The word Tarbut (תרבות) means "Culture" in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

. The Tarbut movement was a network of secular, Hebrew-language schools in parts of the former

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

Pale of Settlement The Pale of Settlement was a western region of the Russian Empire with varying borders that existed from 1791 to 1917 (''de facto'' until 1915) in which permanent settlement by Jews was allowed and beyond which the creation of new Jewish settlem ...

, specifically in Poland, Romania and Lithuania. It operated primarily between the world wars. Some schools affiliated with the movement continue to operate today and new ones were established in the United States and other destinations of emigrants from central and eastern Europe.

History

Education activities

''Tarbut'' was a network of

-language educational institutions established in newly independent

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

during the period between the world wars.Bar-El, Adina (2010).
Tarbut
" ''YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe''. yivoencyclopedia.org. Retrieved 2019-05-21. The first Polish national Tarbut conference was held in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, in December 1921. Eventually the Tarbut network, which was supported by

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

groups,Ury, Scott (2010)
Zionism and Zionist Parties
, section, "The Interwar Years ". ''YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe''. yivoencyclopedia.org. Retrieved 2019-05-22. "Backed by the General Zionists and moderate left-wing Zionist groups, the Tarbut school system proved to be one of Zionism’s biggest successes in interwar Poland." encompassed kindergartens, elementary schools, secondary schools, teachers' seminaries, adult education courses, lending libraries and a publishing house that produced pedagogical materials, textbooks and children's periodicals. Tarbut schools had 25,829 students in 1921; 37,000 in 1934–1935; and 45,000 students enrolled in some 270 institutions by 1939. These included about 25% of all students enrolled in Jewish schools in Poland, and 9% of Poland's entire Jewish student population. The curriculum was secular, including science, humanities, and Hebrew studies, including Jewish history. By the time the war brought the European Tarbut schools to an end, they had long been suffering from chronic underfunding. European Jews who appealed to the

American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee Advert Where and how does this article resemble an WP:SOAP, advert and how should it be improved? See: Wikipedia:Spam (you might trthe Teahouseif you have questions). American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, also known as Joint or JDC, is a J ...

for aid included poet Chaim Nachman Bialik and Zionist leaders

Nahum Sokolow Nahum ben Joseph Samuel Sokolow ( ''Nachum ben Yosef Shmuel Soqolov'', ; 10 January 1859 – 17 May 1936) was a Jewish-Polish people, Polish writer, translator, and journalist, the fifth President of the World Zionist Organization, editor of ''H ...

and Vladimir Jabotinsky. Nonetheless, some Tarbut schools continued to operate during the war years, notably one in

Bukhara Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and t ...

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

, which served the large population of Jewish refugees from Nazi-occupied Poland. The school operated until the end of the war under the headmastership of Nachum Szochet (נחום שוחט). The graduating students took high school matriculation exams under the auspices of the

Polish government-in-exile The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile (), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Poland of September 1939, and the subsequent Occupation ...

, and as a result were able to continue their higher education after the war.

Publishing activities

Tarbut responded to the shift in Hebrew literature publishing to

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

taking place around the time of its founding by fostering increased local Hebrew-language children's publishing. These efforts included ''Shibolim'' ("Ears of Wheat"), a Warsaw biweekly published during 1922-1923 which featured both vowelled and unvowelled text, making it suitable for children of all ages, and consisted largely of literature, entertainment, sports and crafts; and, from 1935 to 1939, the biweekly ''Olami'', a current-events-heavy series which consisted of ''Olami'' ("My World"), for Grades 5–7; ''Olami Hakatan'' ("My Small World"), for Grades 3–4; and ''Olami Haktantan'' ("My Tiny World"), for Grades 1–2. ''Olamis material included current events in Palestine alongside information about Jewish life in Poland.

Today

The Tarbut network no longer exists today, and so no school can today affiliate with it. Despite this, Jewish schools which share the values of the original Tarbut network have adopted the word as a part of their names: * Argentina: Colegio Tarbut in Olivos, Buenos Aires * Mexico
Colegio Hebreo Tarbut
in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

* United States
Tarbut V'Torah Community Day School
in

Irvine, California Irvine () is a Planned community, planned city in central Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It was named in 1888 for the landowner James Irvine. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the ...

* Spain
Tarbut Sefarad
the first Jewish culture network in Spain

History

Education activities

Publishing activities

Today

References

Further reading