377:
232:
and cultural divides he encounters. In Jaffa, Isaac finds himself unable to get work on the agricultural settlements due to his lack of experience and labor scarcity, instead making a living as a house painter. He is exposed to the secular, cosmopolitan environment of Jaffa and the polemics between Labor
Zionists and the religious old yishuv population in Jerusalem. Isaac develops a complex relationship with the stray dog Balak; he writes the words "mad dog" (
303:
but also the alienation inherent in the condition of secular Jewish immigrants to
Palestine. Interpretations have differed on whether Balak is solely a symbol of the Jewish outsider condition, or also represents aspects of Isaac's psyche. The role of Balak has been extensively analyzed through psychoanalytic lense.
302:
Balak's suffering mirrors the persecution of the Jewish people, but his role develops into a complex symbol over the course of the narrative, as his tale becomes increasingly intertwined with the experiences of Isaac and other human characters. Balak seems to represent the plight of the diaspora Jew,
231:
The main protagonist is Isaac Kumer (or
Yitzhak Kumer), a Galician Jew who immigrates to Palestine around 1907 filled with idealism about building a new life working the land as part of the Zionist project. However, Isaac's initial dreams and illusions are gradually undermined by the harsh realities
27:
265:
What makes Balak so wonderful a creature is his total dogginess. He not only walks like a dog, runs like a dog, squats like a dog, sniffs like a dog, hungers like a dog, and thirsts like a dog, he also thinks like a dog or (so Agnon convinces us) thinks as a dog would think if a dog could think.
157:, widely considered his masterpiece and one of the great works of modern Hebrew fiction. Through a blend of symbolism, intertextual allusions, and tragic comedy, it provides a nuanced perspective on the ideological and cultural tensions within the Jewish community in Palestine during the
313:
called Balak "a dog trapped by a Jewish fate." The Balak's appearance in the novel puzzled many critics, and one of the interpretations is that he is "representing a combination of
Yitshak's sexual development, naivete, self-delusion, and larger psyche". Many more interpretations exist:
376:
283:) in Hebrew on Balak's back. This act sets in motion a tragic chain of events where the dog is reviled, persecuted, beaten, and driven from place to place by people who believe he is rabid based on the writing on his back. The name, Balak, sounds like the Hebrew word for 'dog',
606:
220:
Like all our brethren of the Second Aliyah, the bearers of our
Salvation, Yitshak Kumer left his country and his homeland and his city and ascended to the Land of Israel to build it from its destruction and to be rebuilt by it.
423:. The translation efforts were described as "the impossible task of wrestling Agnon into English" and "heroic efforts". The book also contains a glossary and "an excellent introduction" by Israeli poet and translator
392:
Agnon was a linguistic pioneer who pitched his modern Hebrew prose on an ancient foundation. His language stretches back to biblical times and weaves in almost everything that came after, from
240:. Isaac eventually marries the daughter of a religious family, suggesting an embrace of tradition over his earlier secular leanings. The book ends when Balak bites Isaac and he dies of rabies.
279:
One of the most famous and analyzed elements of the novel is the stray dog named Balak who becomes an allegorical figure. Early in the story, the protagonist Isaac paints the words "mad dog" (
210:
is often called a masterpiece, and even "the Great
Israeli Novel". The novel is sometimes categorized as "documentary fiction", and was called an "authoritative account of the Second Aliyah".
655:
449:
350:
255:. Yiddish and German word "kumer" means 'โgrief,โ โwoe,โ โmisery,โ or โsorrowโ'. Balak is called one of the most recognizable animals in Jewish literature.
388:
Agnon is often called "a notoriously difficult writer", his language is very different from modern Hebrew, and is described by
Israelis now as "archaic":
365:
409:
50:
771:(2013). "Only Yesterday: A Hebrew Dog and Colonial Dynamics in Pre-Mandate Palestine". In Ackerman-Lieberman, Phillip; Zalashik, Rakefet (eds.).
