James Joyce and Zionism

I have mentioned the Zionism theme that appears in Chapter Two of Joyce’s Ulysses previously. 

Leopold Bloom, returning home from a non-kosher Jewish butcher shop where he purchased pork, he reviews a loose page he had picked up off the counter where paper was kept in which to wrap the meat. The page is from an illustrated Zionist advertising prospectus, and Bloom reads “Agendath Netaim: planters’ company.” He ponders over what he is reading:

To purchase vast sandy tracts from Turkish government and plant with eucalyptus trees. Excellent for shade, fuel, and construction. Orangegroves and immense melonfields north of Jaffa. You pay eight marks and they plant a dunam of land for you with olives, oranges, almonds, or citrons. . . . Your name entered as owner in the book of the union. Can pay ten down and the balance in yearly installments. Bleibtreustrasse 34, Berlin, W.15. 

There are scholarly articles on the subject (here; here; and here)

I have now seen this here

one could break up the work into “agen-dath.” “Agen” could mean “again,” as in the English, and “dath” could refer to the Hebrew word “da’ath.” “Da’ath” shares a root with the Hebrew word for "to know." Colloquially, however, this form translates as “religion” or “faith.”

Da’ath is spelled in Hebrew דעת whereas religion is דת. Almost the same sound in its pronunciation but not quite. 

Joyce is not bad a Hebrew:

BLOOM: (Uncloaks impressively, revealing obesity, unrolls a paper and reads solemnly.) Aleph Beth Ghimel Daleth Hagadah Tephilim Kosher Yom Kippur Hanukah Roschaschana Beni Brith Bar Mitzvah Mazzoth Askenazim Meshuggah Talith.

Or Gematria:

Bloom in turn wrote the Hebrew characters ghimel, aleph, daleth and (in the absence of mem) a substituted qoph, explaining their arithmetical values as ordinal and cardinal numbers, videlicet 3, 1, 4, and 100.

In fact, that Agendath Netaim appears here as well:

HORNBLOWER: (In ephod and huntingcap, announces.) And he shall carry the sins of the people to Azazel, the spirit which is in the wilderness, and to Lilith, the nighthag. And they shall stone him and defile him, yea, all from Agendath Netaim and from Mizraim, the land of Ham.

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