The Scatterbrained Man from Azar's Village
By: Lea Goldberg illustrations: Natalie Waksman Shenker
The story of the scatterbrained man has been told to Israeli children for almost eighty years. It has numerous versions, and is a wonderful example of a literary piece that does not fail to entertain despite having been written many years ago. The illustrations by Natalie Waksman Shenker depict scenes from Israel in its early days, adding a nostalgic air to a story generations of children have enjoyed.
Age Group: KINDERGARTEN
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CreationHebrew Children’s Literature
Our children are growing up at a time when Hebrew books of every sort, for every age, are in abundance. Since Zionism began over one hundred years ago, intellectuals and educators have made tremendous efforts to create a Hebrew culture for children, in order to raise and educate them to speak the language. The story of the scatterbrained man was adapted by Lea Goldberg from a story written in Russian by Samuil Marshak, as she regarded the translation of literary masterpieces into Hebrew a task of national importance. Together with Avraham Shlonsky, Nathan Alterman, and others, Goldberg translated a selection of books from world literature into Hebrew in an effort to broaden cultural horizons in Israel.
Where is Azar’s Village?
The story of the scatterbrained man from Azar’s village (in Hebrew the title rhymes: Hamefuzar Mikfar Azar) began in 1939 as a comic strip published in the children’s newspaper Davar Liyladim, then called The Scatterbrained Man from Mount Hor (which again rhymes in Hebrew: Hamefuzar Mehor Hahar). Some months later, Lea Goldberg published a serial rhyming tale in the same newspaper about Elazar the scatterbrained man from Azar’s Village (Elazar Hamefuzar Mikfar Azar). They say that a delegation of Azar’s Village inhabitants was subsequently sent to meet with the poetess and convince her to remove the name of their town from the title for fear it will be mocked and ridiculed. When Goldberg compiled the story of the scatterbrained man in a book in 1943, she chose to change the title from The Scatterbrained Man from Mount Hor to The Scatterbrained Man from Azar’s Village.
If you were to look for the town now, you would not be able to find it; Azar’s Village has since become an integral part of the City of Ramat Gan, and is only remembered thanks to Goldberg’s scatterbrained man.
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Copies Distributed:
117,000
Publishing:
עם עובד
Year of Distribution:
2018 2017-2018
