64—THE JEWISH NEWS
Friday, September 23, 1949
`A Labor of Love'
La nguage Revival Spotlights Hebrew
By RUTH L. CASSEL
They call it a Renaissance.
And just as the Renaissance of European history cast a
golden gleam on Western culture, so this new Renaissance—
a rebirth of interest in Hebrew—has, in modern dress, thrown
a bright spotlight on the language of Israel and the literature,
art and music which make up Hebrew culture.
- Hebrew, of course, has always been a living tongue among
Jews, for whom it has been the language of worship, of history,
the language of scholars, a major link between the Jews of every
laud. For many centuries, however, Hebrew. had almost disap-
peared in daily conversation. When the first pioneers of the new
Palestine found their way back to the land of their fathers, their
efforts at establishing a modern agricultural economy were
handicapped by lack- of a common language with a contemporary
vocabulary.
To fill this gap, in 1889 a group - of scholars organized, in
Jerusalem, the Vaad Hashalon or Language Committee, a self-
styled Hebrew Academy, which was instrumental in transforming
classical Hebrew into a living
language of everyday &ID eech will sponsor a chair of Hebrew
and thought.
for five years, after which it
This was the beginning of the would become a part of the
Renaissance.
University budget. Such sup-
* * *
port has, thus far, not ap-
THE MOVEMENT GREW, peared.
through the early 1900's, keep-
Like close to '700 other Ameri-
ing pace with the growing in- can colleges, including the Uni-
terest in Zionism. Within the versity of Michigan, Wayne ac-
last 20 years, it has speedily ac- cepts Hebrew training as the
quired momentum until, today. modern language requirement
the study of conversational He- for entrance. Only in New York
brew and its cultural expression City, however, is it possible to
are accepted as necessary com- obtain such training in the
ponents of Jewish life.
public schools. In New York, 16
As example, a view of Detroit intermediate and high schools
Jewish community activities on offer Hebrew; the course is pop-
a typical weekend ...
ular with both Jewish and non-
In various community gatla, Jewish students. Requests for
ing places, a Hebrew culture classes in Hebrew at Detroit's
society conducts an informed Central High School were fre-
discussion on current Hebrew quent at one time, and, in 1931,
literature; a JeWish music so- the late Frank Cody, then super-
ciety broadcasts lilting Hebrew intendent of schools, granted
Melodies; a young adult Zion- permission for their introduc-
ist group laughingly learns iton. Enrollment w a s disap-
Hebrew terms for picnic acces- pointing, however, and the class
sories at it combines study never becafile a reality.
* S *
with pleasure; a fast-moving
JEWISH- SPONSORED classes
business meeting is conducted
almost entirely in Hebrew by in Hebrew are not new, but
teen-agers preparing for fu- their expansion and moderniza-
tures in the Jewish state, and tion is, particularly on the adult
a six-year-old returns from level-L--atiother ramication of the
his Sunday-School class with Hebrew Renaissance, this one
the greeting, "Sholom, Abba." given a big push forward by the
Hebrew activities on the local establishment of Israel.
Children's study of Hebrew, in
scene are divided, generally
speaking, into two phases, lan- the majority of schools, is con-
guage study and cultural pro-
grams, although even these
classifications overlap.. The lan-
guage study aspect ranges from
primary classes for both chil-
dren and adults, sponsored by
Modern Hebrew is a reality,
almost every - Jewish educational
institution, to the college level as evidenced by the mastheads
classes at Wayne University,
of these contemporary Ameri-
*
HEBREW AT WAYNE became can and Israeli Hebrew pub-
a reality four years ago, the lications (right). Below, street
result of long consultations be-
tween the University adminis- corner posters in Tel Aviv.
tration and the Jewish Com- These illustrations are from
munity Council. With the in- "The Story of Hebrew," the
troduction of modern Hebrew
into its curriculum, Wayne fol- latest issue of the American
lowed a trend in American high- Jewish Congress' Jewish Af-
er education, for latest figures fairs pamphlet series.
show that close to 500 courses
in Hebrew, as a modern or Semi-
tic language, are now offered in
American colleges and universi-
ties.
Wayne's Hebrew courses offer
regular college language credits.
The four courses already offered
begin. with reading and elemen-
tary grammar and conversation,
and progress to excerpts from
Hebrew literature in Hebrew 104.
