Abstracts
Abstract
The recent boost in English translations of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook (1865-1935), the undisputed father of religious Zionism, may be considered a revealing juncture between Israeli and American Modern Orthodox Jewish communities. Upon establishing the features of theological translation in this homeland-diaspora framework, my paper offers a discussion of a dominant translation trend of Kook’s thought in the 1990s, an ideologically motivated “export” of texts which has been largely determined by the transnational movement of people. The translators were American rabbis who emigrated and settled in Israel and the main target audience for the translations was the growing number of young American Jews making the one-year study visit in Israeli yeshivas before returning to American college life. The translations, I argue, were framed as a political polemic on the part of right-wing religious Zionism, aimed at promoting a highly nationalist, topical political interpretation of Kook’s suggestive Hebrew works among English-speaking Modern Orthodox Jews, particularly those making the increasingly popular study visit in Israeli yeshivas – visits that have been associated with the persistent “slide to the Right” of Modern Orthodox Judaism in America in recent decades.
Keywords:
- theological translation,
- religious Zionism,
- Modern Orthodox Judaism,
- Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook,
- Israeli-American Jewish relations
Résumé
La récente augmentation du nombre de traductions en anglais des écrits du Rabbin Abraham Isaac Kook (1865-1935), père incontesté du sionisme religieux, peut être considérée comme un tournant significatif pour les communautés juives israéliennes et américaines se réclamant du courant moderne orthodoxe. Cette étude analyse les caractéristiques de la traduction de textes théologiques dans le cadre de la relation « patrie-diaspora ». Elle propose ainsi une réflexion sur l’orientation dominante des traductions de la pensée de Kook dans les années 1990, véritable « exportation » idéologique de textes, essentiellement induite par les déplacements transnationaux. Les traducteurs de ces écrits étaient des rabbins américains installés en Israël. Quant au public cible de ces traductions, il était essentiellement constitué du nombre croissant de jeunes Juifs américains venus étudier pendant un an dans les yeshivot israéliennes avant de revenir à la vie universitaire américaine. Selon moi, ces traductions ont été faites dans le cadre d’une idéologie politique émanant du parti sioniste religieux de droite. Ce dernier visait en effet à donner aux ouvrages de Kook écrits dans un hébreu allusif, une interprétation fortement nationaliste et liée à l’actualité politique. Et ce parti cherchait à promouvoir cette interprétation auprès des Juifs anglophones du courant moderne orthodoxe, notamment les adeptes des voyages d’études de plus en plus répandus dans les yeshivot israéliennes – voyages qui sont liés à ce continuel « glissement à droite » que connaît le judaïsme moderne orthodoxe américain depuis quelques décennies.
Mots-clés :
- traduction de textes théologiques,
- sionisme religieux,
- judaïsme moderne orthodoxe,
- Rabbin Abraham Isaac Kook,
- relations juives israélo-américaines
Resumen
El reciente impulso a las traducciones al inglés del rabino Abraham Isaac Kook (1865-1935), el padre indiscutible del sionismo religioso, puede ser considerado como una coyuntura reveladora para las comunidades ortodoxas judías israelí y estadounidense. Al establecer las características de la traducción teológica en este marco patria-diáspora, mi artículo expone una discusión sobre una tendencia dominante en la traducción del pensamiento de Kook en la década de 1990, una «exportación» de textos ideológicamente motivada que ha sido determinada en gran medida por el desplazamiento transnacional de personas. Aquellos traductores eran rabinos estadounidenses que emigraron a Israel y se establecieron allí, y el principal público de destino de las traducciones era el creciente número de jóvenes judíos estadounidenses que realizan visitas de estudio de un año en las yeshivot israelíes antes de regresar a la vida universitaria estadounidense. Sostengo que las traducciones han sido enmarcadas como una polémica política por parte del sionismo religioso de derecha, con el objeto de promover una interpretación política altamente nacionalista y tópica de las sugerentes obras de Kook en hebreo entre los judíos ortodoxos modernos de habla inglesa, en particular aquellos que realizan la cada vez más popular visita de estudio a las yeshivot israelíes, visitas que han sido asociadas con el persistente «desplazamiento hacia la derecha» del judaísmo ortodoxo moderno en los Estados Unidos en las últimas décadas.
Palabras clave:
- Traducción teológica,
- sionismo religioso,
- judaísmo ortodoxo moderno,
- Rabino Abraham Isaac Kook,
- relaciones judías israelo-norteamericanas
Appendices
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