חקלאות וחקלאים במרחב התרבות היהודית-הליטאית

Translated title of the contribution: Agriculture and Farmers in the Jewish-Lithuanian Cultural Sphere

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

According to conventional wisdom, supported also in no small measure by stereotypes, agriculture as a vocation was not considered as part of the occupational profile of pre-World War II Jewish society. However, various sources show that in different places in this region, primarily Lithuania, White Russia, northeastern Poland, and Bessarabia, tens of thousands of Jews made a living from direct engagement in various branches of agriculture, including field crops, orchards, and lake fishing. These Jews lived mainly in the rural areas and were a factor — at times highly significant — in the local demographic and economic structure. This article examines the phenomenon of Jewish agriculture in the 'Litvakland', i.e. among the Jews of the Jewish-Lithuanian cultural arena. Based on a vast array of primary sources, including archival documents, memoirs, 19th century press articles, censuses and contemporary literature, the author's main claim is that unlike other European Jewish cultural arenas, in this area farming constituted a significant percentage of the occupational structure of the local Jewish communities. The background to this unique phenomenon was not ideological but rather practical, resulting from the limited scale of the local urban centers and the scarcity of other sources of livelihood such as industry. It reflected the unique element of rationalism in the collective character of these Jews. Moreover, this phenomenon has far-reaching repercussions for the validity of the term 'East European Jews' and its perception as a single ethno-cultural entity embracing the entire Jewish population living to the east of the Oder river.
Translated title of the contributionAgriculture and Farmers in the Jewish-Lithuanian Cultural Sphere
Original languageHebrew
Pages (from-to)529-553
Number of pages25
Journalציון: רבעון לחקר תולדות ישראל
Volume77
Issue number4
StatePublished - 2012

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