Author: Amiran-Sappir, Revital

Source: Israel Studies Forum, Volume 23, Number 1, Summer 2008 , pp. 15-39(25)

Abstract:

This article deals with the relation of Micha Yosef Ben Gurion (Berdichevski)—one of the central formulators of the Zionist idea and of modern Hebrew literature—to the Zionist political sphere. As a wordly Jewish intellectual, Berdichevski attempted to establish a kind of Zionism that would allow Jewish individuals to engage in it as an act of their desires. In exploring how his carnal inclinations affected his vision of the political, I argue that Berdichevski's perception fails qualitatively by transposing its guiding sensual approach to the formulation of the new Jewish political sphere. As this article will show, Berdichevski's relation to the Jewish political revolution reveals a sometimes limited perception regarding the possibilities of freedom inherent in political activity and often contradicts his own aspiration to nurture the liberty of Jewish individuals.

Keywords: DIONYSIAN; EROS; ID; NATIONHOOD; PASSION; POLITICAL SPHERE; RAW FORCE; ZIONISM

DOI: 10.3167/isf.2008.230102

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