This reading is in Hebrew.Yosef Haim Brenner (1881-1921) was a Ukrainian-born Hebrew-language author, one of the pioneers of modern Hebrew literature. Born to a poor family, Brenner grew up in grinding poverty. Brenner immigrated to Palestine (then part of the Ottoman Empire) in 1909. He worked as a farmer, eager to put his Zionist ideology into practice. Later he devoted himself to literature and teaching at the Gymnasia Herzliya in Tel Aviv. He was murdered in southern Tel Aviv in May 1921 in the course of the anti-Jewish Arab riots known as the “massacres of 1921″...

This reading is in Hebrew.Yosef Haim Brenner (1881-1921) was a Ukrainian-born Hebrew-language author, one of the pioneers of modern Hebrew literature. Born to a poor family, Brenner grew up in grinding poverty. Brenner immigrated to Palestine (then part of the Ottoman Empire) in 1909. He worked as a farmer, eager to put his Zionist ideology into practice. Later he devoted himself to literature and teaching at the Gymnasia Herzliya in Tel Aviv. He was murdered in southern Tel Aviv in May 1921 in the course of the anti-Jewish Arab riots known as the “massacres of 1921″...

This reading is in Hebrew. Yosef Haim Brenner (murdered by Arab terrorists in 1921 at the age of 40) presented in his book “From Here and There” a piercing, soul searching portrayal of the “second aliyah,” the dominant immigration into Palestine at the beginning of the twentieth century. The following words have influenced many at the time, and are still thought to represent Brenner’s literary “will”: “Life is bad, but always secret … Death is bad. The world is conflicted, but also diverse, and sometimes beautiful...

This reading is in Hebrew. Mendele Mocher Seforim (Literary name for Shalom Jacob Abramovitsch) (1835 – 1917, b. Kapulye, Belorussia), one of the first modern Jewish writers, wrote in both Hebrew and Yiddish throughout his career. In his work he described with sharp satirical criticism the traditional life in small Jewish towns, as well as tendencies for assimilation of learned Jews at the time. He was regarded as the “grandfather of Yiddish literature,” but the Hebraic-Zionist atmosphere in Odessa influenced him, and in 1886 he turned to writing Hebrew fiction...

This reading is in Hebrew.Mendele Mocher Seforim (Literary name for Shalom Jacob Abramovitsch) (1835 – 1917, b. Kapulye, Belorussia), one of the first modern Jewish writers, wrote in both Hebrew and Yiddish throughout his career. In his work he described with sharp satirical criticism the traditional life in small Jewish towns, as well as tendencies for assimilation of learned Jews at the time. He was regarded as the “grandfather of Yiddish literature” but the Hebraic-Zionist atmosphere in Odessa influenced him, and in 1886 he turned to writing Hebrew fiction...

Eliezer Izhak Perlman (1858-1922) signed his articles as E. Ben Yehuda. He was a key figure in the revival of Hebrew as a spoken language. He regarded Hebrew and Zionism as symbiotic: “The Hebrew language can live only if we revive the nation and return it to the fatherland,” he wrote. Ben Yehuda wrote essays and articles preaching for the use of Hebrew at schools and at home. His was the first family to do so, but it took more than 20 years before there were 10 more families in Jerusalem who spoke only Hebrew at home...

This reading is in Hebrew. Der Judenstaat (German, The Jewish State) is a book written by Theodor (Binyamin Zeev) Herzl and published in 1896 in Leipzig and Vienna by M. Breitenstein’s Verlags-Buchhandlung. It was originally called “Address to the Rothschilds” referring to the Rothschild family banking dynasty which was very influential in the realization of a Zionist state in Palestine. It is considered to be one of the most important texts of early Zionism. As expressed in this book, Herzl envisioned the founding of a future independent Jewish state during the twentieth century...

This recording is in Hebrew. Asher Zvi Hirsch Ginsberg (1856 – 1927), primarily known by his Hebrew name and pen name Ahad Ha’am (literally “one of the people”), was a Hebrew essayist and one of the greatest pre-state Zionist thinkers. With his secular vision of a Jewish “spiritual center” in Palestine he confronted Theodor Herzl. Unlike the founder of political Zionism he strove for “a Jewish state and not merely a state of Jews.”In 1889 his first article criticizing practical Zionism, called “Lo ze haddereckh” (This is not the way), appeared in HaMelitz...