1107:
704:
339:
338:
has recently reread the Balak narrative as an ironic commentary on the excesses of
Zionist biblical exegesis. From a postcolonial perspective,
659:
815:
192:
movement. Much of the material in the novel is semi-autobiographical, drawing on Agnon's experiences of aliyah, and his life in
364:
is the novel can be both historical (in the 1930s there were hundreds cases of rabies in Tel Aviv) and symbolic, as argued by
550:
982:
414:
55:
1195:
942:
Hollander, Philip; Alroey, Gur (2020). "Challenging
Contemporary Historiography in Shmuel Yosef Agnon's Only Yesterday".
768:
344:
123:
785:
181:
1168:
1133:
494:(2004). "Sentient Dogs, Liberated Rams, and Talking Asses: Agnon's Biblical Zoo: or Rereading Tmol shilshom".
743:
630:
Shait, Heddy (2015). "Horizontal or
Vertical: Rereading the Space Scheme in Only Yesterday by S. Y. Agnon".
1050:
869:
1016:
712:
917:
420:
515:
Holtz, Avraham (2004). "Encomia and Corrigenda: On Barbara Harshav's Translation of Temol Shilshom".
150:
537:
1200:
464:
247:, and his name is read by some commenters as Yiddish/Hebrew "hybrid" that connects him to the
1073:
1190:
567:
491:
357:โs parallel estimation, it is an allegory of the eruptive potential of vernacular Hebrew.
8:
1161:
772:
571:
539:
Good Germans, Confused Jews, and the Tragedy of Modernity: S. Y. Agnon Remembers Leipzig
381:
204:, from 1931 to 1945. It was published in Palestine, and the book became "a sensation".
169:
154:
40:
349:
suggests that Balak is the inscription of imperialist violence evidenced in the text.
892:
781:
546:
472:
177:
173:
118:
951:
884:
830:
639:
586:
524:
503:
424:
248:
200:. Agnon was writing the novel for almost 15 years, during the World War II and the
955:
590:
180:
at a time when it was not a "daily language". He had immigrated to Palestine from
888:
811:
354:
331:
292:
138:
978:
436:
327:
834:
643:
528:
507:
353:
has also analyzed the story of Balak as an allegory of a โtext cut looseโ; in
1184:
1046:
896:
816:"A Mad Dog's Attack on Secularized Hebrew: Rethinking Agnon's Temol shilshom"
651:
476:
439:, who illustrated parts of the book published as "Stray Dog" (Kelev Hutzot).
310:
272:
185:
158:
870:"Rabid Reading: Melancholia and the Mad Dog in S. Y. Agnon's Temol shilshom"
465:"Fiction, Fable, and the Face of a Generation: S. Y. Agnon's Only Yesterday"
1012:
335:
739:
700:
306:
244:
149:, lit. "the day before yesterday") is a 1945 Hebrew novel by the Israeli
252:
236:) on the dog's back, so everyone who sees him thought that the dog has
26:
1103:
780:. Brighton and Portland, OR: Sussex Academic Press. pp. 156โ78.
319:
309:
called Balak's story "one of the great retellings of the Job story";
201:
197:
400:
and liturgical elements to modern Hebrew poems and Zionist slogans.
774:
A Jew's Best Friend? The Image of the Dog throughout Jewish History
607:"The dog Balak and the role of language in Agnon's Only Yesterday"
440:
189:
397:
393:
361:
296:
237:
67:
323:
288:
193:
371:
322:
counters by examining the dog as โa canine blend of
656:"The Matchless Master of Modern Hebrew Literature"
188:wave of Jewish immigration motivated by socialist
295:22:2โ24:25, Balak was the King of Moab who urged
1182:
973:
971:
969:
967:
965:
941:
572:"S.Y. Agnon's Jerusalem: before and after 1948"
962:
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691:
689:
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685:
1131:
810:
25:
1041:
1039:
1037:
1007:
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1003:
863:
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859:
857:
855:
853:
851:
734:
732:
730:
443:has "an episode-by-episode discussion of
427:, who is also Barbara Harshav's husband.
164:
682:
375:
372:Agnon's language and English translation
330:.โ Looking not to Goethe but toward the
172:is one of the central figures in modern
1162:Introduction to the English translation
1096:
867:
806:
804:
763:
761:
243:Isaac Kumer is sometimes compared with
1183:
1177:, first chapter of English translation
1034:
1000:
848:
727:
699:
650:
566:
490:
258:
1071:
1011:
767:
629:
604:
545:. De Gruyter Saur. pp. 275โ292.
