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2 Literature by Women of the First Aliyah: The Aspiration for Women's Renaissance in Eretz Israel Yaffa Berlovitz The Woman's Voice in the First Aliyah In any consideration of the literary works by the women of the First Aliyah (wave of immigration), we must, at the outset, try to clarify what women were like during that period. This clarification leads us to potential sources (historical records, memoirs, diaries, anniversary albums, and the like), but the account which emerges is an extremely limited one. Contrary to the wealth of material dealing with men's endeavors, the description of women's activities is merely incidental. This comes about not only because a man's place in the early pioneering effort- as settler, founder, and builder-was given greater emphasis but also because his position as head of the family gave him the responsibility for everything that befell the family; whatever it was, it happened in his name. This outlook stands out, for example, in the anniversary album of Zikhron Yaakov, by Aryeh Samsonov (1942). In his roster of names, "And These Were Our Pioneers", the writer classifies the early settlers according to descriptions of their various tasks and accomplishments, to wit: "Those who were first to settle the land", "Those who could not bear the burden of their mission", "Those who succeeded and were privileged to raise a generation of sons and builders". And yet, in all these lists, not even once do we find a woman's name-almost as though, among all those people, there had been no women at all and the achievement of settling the land had belonged only to the men. On the other hand, even when these documents do offer us some historical or biographical information about a woman (Harizman , 1958; Smilansky, 1950), her voice does not come through to us; we do not sense her opinions, her thoughts, her emotional reac49 50 Yaffa Berlovitz tions, and most important, her interpretation of that soul-stirring, historic event, the return to Zion. This lack, however, is complemented by the writings of the women themselves. Even though such works are few in number, and some were written at a later date (after the First Aliyah), it is they, nevertheless, which constitute the principal source for any inquiry into the essence of the First Aliyah woman; they alone can convey her voice most directly and most authentically (Luncz, 1919; Trager, 1923; Ben-Yehuda, 1940; Harari, 1947). Who was this woman, and how is she perceived in the historical setting of the period under discussion? The Characterization of the Woman-Writer The year 1882 marked a turning point in J ewish settlement in Eretz Israel (Palestine). Until that time, the link to Zion resulted in only scattered attempts at settlement, while from 1882 onward, these endeavors were carried out more regularly and more consistently . Despite financial difficulties, unfamiliarity with the country and a lack of agricultural know-how and training, Jewish colonies were being established one after the other (Rishon le'Tzion, Rosh Pina, Zikhron Yaakov), inaugurating the development of a new Jewish way of life. And in this ongoing pioneering venture, there is no question that women, too, were full partners. However, because the woman was still regarded in the traditional image of the help mate, her contribution to the settlement of the Yishuv (the Jewish settlement in pre-state Palestine) was taken for granted and not considered anything out of the ordinary. Another reason for this attitude was the fact that a woman's participation was often the result of having passively followed her husband and was not the product of her own initiative and comprehension .' It must be remembered that immigration to Eretz Israel was taking place in the context of a dramatic ideological nationalistic change. For all that, Hibbat Zion (Love of Zion) was a movement which had only a small following among the Jewish masses of Eastern Europe-a following composed mainly of males. Where women were concerned, the situation was quite different. In the second half of the nineteenth century, most Jewish women in Eastern European "Shtetls" continued to fill their traditional roles (caring for home and family, and helping out with livelihood when necessary ), while communal and national issues were far removed from their daily concerns. An additional factor was the very minimal education they received (reading and writing Yiddish plus the Literature by Women of the First Aliyah 51 rudiments of arithmetic). This was of very little help to them...

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