All courses are taught by Louis
Panush, who reports that the
University has been most help-
ful in establishing Hebrew in
the Liberal Arts curriculum, pro-
viding such facilities as Hebrew
library books, a Hebrew type-
writer and subscriptions to a fleeted with their instruction in
Hebrew students' newspaper, Jewish history and customs and
Hadoar Lanoar. To date, 260 ceremonies. At most congrega-
students have completed courses tional-sponsored schools, com-
at Wayne, and 10 have obtained munity institutions, such as the
advanced standing credit by ex- United Hebrew Schools and Yes-
amination on their previous hivath Beth Yehudah, or in pri-
knowledge of the language. En- vate schools, Hebrew classes are
rollment is open to all students, designed to prepare the child for
and classes already have in- participation in the service of
cluded a number of non-Jews, worship and home religious cere-
including a Christian minister. monies. It is notable, however,
Although Wayne now has that the newer textbooks and
Hebrew classified as a sub- pedagogical practices introduce
division of the ancient lan- many everyday terms.
Common to most schools are
guage department in the Col-
lege of Liberal A r t s, it re- t h e extra-curricular creative
portedly is ready to establish programs — arts and crafts,
a separate department when- music and drama in all of which
ever the Jewish community, or the use of Hebrew and the in-
interested members thereof, fluence of Israel is most ap-
•
-5,41111Pft
parent. At the United Hebrew
schools, for instance, leaders of
the co-curricular club, program
were especially prepared f o r
their work by former Israel re-
sidents, and their training is re,
fleeted in the children's work,
which has included such pro-
jects as the construction of a
miniature Kibbutz.
* *
ONE OF THE MOST emphatic
examples of the revival of He-
brew is the reintroduction of the
language in the Reform Temple.
Among the early changes in or-
thodox Jewish practice . made by
founders of the Liberal move-
ment was the change from He-
brew to the vernacular as the
language of worship, except for
a few responses and hymns.
That alteration is now swinging
in the opposite direction, with
the use by an ever-larger num-
ber of Liberal congregations of
more Hebrew passages in the
service and the reintroduction of
Hebrew in the religious school
curriculum, the latter evident in
both of Degoit's liberal congre-
gations.
The resistance to Hebrew on
the part of both parents and
children, until the past few
years a common situation, thas
given way to a new feeling of
respect for the Hebrew lan-
guage, Liberal rabbis report.
In fact, a recent survey of Lib-
eral Temples shows that the
numb e r of congregational
schools having Hebrew as a
regular part of their curricu-
lum has doubled in 25 years.
Hebrew classes for adults as-
sume that students have en-
rolled to acquire knowledge of
t h e language itself. Conse-
quently, textbooks for adult
classes—which are sponsored by
a number of community insti-
tutions, such as the Shaarey
Zedek Adult Institute, NorthweSt
Hebrew Congregation's a d u l t
classes and the Jewish Folk
Schools—are based on conversa-
tion and grammar. It is evident
that the fact of Israel's state-
hood has had a direct effect on
Modern Hebrew in Daily Use
ommil
registration in adult Hebrew
classes. Enrollees include those
who plan to vsiit Israel or to re-
side there • permanently, those
who have relatives in Israel with
whom they wish to correspond,
and many who are inspired to
study the language of Israel by
their pride in the new state.
So popular have these pro-
grams become that . Shaarey
Zedek had to open two addi-
tional classes in Hebrew last sea-
son, to accommodate 150 stu-
dents in a total of five sections.
Registration showed, moreover,
that students who had attended
an elementary class the previous
year were returning to continue
their study on a higher level.
BEGINNING HEBREW in-
struction programs for the in-
between groups—teen-agers and
young adults—also are provided
within the local community.
Last year saw the inauguration
of the Midrasha, sponsored by
the United Hebrew Schools, the
first local program of higher
J e wish learning designed to
train teachers for Jewish schools
and group leaders. In addition
to this intensive training cur-
riculum, the Midrasha offered
open classes, including Hebrew,
the latter co-sponsored with the
Detroit Zionist Youth Commis-
sion. Its enrollment included
members of several General
Zionist youth groups.
This was not enough, how-
ever, for some of the ardently
Zionistic teen-agers. By popu-
lar demand, t h e Midrasha
The Kvutzah Auxiliary, led by
Mrs. Julius Ring, holds lunch-
eon meetings, conducted in He-
brew and Yiddish, with discus-
sions of Jewish' education and
Hebrew literature. The women
lend financial support to the
Histadruth Ivrith and to the
United Hebrew Schools. They
also send a member of the UHS
high school to Camp Sharon, a
recently-innovated camp for He-
brew-speaking children.
