Place of Publication:
Jerusalem (Ottoman Palestine)
Years of Publication: 1896-1908 (with an intermission in 1901)
Frequency (varied throughout the years): Weekly, Biweekly
Editors: Eliezer Ben-Yehuda (Founder); Yechiel Michel Pines (1886-1887); Hemdah
Ben-Yehuda (1909); Itamar Ben-Avi (1910-1912)
Hashkafa was a periodical published by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda between 1896 and 1908 (with an intermission in 1901). This paper was intricately connected to Ben-Yehuda’s
primary publication: Ha-Zvi/Ha-Or (1884-1914).
The publication of Hashkafa may be divided into two different periods: the initial period (1896-1900) in which it served as a supplement to readers in the Diaspora,
and a second period (1902-1908) in which it appeared as a substitute for Ha-Zvi/Ha-Or during the time in which the latter
was not published.
From the end of 1896 until the middle of 1900, Hashkafa initially emerged as a newspaper intended for Jews in the Diaspora, in which were included articles from the
publication Ha-Zvi. As such, this version of Hashkafa for the Jews of the Diaspora greatly influenced the local Eretz-Yisrael version,
Ha-Zvi, and transformed it from a local Jerusalem paper to a Hebrew-language newspaper connecting the Jewish community in
Eretz-Yisrael/Palestine with Jewish communities throughout Eastern Europe. During this period, Hashkafa appeared every one to two weeks, and each issue contained
eight to sixteen pages.
After an intermission of about a year and a half, Hashkafa resumed operations for the second period of its publication, between the years 1902 and 1908, this time as a
substitute to the periodical Ha-Zvi, which had completely ceased to appear as a result of difficulties with the Ottoman authorities.
During this period the paper acquired the attributes of a periodical, “telegrams” were eliminated, many of Ben-Yehuda’s political articles were added, and literary contributions
greatly increased, among which appeared the works of Hemdah Ben-Yehuda, Eliezer Ben-Yehuda’s wife, and Ben-Zion Ben-Yehuda (later Itamar Ben-Avi), Eliezer Ben-Yehuda’s son.
The paper dealt extensively with the phenomenon of emigration from Israel (“ha-bricha”), as well as the ever-increasing use of Hebrew as a spoken language. At the end of 1908,
publication of Hashkafa ceased completely when Ha-Zvi resumed its activities and became the first daily newspaper in
Eretz-Yisrael/Palestine. Hashkafa’s frequency of publication during this second period ranged from weekly (January 1902 – May 1904) to biweekly (June 1904 – September 1908).
The majority of Hashkafa’s issues during this period contained between eight and twelve pages, but in the last year of its publication this number decreased to four per issue.
Copy from microfilm in good condition. Slight problems of faded text and stains, originating with the printing process, are present sporadically.
Problems related to the storage and handling of the issues are also present: stains and tears in the margins and scribbling on the paper’s pages.