“We Don’t Understand this Present”: Shimon Adaf’s Shadrach and the Possibilities of Hebrew Language

Abstract

In this article, I wish to present Shimon Adaf’s post‑apocalyptic novella, Shadrach, and the two ways in which it represents Hebrew language: as a memory or relic of the past on one hand, and as a source of constant renewal on the other. What I would like to claim is that only through meaningful encounter with an Other, a synthesis between the past and the future can occur, making innovation of Hebrew language possible.