I am not a fluent Hebrew speaker. Even with a career in Jewish education, a Master’s degree in Bible, a year spent living in Israel, eight other visits and thousands of hours in Hebrew class in elementary school, high school and university, I have not mastered the Hebrew language.
Sure, I can get by with the Hebrew I do know. I can hold my own in a conversation with an Israeli, I can express myself well, I can read and understand a newspaper article written in Hebrew, and my accent is not too ‘Anglo-Saxon’, as an Israeli might say. If you asked me a couple of years ago if I was a fluent Hebrew speaker, I probably would have said yes.
It is amazing how much one’s child can humble them. I have discovered my lack of true fluency as I continue to try and speak with my daughter in Hebrew as much as possible. I have realized that there are so many Hebrew words that I don’t know: diaper, thumb, to wave, to ride in a stroller, to nap. Of course many of these words are things that weren’t part of my regular English vocabulary until a year ago either, but trying to speak a second language as a first language quickly leads to the discovery of many vocabulary gaps.
Hebrew is the language of our people, of our texts, and more recently, of our homeland and nation-state. Writing a few days before Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israeli Independence Day), I think about the importance of Hebrew in forming a national identity in pre-1948 Israel, and how important Hebrew has been in connecting Diaspora and Israeli Jews in the decades since. As we count the days toward Shavuot, I think about the ancient Hebrew words that were inscribed by God’s finger onto two tablets and carried down Mount Sinai. I think about the two words uttered by our ancestors, Na’aseh V’Nishma, (we will do and we will hear) in response to the awesome moment of becoming God’s chosen people.
In some ways, these two events could not be further or more different from each other. They took place over 3,000 years apart, one in Israel and one in the Sinai desert. The events at Mount Sinai ultimately led to the Golden Calf, 40 years of wandering in the desert and the beginning of a pattern of our ancestors chasing after false gods. The proclamation of the State of Israel and the eventual military victory in the War of Independence, meanwhile, led to the establishment of a flourishing modern democracy that has improved the lives of its citizens and of Jews worldwide. The receiving of the ten commandments was a private affair only witnessed by the Israelites while the establishment of Israel took place on the world stage for all to see.
What unites the celebration of these two events that are only one month apart on our calendar? The Hebrew language. Hebrew connects events across centuries and connects Jews across the globe. Hebrew allows Jews from different countries to communicate in a common language that also conveys a sense of connection, of shared history and of cultural understanding.
Learning to read, write, speak and understand Hebrew is a crucial skill for participation in the Jewish community and today’s Jewish world, even if one’s vocabulary is limited. At Beth Tzedec’s Congregational School, we have been experimenting with a variety of approaches for teaching Hebrew to our students, including the use of activities, games, props, sports and the arts. Our students are learning by doing, are interacting in Hebrew with real Israelis—our shinshinim—and are being taught that Hebrew is both the language of our Torah and the Siddur, of modern Israelis and of Jews around the world.
For more information about our Congregational School’s approach to teaching Hebrew, contact me at dsilverman@beth-tzedec.org or 416-781-3514 ext. 231.