535:
514:
462:
1102:
918:"The Nobel Prize in Literature 1966"
910:
801:
758:
1132:Kagan-Kans, Daniel (12 June 2013).
435:Agnon collaborated with the artist
142:
13:
1072:Smith, Stuart A. (29 March 2001).
1045:
738:
456:
161:period in the early 20th century.
14:
1212:
1155:
1134:"The Man Who Thought in Pictures"
977:
658:. Mosaic Magazine. Archived from
404:The first English translation of
611:Notes on Contemporary Literature
1125:
1065:
226:โThe opening line of the novel.
213:
184:in 1908 at age 20, part of the
935:
430:
318:Reading Balak intertextually,
1:
1108:"Lessons of 'Only Yesterday'"
956:10.2979/israelstudies.25.3.09
675:
591:10.2979/jewisocistud.18.3.136
1078:The New York Review of Books
889:10.2979/jewisocistud.24.3.01
705:"Israel's Founding Novelist"
287:, spelled backwards. In the
31:Cover of the English edition
7:
16:Novel by Shmuel Yosef Agnon
10:
1217:
1196:Hebrew-language literature
868:Yudkoff, Sunny S. (2019).
421:Princeton University Press
77:Princeton University Press
983:"You Can't Go Home Again"
835:10.2979/PFT.2004.24.2.167
644:10.1017/S0364009415000100
529:10.2979/pft.2004.24.3.320
508:10.1017/S0364009404000078
117:
109:
101:Published in English
99:
91:
81:
73:
63:
46:
36:
24:
605:Moore, Michael (2013).
463:Fleck, Jeffrey (1983).
126:(First English edition)
1138:Jewish Review of Books
536:Ariel, Yaakov (2012).
402:
385:
359:
268:
223:
165:History and background
877:Jewish Social Studies
579:Jewish Social Studies
568:Ezrahi, Sidra DeKoven
492:Ezrahi, Sidra DeKoven
450:The Silence of Heaven
390:
379:
316:
263:
218:
744:"Pilgrim's Progress"
703:(13 November 2016).
469:Hebrew Annual Review
408:was made in 2000 by
380:Agnon receiving the
1173:archive.nytimes.com
1164:by Benjamin Harshav
987:archive.nytimes.com
662:on 28 November 2023
419:, and published by
351:Anne Golomb-Hoffman
299:to curse the Jews.
259:Balak the 'Mad Dog'
21:
1017:"My Life As a Dog"
715:on 19 October 2020
386:
170:Shmuel Yosef Agnon
155:Shmuel Yosef Agnon
41:Shmuel Yosef Agnon
19:
1106:(22 April 2011).
1053:. Mosaic Magazine
1021:Los Angeles Times
552:978-3-11-094232-3
174:Hebrew literature
130:
129:
92:Publication place
1208:
1176:
1169:"Only Yesterday"
1149:
1148:
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1129:
1123:
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1118:
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1058:
1051:"The Agnon Wink"
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914:
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812:Hasak-Lowy, Todd
808:
799:
798:
796:
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779:
765:
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736:
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724:
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711:. Archived from
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601:
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563:
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559:
544:
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425:Benjamin Harshav
418:
366:Sunny S. Yudkoff
348:
275:
249:binding of Isaac
227:
144:
83:Publication date
59:
29:
22:
18:
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1087:
1085:
1074:"Balak the Dog"
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989:
979:Rosen, Jonathan
976:
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916:
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849:
839:
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792:
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766:
759:
749:
747:
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728:
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698:
683:
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665:
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620:
618:
595:
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574:
557:
555:
553:
542:
481:
479:
459:
457:Further reading
433:
412:
410:Barbara Harshav
374:
355:Todd Hasak-Lowy
342:
332:book of Numbers
293:Book of Numbers
277:
270:
261:
229:
225:
216:
167:
102:
84:
53:
51:Barbara Harshav
32:
20:Only Yesterday
17:
12:
11:
5:
1214:
1204:
1203:
1201:Israeli novels
1198:
1193:
1179:
1178:
1165:
1157:
1156:External links
1154:
1151:
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1047:Halkin, Hillel
1033:
1015:(7 May 2000).