* S *
SEVEN YEARS AGO, a group
of young Hebraists formed Ha-
chu g Haivri. Membership is
open to anyone with a speaking
knowledge of Hebrew, although
it is made up largely of young
adults. Led by Morrey Selborn,
president, and Janet °lender,
secretary, the group conducts'
Hebreiv.. . . A Sacred Monument
"The Hebrew language to the Jew is not merely a
language, such as Latin and Greek to the student of classical
languages, or French and German to the student of modern
tongues. To the Jew, it is a sacred monument of bygone
times. Every word recalls to him great and glorious epochs
in his history, when God had still conversed with man, when
the Prophets still admonished Israel with 'thoughts that
breathe and words that burn,' when Psalms were still sung
in the Temple. It is the language in which the nation
poured out its griefs and sorrows on the waters of Babylon,
but in which also its joys and its hopes and its consolations
found adequate expression, the Sanhedrin gave its verdicts,
and the Sages taught their disciples all that was worth knoW-
incr , whether of a religious or civil kind. In brief, it is a
Holy
b Language to the Jew because of its memories of the
past and of its promises for the future . . . Naturally a certain
amount of drudgery is necessary in acquiring a language, but
even this is not a mere intellectual process with the devout
Jews. It is a labor of love to him, and has nothing to do with
`intellectualism' or other 'isms.' "
—Solomon Schechter
went into partnership with
Habonim, the Labor Zionist
youth movement, to present a
twice-weekly evening class in
Hebrew, attended by 24 boys
and girls, many of whom are
preparing for Chalutziut. It is
planned to expand this pro-
gram this year into a prepara-
tory department for the Mid-
rasha, open to all high school
students.
Once having acquired some
facility with Hebrew it is logical
to assume that students , of the
language will wish to put their
knowledge to use. Detroit has
three organizations made up of
Hebrew-speaking members and
devoted to Hebrew culture. The
Kvutzah Ivrith and its Ladies
Auxiliary are chapters of a na-
tional organization, while Ha-
chug Haivri is a local group.
The Kvutzah, local unit of the
national Histadruth Ivrith, was
organized by members of the -
staff of the United Hebrew
Schools, in cooperation with
some lay leaderS, in 1919. There
had been a Hebrew-speaking
group, Hashachar (the Dawn) in
Detroit previously, but it was no
longer in existence. Now an or-
ganization of 150 members, the
Kvutzah meets bi-monthly for
Hebrew cultural programs. Jos-
eph Katz is president.
Guest speakers are invited to
address the group in Hebrew,
English or Yiddish. At times
the group sponsors appearances
here of outstanding figures in
Hebrew literature.
S
A DETAILED description of all
Kvutzah activities, as well as
a digest of the important lec-
tures, is published in a bulletin,
Hed HaKvutzah (the Echo). In
1938, the group published in
Hebrew the complete works of
the late Aar on D. Markson,
edited by Daniel Persky, noted
Hebrew writer, a n d Bernard
Isaacs. Another Kvutzah activity
is the distribution of Hebrew
books among local Hebrew read-
ers, in cooperation with the
Kvutzah Ivrith.
The membership is made up
of former Israelis, as well as
those who have studied Hebrew
in America: A number of regu-
lar attendants are young people,
graduates of the United Hebrew
Schools.
informal, bi-weekly prograins at
the homes of its members. Cur-
rent events discussions, literary
analysis and guest speakers are
popular with the group. Since
the large majority of the group
are former residents of Israel,
the conversation is spiced with
the current Israel idiom and dis
cussions of current events arc
frequently personalized by ac-
counts of the members' own ex,
periences.
Other Hebrew culture pro-
grams are sponsored by the sev-
eral Zionist organizations, which
often include Israel songs and
dances on their pr o g r a m's.
Among the Zionist youth groups,
Hebrew is used most extensively
by Habonim and Hashomer Hat-
zair, which conduct the large
part of their meetings in the
language of the land to which
most of their members hope to
emigrate. Hebrew is a minnor
part of the general Zionist pro-
gram, although Chapter I, a
young adult arm of the Zionist
Organization. of Detroit, has re,
cently instituted a combined
Hebrew-study—social program.
One problem raised by the
revival of Hebrew activities in
this country is that of pro-
nunciation. American Jews,
accustomed to the Ashken-
azic Hebrew of the synagogue
service, have t aught that
method to t heir children.
Since, however, Israel uses a
modern version of the Sephar-
dic pronunciation,'those
groups which teach modern
conversational Hebrew tend to
employ Sephardit. Even in in-
stances where the teachers
had planned to use Ashkena-
zic pronunciation, many young
people have insisted upon the
Israeli accent.
The Jewish year just begin-
ning will no doubt see an ex-
tension of the Hebrew Renais-
sance, as the influence of Israel
widens and as American Jews
devote themselves to the positive
activity of strengthening Jew-
ish culture. This month, de-
dicated .' by Detroit Jewry to
Jewish education, is an excellent
opportunity for parents to take
steps to insure that their chil-
dren will be familiar with He-
brew, and. for young people and
adults to enlarge their efforts
for the revival of widespread in-
terest in the language of Israel.