Sh. Y. Abramovitch`s Hebrew Translation of Gemeinnützige Naturgeschichte as a Foundational Text of the Modern Hebrew literature

Abramovitch`s Hebrew translation of Harald Othmar Lenz`s Gemeinnützige Naturgeschichte (1862-1872) is widely considered a corner stone in the modernization of Hebrew literary tradition. Scholars like Bracha Fishler, Iris Parush, Shalom Lurie, Yaacov Shavit, and Jehuda Reinharz shed light on the linguistic, scientific, ideological, and aesthetical aspects of the innovation introduced by this monumental work. In the course of the talk I will highlight the theological and narratological aspects of the text and its contribution to the formation of idiosyncratic literary style and thematic in Abramovitch`s (Mendele Moycher Sforim`s) literature.