A Mad Dog's Attack on Secularized Hebrew: Rethinking Agnon's Temol shilshom.

TEMOL shilshom (Book); AGNON, Shmuel Yosef, 1888-1970; JEWISH fiction; JEWISH literature; LITERARY criticism; DOGS in literature; HEBREW language

The article discusses the meaning of the dog character named Balak in the novel "Temol Shilshom," by S. Y. Agnon. Subjects addressed include the relationship between Balak and character Yitshak, criticism and interpretation by scholars concerning Balak's plot against Yitshak, and the role of language in the relationship between Balak and Yitshak. The practice of excommunication in the novel and the role of Hebrew in the Balak plot are also mentioned.