Vision to Reality: The Reut Blog

What’s the connection between Ahad Ha’am, Bialik, Katznelson, Meir Shalev and Barry Sakharov? They were all a part of Reut’s bi-weekly ‘Jewish component’ discussion, (organized by the Center for Leadership Initiatives and supported by the Schusterman Foundation) which forms a part of our analysts’ training program.

Last week focused on the meaning of secular Jewish culture in our own collective identity.

We initially examined the relevancy of different cultural visions for the future society in Eretz Yisrael. It included Achad Ha’am’s concept of Israel as a spiritual national center, Bialik’s idea of “cultural rebirth” and Berl Katznelson’s belief that “a new and rejuvenating generation does not discard the legacy of its past to the trash heap.”

We ended the discussion with the help of Nir Broide from Bina, a center for Jewish identity and Hebrew culture discussing whether Secular Jewish culture is reflected in the books of Meir Shalev or the songs of Barry Sakharov.

Ultimately, the original question of what our generation has forgotten from the visions of our Zionist ancestors may not be the right one. More importantly, we should ask what aspects we can remember and rejuvenate in the here and now.