Jews in Slavic Culture. Volume 6 by W. s> Moskovich O. Luthar S. Schwarzband (review)

Abstract

350 SEER, 82, 2, 2004 Moskovich, W., Luthar, 0. and Schwarzband, S. (eds).Jews in SlavicCulture. Volume 6. Center for Slavic Languages and Literatures of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Scientific Research Center of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Jerusalem and Ljubljana, I999. x + 476 pp. Notes. Price unknown. IF the general theme of the yearbook Jews and Slavs, published by the Hebrew University, invites diversity, the specific theme of this volume, Jerusalem in Slavic Culture', reaches a higher level of eclecticism. The twenty-seven articles are written, in ascending order, in Ukrainian, French, Slovenian, Russian and English. The contributors come from as far afield as Venice, Glasgow, Ljubljana and even Jerusalem. Most contributions fall into one of three categories: Jerusalem within the Christian and Common Slavic Tradition, Jerusalem in the World of the Southern Slavs and Jews, and Jerusalem and the World of the Eastern Slavs. There are also contributions dealing with representations ofJerusalem in the culture of Poland and Hungary. A number of articles deal with the treatment of Jerusalem and Jews in the work of national writers such as Anton Novacan, Zlata Vokac Medic, Mykhajlo Rosvyhuvs'kyi-Andrella, Moisei Fishbein and Juliusz Slowacki. Also in the literary realm, there are pieces devoted to the theme of Jerusalem in various branches of Slavic folk culture. Faced with such an intellectual pot-pourri, the reviewer can only indicate a number of the more significant articles. P. Gonneau offers a detailed analysis of the travel accounts of the Russian pilgrim to Palestine and the Near East, V. G. Barskii, between I726 and I734. (The account was first published in I885-87.) An attentive observer, Barskii described the relations between the various Christian communities in Ottoman-ruled Jerusalem. He also offered an outsider's view of the Arab population, Christian and Muslim, and the religious environment under Islam. V. Levin's contribution offers a fascinating account of architecture in the service of the Russian state in the nineteenth century. He shows how architecture sponsored by the Russian state evolved from designs for fortresslike pilgrims' compounds to plans for the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives. The church's 'pure Russian style of the I7th century' was selected by Tsar Alexander III himself. Of interest too is the background that Levin provides for this ambitious Russian building programme : a desire to weaken the influence of the dominant Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Palestine. J. Raba treats another group of Russian pilgrims to Palestine, Russian clerics and merchants from the twelfth to the fifteenth centuries, whose accounts were used to bolster the prestige of politically ambitious towns Novgorod, Tver and Moscow -by linking them to the city that served as the font of Christianity. Discerning readers will start with the table of contents and make their own choices from this diverse and unusual collection. Department ofHebrewandJewish Studies JOHN D. KLIER UniversityCollegeLondon ...