Prof. Galit Hasan-Rokem Brings the Complete Kalevala to Hebrew Readers by Introducing a New Translation
Israeli-Finnish scholar, folklorist, a published poet and translator of poetry Galit Hasan-Rokem, Emeritus Professor of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, has completed a new Hebrew translation of the entire Kalevala, Finland’s national epic. The work is currently expected to be published in early 2027. Several translated poems have already appeared in literary journals, and extracts from the translation have been presented at cultural events and symposiums. We interviewed Galit about her and her work.
Hasan-Rokem and the Finnish connection laying the groundwork for the translation project
Hasan-Rokem’s connection to Finland runs deep. Born to Finnish-born parents, she made aliya to Israel with her family in 1957 and later studied English and Hebrew literature. At home, they spoke both Finnish and Swedish. As a scholarship student in Helsinki in 1968–69, she studied comparative folklore under the renowned scholar Matti Kuusi. Already in those days, the idea of translating the Kalevala into Hebrew flashed into her mind as her family was suggesting she might want to do it. The year in Finland also helped Hasan-Rokem to refresh her Finnish language.
Back in Israel, she received her doctorate at the Hebrew University in 1978 and gained a tenure track position at the same institution directly after that. She became a professor and incumbent of the Grunwald Chair of folklore in 1993. In her research, she has focused on proverbs, folklore theory and ancient Hebrew folk literature among other. Her research on the figure of the Wandering Jew was initiated with a seminar paper on Finnish archival materials. Hasan-Rokem also is a member in the Finnish Literature Society and Kalevala Society. She has for many years edited Jerusalem Studies in Jewish Folklore and is the literary editor of Palestine-Israel Journal, where she is a founding editorial board member for over thirty years among her other roles as a peace activist.
Translation of the complete version of Kalevala into Hebrew is a major milestone
The Kalevala is epic poetry based on old oral folk songs from Karelia, located in Eastern Finland and what is now north-western Russia. The poems were collected and compiled by the Finnish scholar Elias Lönnrot and they were included in the first “Old” Kalevala, published in 1835. It has been translated into more than 60 languages. The previous Hebrew version, translated by the great poet Shaul Tchernikovski and published in 1930 from a Russian version encompasses ca. 22% of the original poems.
Galit Hasan-Rokem’s ambitious translation project aiming at the complete version, 50 poems, took shape during the COVID-19 pandemic. Translating the Kalevala posed significant challenges: the rhythm and structure of Hebrew differ greatly from Finnish, the epic's imagery is deeply rooted in Nordic nature, and many of its names, animals, and plants do not have direct equivalents in Hebrew. To preserve the poetic character of the work, Hasan-Rokem chose to use rhyme rather than the alliteration characteristic of the original Finnish text. Now, thanks to Hasan-Rokem and the years of her dedicated work, the first full Hebrew version of the Kalevala will be soon available. This represents a major milestone in bringing Finnish literary heritage to Israeli readers. Updates on the exact publishing information will follow.