How the Soviet Jew Was Made

A close reading of postrevolutionary Russian and Yiddish literature and film recasts the Soviet Jew as a novel cultural figure, navigating between the Jewish past and Bolshevik modernity. Sasha Senderovich's book, "How the Soviet Jew Was Made," explores this ambivalence through characters such as the Siberian settler, folkloric trickster, and fragmented family, urging us to see the Soviet Jew anew as a liminal being.

Format: Hardback
Length: 368 pages
Publication date: 29 July 2022
Publisher: Harvard University Press

The Russian Revolution of 1917 brought about significant changes for the Jewish community in the former tsarist empire. The Pale of Settlement, which had been the designated area for Jews to live, was abolished several months before the Bolsheviks took power. As a result, many Jews left the shtetls, seeking opportunities elsewhere. Some migrated to larger cities, while others traveled to Europe, America, or Palestine. Thousands of Jews also ventured to the newly established Jewish Autonomous Region in the Far East, where they hoped to establish new lives as farmers.

For these Jews, Soviet modernity represented a new era of freedom, possibility, and the need to break away from traditional ways of life. This ambivalence was reflected in the Soviet Jew, who became a unique cultural figure. In his insightful readings of Yiddish and Russian literature, films, and reportage, Sasha Senderovich explores the lives of characters who navigate space and history, carrying with them the remnants of a lost Jewish world. These characters include the Siberian settler of Viktor Finks' Jews in the Taiga, the folkloric trickster of Isaac Babel, and the fragmented, bickering family of Moyshe Kulbaks' The Zelmenyaners, whose insular lives are disrupted by the march of technological, political, and social change.

Senderovich encourages us to reexamine the Soviet Jew not just as a minority but also as a particular kind of liminal being. He highlights the ways in which these individuals straddle multiple worlds, navigating between the Jewish past and the Bolshevik modernity that shaped their lives. The Soviet Jew became a symbol of the complexities and contradictions of a society in transition, a testament to the resilience and adaptability of the human spirit in the face of change.

In conclusion, the Russian Revolution of 1917 transformed the Jewish community in the former tsarist empire, leading to the emergence of the Soviet Jew as a novel cultural figure. Through close readings of postrevolutionary Russian and Yiddish literature and film, Senderovich reveals the complexities and contradictions of this community, highlighting their ambivalence towards Soviet modernity and their struggle to adapt to a new world. The Soviet Jew became a symbol of the resilience and adaptability of the human spirit in the face of change, a testament to the power of literature and film to capture the essence of a complex historical moment.

Weight: 674g
Dimension: 166 x 241 x 34 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780674238190