Vesti -Symbol Of God Symbol of God/ Dina Ratner Judaism and Jews in the
creations of L.N.Tolstoy,
I.A.Bunin andA.P.Chekhov -such basic content of the article. A Journalist presents her point of view on the problem on the background of the historical survey of questions about the essence of peace, designation of a man,sense of good and suffering. These questions were in the center of the spiritual searching of the Russian writers of the end of thenineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries. The spiritual life of L.N.Tolstoy, as indicates the journalist, was cmbined with the searches for God. The dogmas of Christian church did not convince him; therefore he based his ideas about theGod on the Old Testament- basis of Jewish religious study, proclaiming mercy, spirit of truth, validity and love. L.N.Tolstoy was high opinion, also, about the Jewish
people. He called this people byPrometheus, who brought to all peoples eternal flame, by the people, which thousands yearsserved as the bearer of the Godly Thought. To this people it was judged to open the idea of the united God(See I. Tenermo. L.N. Tolstoy about the Jews. St. Petersburg,SPb,1910). The comprehension of the Old Testament (Tora) influenced on the L.N. Tolstoy's vision of the World. The sense of life he saw in theconnection with "Eternal God". I.A.Bunin into his
creations also gives much attention to the judaic earth. In the stories of biblical cycle he wrote that to him only by the chance it is judged to live not during Christ, Tiverij and not in Iudeja (I.A. Bunin. Literary inheritance, Vol. 1, p.386. In the sonnet " Jakov" he writes that Jakov displayed to World the Symbol of God. Many events of the Old Testament was reflected in his creations. After being in Israel, he assumed that the Jews again will be gathered on their earth. I.A. Bunin poetized biblical prophecies. A.P.Chekhov the problem of relation to the Jews and the Judaism reflected, for the most part, at the social level. In spite of the opinion of those, who considered Chekhov as anti-Semit, in reality he was not the same. He highly valued the creations of the poet S.J.Nadson, by the closest friends of Chekhov was I.I. Levitan, the brother of Chekhov Alexander was married a jewess, and even himself he intended to be married a jewess. He declared, that Jews - good people he loves, but there are no bad -. In his opinion, main is not religion, but the cleanliness of soul and conviction in the truth of faith. He was on the side of E.Zolja, Dreyfus appearing in defense.All this was reflected in many works of A.P.Chekhov. Author indicates that these three great writers regarded to the Jews and the biblical history differently: Tolstoy searched in Old Testament and Judaism answer to questions about the sense of life, Bunin - memory about the past, the eternal dialogue of God and a man, whereas to Chekhov were close the laws of validity, good and thephilosophy of Ekklesiast.