999:
961:
944:Israel Studies
934:
922:NobelPrize.org
909:
847:
800:
786:
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726:
709:The New Yorker
680:
679:
677:
674:
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652:Hillel, Halkin
648:
638:(2): 393โ406.
627:
602:
585:(3): 136โ153.
564:
551:
533:
512:
502:(1): 105โ136.
488:
458:
455:
447:" in his book
445:Only Yesterday
437:Avigdor Arikha
432:
429:
406:Only Yesterday
373:
370:
328:Mephistopheles
281:kelev meshugga
262:
260:
257:
234:kelev meshugga
217:
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208:Only Yesterday
176:; he wrote in
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769:Cohen, Uri S.
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186:Second Aliyah
183:
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159:Second Aliyah
156:
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148:
147:Tmol shilshom
140:
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42:
39:
35:
28:
23:
1172:
1141:. Retrieved
1137:
1127:
1115:. Retrieved
1111:
1098:
1086:. Retrieved
1081:
1077:
1067:
1055:. Retrieved
1024:. Retrieved
1020:
990:. Retrieved
986:
947:
943:
937:
925:. Retrieved
921:
912:
900:. Retrieved
880:
876:
838:. Retrieved
826:
822:
791:. Retrieved
773:
748:. Retrieved
740:Kirsch, Adam
717:. Retrieved
713:the original
708:
701:Kirsch, Adam
664:. Retrieved
660:the original
635:
631:
619:. Retrieved
614:
610:
594:. Retrieved
582:
578:
556:. Retrieved
538:
520:
516:
499:
495:
480:. Retrieved
471:(7): 69โ88.
468:
448:
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391:
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360:
336:Ilana Pardes
317:
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214:Plot summary
207:
206:
168:
146:
133:
132:
131:
1191:1945 novels
883:(3): 1โ25.
431:Adaptations
413: [
343: [
307:Adam Kirsch
245:Don Quixote
151:Nobel Prize
54: [
1185:Categories
1104:Benn, Aluf
950:(3): 106.
829:(2): 167.
823:Prooftexts
676:References
632:AJS Review
523:(3): 320.
517:Prooftexts
496:AJS Review
253:Genesis 22
143:ืชืืื ืฉืืฉืื
47:Translator
897:0021-6704
477:0193-7162
382:Ussishkin
340:Uri Cohen
320:Dan Miron
202:Holocaust
198:Jerusalem
153:laureate
74:Publisher
814:(2004).
746:. Tablet
654:(2018).
570:(2012).
398:Talmudic
394:Mishnaic
64:Language
1117:10 June
1112:Haaretz
1026:11 June
927:11 June
902:11 June
840:11 June
793:10 June
750:10 June
666:10 June
596:11 June
558:11 June
482:11 June
441:Amos Oz
190:Zionism
182:Galicia
1143:9 June
1088:9 June
1057:9 June
992:9 June
895:
784:
719:9 June
621:9 June
549:
475:
362:Rabies
297:Balaam
238:rabies
178:Hebrew
139:Hebrew
95:Israel
68:Hebrew
37:Author
873:(PDF)
819:(PDF)
778:(PDF)
575:(PDF)
543:(PDF)
417:]
347:]
324:Faust
289:Bible
285:kelev
251:from
194:Jaffa
110:Pages
58:]
1145:2024
1119:2024
1090:2024
1059:2024
1028:2024
994:2024
929:2024
904:2024
893:ISSN
842:2024
795:2024
782:ISBN
752:2024
721:2024
668:2024
623:2024
598:2024
560:2024
547:ISBN
484:2024
473:ISSN
396:and
326:and
196:and
119:ISBN
105:2000
87:1945
1084:(5)
952:doi
885:doi
831:doi
640:doi
617:(4)
587:doi
525:doi
504:doi
113:704
1187::
1171:.
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1082:48
1080:.
1076:.
1049:.
1036:^
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583:18
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415:he
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271:โ
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
