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.