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It was in 1853 that the Lithuanian writer Abraham Mapu (1808-1867) published what is considered to be the first Hebrew language novel, Ahavat Ziyyon (The Love of Zion). It is an historical romance set in the days of the prophet Isaiah. Although Mapu struggled to make ends meet as an author, this publication was a landmark event and would inspire many who worked to establish the nation state of Israel.
There were English translations of this novel in 1887 under title Amnon, Prince and Peasant, tr. by F. Jaffe; in 1902 as In the Days of Isaiah, tr. by Benjamin Alexander Moses Schapiro; and as The Shepherd Prince in 1922 and 1930, also by Schapiro, a Jewish-Christian missionary to the Jewish people. The 1922 translation was published with an introduction by the great Princeton linguistic scholar, Robert Dick Wilson.
Wilson’s praise of the story and the translation by Schapiro is remarkable given his expertise as a Christian Orientalist.
THE perusal of “The Shepherd-Prince,” translated from the work of the famous Jewish writer of fiction, Abraham Mapu, by Mr. B.A.M. Schapiro, will show how possible it is for the spirit and “atmosphere” of a people, as well as the environment and setting of ages long past, to be brought out so vividly as to make them real to the consciousness of readers of today. To achieve this is a distinction, the height of literary art.
This work is to be warmly commended to Christian readers because it presents in graphic form the ideas of a modern Israelite with regard to the life and ideals, the emotions and aspirations, of the Ancient Chosen People.
The period of this intensely interesting love story is that of the time of Isaiah, the greatest in the long list of prophets from Moses to Christ. And the incidents of the love-idyl and love-tragedy throughout its course, which, as in all human experience, did not run smooth, but was ultimately triumphant, are admirably developed and in language so felicitous that one feels almost as if it were from the Bible-fount itself.
Love—the greatest thing in the world—found expression in ancient times just as it does today; although the setting differed, the essentials are the same, and the reader of modern fictional literature will find something refreshing in the pure and ardent affection of the hero and heroine, in their tribulations and joys. We believe that this book will be uplifting and that it will have a healthful influence on readers of the present time; for, as has been well said, “There is no time in life when books do not influence a man,” and the potency and sway of a good book are incalculable.
The love story—the leading motive of the book—illustrates the theme of the Song of Songs: that love is stronger than death. It is interesting to observe that love at first sight was, in the estimation of Mapu, as common a thing as it is in our own times, and that the course of love ran no more smoothly then than now. The manner in which the passion was manifested, especially of the heroine, may shock the sensibilities of some of the readers, because of the departure from certain conventionalities to which they are accustomed; but it is well to learn how other people express their affection and how a great Hebrew scholar imagines the passion and the practice of love among the Israelites 2,700 years ago.
Mr. Schapiro has put the reading public unfamiliar with Hebrew language and literature under a deep debt of gratitude for the excellent manner in which he has rendered into English this masterpiece of Abraham Mapu, whose fame is known to the uttermost ends of the earth as the “Father of Jewish Fiction.”
The translator is an acknowledged master of Hebrew, the Rabbinical exegesis of the Old Testament, and the Talmudical interpretation of the same. He has written much and well, being the author of many useful and learned pamphlets. He is therefore eminently well qualified to translate for readers of English the wonderfully poetic and figurative language of the original, which abounds in prose-poetry and song of the highest character. Indeed, the translation is so free from the usual ear-marks of translated works that, if there were not two names on the title-page, it might well be taken for an original work in English.
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Within the limits of a Foreword it is impossible adequately to do justice to the scholarship and intrinsic worth of such a work as this; but, without flattery, it can safely be asserted that Mr. Schapiro has presented in a singularly fascinating way in its English dress, the greatest novel that has ever been produced in the Hebrew language. To say more would be like painting the lily or refining pure gold.
The Shepherd Prince is now available to read at Log College Press at R.D. Wilson’s page. If you are in search of a classic historical novel, this is a great one to add to your reading list.
