Ha-Tsefirah

Ha-Tsefirah (also Zefirah ; Hazefirah) (lit. "Epoch") was a Hebrew language newspaper published in 1862 and 1874-1931. [ [http://icon.crl.edu/detail.php?language=Hebrew&country=&title=&oclcno=&begindate=&institution=&sort=&sortOrder=ASC&item=-1&recIndex=49&recCount=70 ICON: International Coalition on Newspapers ] ]

The first issue of Ha-Tsefirah appeared in Warsaw, Congress Poland, Russian Empire in 1862, edited by Chaim Selig Slonimski (known by his Hebrew acronym Hazas). [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/977814.html Spotlighting the 'great events' - Haaretz - Israel News ] ] Ha-Tsefirah was the first Hebrew paper with an emphasis on the sciences. Six months later, the paper closed when Slonimski became principal of the rabbinical seminary in Zhytomyr and the government censor of Hebrew books. [ [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?letter=S&artid=855 JewishEncyclopedia.com - SLONIMSKI, ḤAYYIM SELIG: ] ] The paper reopened in 1874, in Berlin, the place of publication being changed in September, 1875, to Warsawbut did not cover news and politics until after the First Zionist Congress. In 1886, the paper began to appear as a daily. The driving spirit behind this change was Slonimski's assistant, Nachum Sokolov who was later appointed editor-in-chief. [The Institute Anniversary Volume (1941-1961), Institute of Jewish Affairs, p.322]

Ha-Tsefirah became part of a network of important Hebrew periodicals, among them Ha-Shahar, He-Asif, Ha-Shiloah. Some of the greatest names in early modern Hebrew literature published their work in Ha-Tsefirah, including Mendele Mocher Sforim, Y.L. Peretz and Sholem Aleichem.

Bibliography

*Oren Soffer (2004) "Antisemitism, Statistics, and the Scientization of Hebrew Political Discourse: The Case Study of Ha-Tsefirah"Jewish Social Studies: History, Culture, and Society Winter 2004, Vol. 10, No. 2: pp. 55-79
*Oren Soffer "There is No Place for Pilpul! Hazefirah Journal and the Modernization of Socio-political Discourse" (in Hebrew), Mossad Bialik & the Center for the Study of Polish Jewry at Hebrew University of Jerusalem

References