Itzhak Katzenelson’s Dos lid fun oysgehargetn yidishn folk in Translation: The First Four Decades

Abstract

This article proposes that the second part of Sholem Asch’s christological trilogy—the novel The Apostle—be considered as a form of haggadic midrash of The Book of Acts and Pauline epistles. By giving certain examples, the author explains why the ‘midrash key’ differs in this case from a simple fictionalisation of New Testament texts—and further discusses what this reveals about the attitudes, expectations and desires of Asch himself.