Abraham Mapu was born in 1808 near Kaunas, today in Lithuania. He worked as a teacher and later joined the Jewish enlightenment movement. In 1853 he published his first book, Love of Zion, which has been regarded as the first secular novel written in biblical Hebrew. It takes place at the time of the First Temple covering love stories of Yoram, his wives and his children. The book had a profound influence on Jewish youth in Eastern Europe at the time of the emergent Zionist movement.

Mendele Mokher Sfarim (Mendele Book seller, literary name for Shalom Jacob Abramovitsch) (1835 - 1917, b. Kapulye, Belorussia), one of the first modern Jewish writers, wrote in both Hebrew and Yiddish throughout his career. In his work he described with sharp satirical criticism the traditional life in small Jewish towns, as well as tendencies for assimilation of learned Jews at the time. He was regarded as the "grandfather of Yiddish literature" but the Hebraic-Zionist atmosphere in Odessa influenced him, and in 1886 he turned to writing Hebrew fiction...

Genesis is the story of the Creation and the people that followed it. The place is Canaan which is the land of Israel and the adjoining nations. The Book discusses the complex relationship between God and Mankind and portrays the travails of one particular family, the family of Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The book is priceless in its description of the custom of the day and the interaction within the family, tribe and Nation. But most of all the beauty of Genesis lies in the description of human behavior from its petty jealousies through unrelenting commitment for a worthy cause and love for family and friends...

Uri Nissan Gnessin was a Russian Jewish writer, generally considered a pioneer of modern Hebrew literature. His first book was published in 1904. In 1906 he co-founded the Hebrew-language publishing house Nisyonot (Attempts), and after moving to London in 1907, he co-edited (with Hayim Yosef Brenner) Ha'Meorer, a Hebrew periodical. Later he emigrated to Palestine but returned to Russia, then moved to Warsaw, where he died in 1913 of a heart attack. Gnessin wrote in a unique style of prose notable for its expressionistic language form. The story "Etsel" is about a young man suffering severe heart disease, unable to love or accept the love of several women around him.

Uri Nissan Gnessin was born in Starodub, where his father was a rabbi. He left home at an early age, and moving from one yeshiva to the another, he developed a life-long friendship with a fellow Hebrew modernist author, Yosef Haim Brenner. His first published text was in 1904. In 1906 he co-founded the Hebrew language publishing house "Nisyonot" (Attempts), and after moving to London in 1907, he co-edited (with Brenner) Ha'Meorer, a Hebrew periodical. Following that he moved to Palestine but returned to Russia in 1908...

Micha Josef Berdyczewski (surname also written Berdichevsky) was a Ukrainian-born writer of Hebrew, a journalist, and a scholar. He appealed for the Jews to change their way of thinking, freeing themselves from dogmas ruling the Jewish religion, tradition and history, but is also known for his work with pre-modern Jewish myths and legends. He wrote in Hebrew, Yiddish and German and has been described as "the first Hebrew writer living in Berlin to be revered in the world of German letters."The book is supposed to be about Miriam, a young Jewish girl living in Eastern Europe toward the end of the 19th century...

Mordecai Ze’ev Feierberg was a Jewish Hebrew writer in Russia. He was attracted to enlightenment and to medieval Hebrew poetry. Feierberg was one of the announcers of symbolism in the Hebrew literature. He published short stories in the Hebrew newspapers, but his main work was the novel “Whither?” that was published shortly after his death. It follows the vacillations of a young man concerning faith, enlightenment, people and destiny. His answer to the question “Whither?” was the land of Israel. This work became central to Zionist thought. Feierberg died young of tuberculosis. (Translated from Hebrew Wikipedia by Omri Lernau)

This recording is in Hebrew.Stories included:רבי דב (Rabbi Dov)שני תרנגולים (Two Cocks)פסח שנשבת (Pesach Celebration Spoiled)יוסל הגנן (Yosel the Gardener)ספר הכפרות (Book of Atonement)חברבר החצרוני (The Dog Havarbar)שימלה (Shimele)פסח מוקדם (Early Pesach)הפילוסוף (The Philosopher)האשכנזי (The German Jew)האוצר (The Treasure)בשביל צנון אחד (For One Radish)עלילת דם (Blood Libel)Sholem Aleichem was the pen name of Solomon Naumovich Rabinovich, a leading Yiddish author and playwright...

