The Whale and the Russian Immigrant

Doubtlessly, some features of "Moby-Dick" pose an anti thesis when compared with today's modern life, in which time is money, swiftness is of the essence, and the essence is best uttered in a 30 seconds segment or a short text message, rather than in a lengthy novel where each scene is carefully and picturesquely outlined right down to its last and finest detail.   

Be that as it may, one cannot ignore the communality between the world of "Moby-Dick" and the world of Russian immigrants, with emphasis on those who came to Israel during the 1990's, following the collapse of the Soviet Union. 

Melville's ship, much like Israel always has been, is a domain of immigrants.  Each crew member has boarded the ship with his own unique personal history, his own set of values and believes, and his own memories of a life he had once had in a place that may no longer exist – A place in which he had left behind a piece of his self, his dignity and in many cases, family and possessions as well.   This notion may characterize an immigrant in general, and it is most clearly portrayed by Captain Ahab himself, who lives in a grey zone – alternately migrating between 2 worlds:  The story's actual present where he physically resides & The thought or better said obsession with his former life on his former and no longer existing ship, on which a part of himself, namely a portion of his leg, most symbolically remained.   

Further can be claimed that much like Ahab, the Israeli-Russian community also lives in alternating worlds.  While in the public domain, they present themselves as Israelis - Hebrew speaking fully fledged Israelis.  The home domain, however, may draw a different picture. The spoken language among Russian immigrants, their children and grandchildren, is still to a great extent Russian; the marital rate to people outside the community is low, and idealization of the former life in the Soviet Union sometimes raises its head.  

To return in conclusion to the note with which I began.  "Moby-Dick"  the novel, the classic, and its literary style have very little to do with our modern day life and contemporary literature here in Israel.  However, when the story itself is considered as the perplexed quest of a reluctant immigrant for a sense of closure of the past and hope for the future, then much communality with predominant feelings among member of the Israeli-Russian community, slowly arises. 

 I know, being myself a descendant of a Russian family of immigrants that many members of my community, are still at times in a quest for their own Moby-Dick,  trying desperately to cling on to a past, which is long gone, because they are personally unwilling or unable to overcome it.

Such feelings may, in my opinion, be rather destructive.  But let us not forget that unlike our contemporary desire for a 'Happy End', Melville's Novel lacks that desire, and therefore indeed it ends in a tragedy