החברה, הספרות וההשכלה היהודית ברוסיה בעיני הביקורת הרדיקאלית של י" א קובנר

During the 1860's the movement of radical Jewish maskilim made its appearance in Russia. Its youthful proponents demanded of the 'old generation', both traditionalists as well as supporters of Haskalah, that they be empowered to effect a reshaping of Hebrew literature, Jewish society and 'Haskalah'. They rejected any subservience to authoritative elements, embraced realism and positivism, and evinced a reverence of science as well as other slogans already taken up by the radical intellectuals and Russian nihilists under whose influence they had fallen. These maskilim also displayed a particular sensitivity to the economic and social plight of the Jewish masses. I. E. Kowner, a young maskil born in Vilna in 1840, articulated his radical-maskil convictions in his book 'Ha-Mazref', written in 1868 but never published. The manuscript of this work contains a broad and detailed treatise of biting criticism, and constitutes a valuable historical document for the study of various trends within Jewish society under the rule of Alexander the Second, as well as a source for examining the proclivities of the radical maskilim. Kowner critically attacked Hebrew literature, especially the religious genre, while concurrently defending his brother Abraham Kowner against his detractor, the moderate maskil Abraham Baer Gottlober. Unlike his brother, however, I. E. Kowner took a positive stand towards writers of the 'old generation' such as Adam Ha-Cohen. His primary demand of the new literature was that it should come up to European standards and address contemporary issues. The rabbinic elite, including its 'founding father' the Gaon of Vilna, were presented in a decidedly negative spirit in Ha-Mazref. Its leaders were castigated for abandoning the masses and ignoring its predicament. Kowner pointed to the dire conditions of the masses and their estrangement from the practical and natural world, while at the same time noting the failure of the Haskalah's institutions in preparing teachers and rabbis from among the maskilim. Kowner also deliberated over the true meaning of 'Haskalah', and attempted to arrive at a more precise and clear definition of the term. A particulary scathing attack was devoted by Kowner to the Jews who had undergone a Russian acculturation, manifested primarily by the embracing of external modes of behavior such as language, dress, types of entertainment and more open relationships between young men and women. Kowner devoted particular attention to the situation of women, both traditional as well as modern. Not satisfied with merely criticizing, Kowner went on to propose a detailed program of fourteen sections for implementing his radical reforms. The nucleus of this program called for the establishment of a new central Jewish leadership, that would impose changes in all spheres of life upon the Jewish community.