Abraham Mapu was born in 1808 near Kaunas, today in Lithuania. He worked as a teacher and later joined the Jewish enlightenment movement. In 1853 he published his first book, Love of Zion, which has been regarded as the first secular novel written in biblical Hebrew. It takes place at the time of the First Temple covering love stories of Yoram, his wives and his children. The book had a profound influence on Jewish youth in Eastern Europe at the time of the emergent Zionist movement.

Breakdown and Bereavement, first published in 1920, is the story of a young Jewish immigrant in Palestine in the early 20th century. Like many of Yosef Haim Brenner's protagonists, Hefetz finds that pioneer life under Ottoman rule is a difficult and depressing path to a Zionist homeland. Brenner, himself a Russian-born immigrant to Palestine, was one of the first and most important authors of modern Hebrew literature. He was killed during the Jaffa riots of 1921.

יוסף חיים ברנר יליד 1881 בנוביה מליני, היום אוקראינה, עלה ארצה בשנת 1909 ונרצח ביפו על ידי ערבים במאורעות תרפ"א . היה מחלוצי הספרות העברית. המודרנית. בהקלטה הנוכחית מוגשים שבעה מסיפוריו המוקדמים.Yosef Haim Brenner was born in 1881 in what is now the Ukraine. He emigrated to Palestine in 1909 and was killed by Arabs in 1921 during the Jaffa riots. Brenner was one of the pioneers of modern Hebrew literature. The present recording contains seven of his early stories.

מיכה יוסף בן גוריון , היה סופר והוגה דעות עברי אשר טבע דפוסי כתיבה חדשים בספרות העברית, קרא לשינוי ערכים בתפישת היהדות, ותבע השתחררות מהדוגמה ששלטה בדת, במסורת ובהסטוריה הלאומית היהודית. נושאם העיקרי של סיפוריו של ברדיצ'בסקי הוא היחיד, המתמרד במסורת העיירה היהודית, והוא מוחרם בידי החברה השמרנית...

קוֹצוֹ שֶׁל יוּד היא פואמה עברית רחבת-יריעה של יהודה ליב גורדון , שהתפרסמה בהמשכים בכתב העת "השחר" שבעריכת פרץ סמולנסקין בשנת תרל"ו , ואחר-כך שוכללה על ידי המשורר וקיבלה את צורתה הסופית בחודש אב תרל"ח . שמה של הפואמה נגזר מהמסופר בעלילה, על רב שפסל גט, אותו השיגה אישה עגונה מבעלה, עקב האות י' שחסרה הייתה בשם הבעל...

Judah Leib Gordon was born to well-to-do Jewish parents who owned a hotel in Vilnius, Lithuania. He took a leading part in the modern revival of the Hebrew language and culture. His satires did much to rouse the Russian Jews to a new sense of the reality of life, and Gordon was the apostle of enlightenment in the Ghettos. His Hebrew style is classical and pure. Much of his poetry revolves around biblical and historical themes. His works were intended to disseminate Enlightenment values and had a profound impact on Jewish life...

אריה "בעל גוף" הוא סיפור קצר מאת חיים נחמן ביאליק והיצירה הראשונה שפרסם בפרוזה. הסיפור התפרסם בהמשכים בכתב העת הספרותי השילוח בשנת 1899. דמותו של אריה מבוססת כנראה על אדם אמיתי שחי בעיר הולדתו ז'יטומיר. "Arye Ba'al Guf" is a short story by Hayyim Nachman Bialik and the first work he published in prose. The story was published serially in the literary journal Shiloah in 1899. The figure of Arye is probably based on a real person who lived in the city of his birth, Zhytomyr, Ukraine.

"The Blind" is a short story by Jacob Steinberg, a Jewish writer, poet, and playwright. The story was first published in Yiddish in early April 1912 in the newspaper Der Fraynd , which appeared in Warsaw, Russian Poland. The story was later translated by Steinberg himself into Hebrew and was first published in the 1923 edition of his writings. The plot is described from the point of view of Hannah, the blind, who marries Israel by arrangement. At the end, the truth about her husband and the protagonist's condition is revealed and changes the main hypothesis about the meaning of the whole story.