Jabotinsky argued fixed written texts prevented cultural survival.

Evidence

Diaspora Judaism kept itself alive by searching for the meaning of a text that was codified and could not be altered. Yet a living culture, Jabotinsky claimed, must be in constant change; much as a living organism must adopt to survive, a nation must change and evolve with the will and desire of the people. Jewish culture, if it is to have the flexibility needed to survive, must be based on a spoken language, which changes with the times. — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 557

Categorization

• XREF: Ties to debates about canonization vs. living tradition in other cultures — e.g., Arabic classical vs. vernacular, Latin vs. Romance languages.