Shaul Pinchas Rabinovich (Schepher) and the Pantheon of Heroes of Hibbat Zion

Abstract

Like many ideological movements, Hibbat Zion sought to construct a pantheon of historical heroes who would legitimize its modern message and attract a wide audience to its ranks. The first leader who deliberately and methodically engaged in this effort was Shaul Pinchas Rabinovich. Rabinovich regarded the Jewish national movement as a necessary stratum of the moderate Haskalah movement he advocated. To this end he set up a pantheon of national heroes, historical figures noted for their national and Haskalah framework of values: general education, love of mankind, affinity for Eretz Israel and the Hebrew language, knowledge of Jewish law, and a practical understanding of Jewish solidarity. He did so as editor of the Hebrew periodical, Knesset Israel, the organ of Hibbat Zion, as the Hebrew translator of Zvi Graetz’s comprehensive History of the Jews, and as the author of historical monographs and biographies which served to promote Hibbat Zion ideology.