditions, search, visits and trips of Issachar Ryback and El Lissitzky, Jewish historians and curators were able to collect manuscripts and records describing the exquisite and the fine woodwork and sculpture motifs in wooden temples and synagogues in Eastern Europe. In addition to their passion for traditional religious Jewish art, Jewish avant-garde and innovative artists were extremely involved with abstract art, modern art, Cubism and surrealism. They illustrated books, decorated manuscripts and designed stage sets with a Cubist-Abstract flair and cache.

 HABIMAH: THE FIRST HEBREW THEATER AND JEWISH IMAGERY

“Dybbuk”, written by An-Sky and which was based on tales, short stories, naïve anecdotes, folklore was the first performed and produced play by the Jewish theater in Russia.  It cemented the reputation of Habimah, as the first legitimate Hebrew theater company.

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