Hebrew novelist and essayist. Born in Ukraine, he studied at the Yeshiva of Volozin and later at the University of Berlin. He was critical of Jewish religious tradition, which he found stifling, and under the influence of the German philosopher Nietzsche, he advocated a new approach to Judaism, emphasizing life and nature. Under the pen name Micah Joseph Ben-Gorion, he published twenty volumes. In his novels and short stories, he deals chiefly with small-town people, describing their struggles and passions with a mixture of realism and fable. His Hasidic tales and collections of Midrashic legends constitute a rich contribution to Hebrew letters.