Israel Shorthand Expert Turns to Teaching of Basic Hebrew to Immigrants
By DAVID SOLOMON
Yaakov Maimon leafed through
his photo album, pointing to his
"proteges" of the past 14 years —
settlements full of Moroccans and
Yemenites and Romanians and Per-
sians and Yugoslays, and, and, and
•— and then there was this peculiar
thing—a page filled with = num-
bers. The numerals were nicely,
even carefully done. "This," said
my host, "is Yihe Azeiri's outstand-
ing achievement — . or was at one
time."
It was one of those stifling
hamsin (hot desert wind) days
which hit Jerusalem harder than
the coastland. And so I begged
my host's forgiveness for feeling
a bit under the weather and for
not quite catching what he had
said. He laughed. "You understand
perfectly! Yihe designed these
numbers — and I do mean pains-
takingly designed — at the age of
30." And thereby hangs a fascinat-
ing tale of pioneering — the story
of the halutziut of Yaa.kov Maimon.
It began in the early, grim
. ma'abara days of 1950. The country
at the time was a picture of an
encouraging and vast swell in im-
migration and a depressingly large
conglomeration of tent towns and
"pahon" (tin-hut) encampments.
Housing was simply nonexistent for
the masses streaming out of Haifa
port and the Lydda air terminal.
Brothers and sisters and
cousins were all being welcomed
back to Zion, and genuinely so.
And one would have to thumb
carefully the pages of history to
find the equal of such a warmth
of feeling on a national scale for
well-nigh destitute newcomers.
But it was a mass welcome at
best. The country was literally
overwhelmed by the sudden exo-
dus to Israel and, save for the
lame and those otherwise in-
capacitated, few were the new
arrivals who could boast of hav-
ing really been the object of in-
dividual care.
While all this was basically
understandable and perhaps even
somewhat justifiable in the existing
situation. it was all far from de-
sirable. Bitterness and cynicism
were beginning to creep into the
immigrant's daily speech. "Where
do we go from here?" was, in
effect, what all were asking and
few were giving or receiving ade-
quate replies.
"The boy or girl, for their part, by way of funds for transporta-
This was the general tenor of
things, with all its pejorative as- realize the helplessness of mama tion and textbooks and, of.course,
pects, that greeted the late Esther and papa. and the feeling of with continuing encouragement and
'daimon as she walked into her estrangement, even contempt, grows moral support (this being especial-
ly true of the president's office).
first transit camp intent on - doing j with the years."
Then there is the Hinlopen
something about it.
i "This," he says beaming happily.
couple from Holland, who. while
Yaakov Maimon speaks in a "was one of my main talking points
quiet, matter-of-fact tone with only to induce the bewildered, hard- officially connected with UNESCO,
have • lent their personal, warm
the faintest apparent trace of emo- working parents to sit down to- support. after having seen and
tion as he mentions, and stresses, ' gether with my volunteers and my-
being conquered by what they saw.
that it was his wife who was not self ,for their first Hebrew lesson."
It was Maimon's down-to-earth ap-
only help-mate to him in his work, i Many a touching letter from for-
but who first plunged into the mer "pupils" has reached the proach which captivated them.
As prepared to leave Yaakov
maelstrom of volunteer activities. Maimon household. These are
Maimon's modest flat, I asked what
The way to a man's heart could brushed aside lightly. Yaakov Mai-
I inwardly felt to be a clicheed
be the way to a woman's
heart, mon prefers talking about the work
.
question: Was there anything that.
she reasoned. If the immigrant that has been done and the great we could do to help. "Of course,
women could be taught the basics Work that remains to he done. He of course." was the unabashed
of local cookery as well as proper would rather not dwell on the fact reply of my 62-year-old host.
child care and hygiene, it might that for the greater part of the "Please get me more volunteers."
be a wedge toward other things. . past 14 years practically every-
thing else has been subsidiary to
At any rate, what was necessary
his one over-riding concern — how
The CARIBE MOTEL
she felt. was the woman's touch.'
to establish and maintain the per-
PROVIDES YOUR
and off she went. It was not long
sonal and individual touch with the
OUT-OF-TOWN GUESTS
afterward that Yaakov Maimon
newcomers.
made his presence felt. although
WITH . . .
Nor will he mention of his own
at the outset, it was with the co-
CONVENIENT LOCATION
volition the son and son-in-Iaw
' operation of the Association of
Woodward near 7 M:le Rd.
who fell in Israel's defense, or
Minutes away from everything
Working Mothers. It came about
that he, a halutz from Latvia,
LUXURIOUS ROOMS
in this way.
had already given 26 years of
• Phones • Air Conditioning
Maimon, often referred to as
• Complete Kitchens
himself to the country's upbuild-
• Wall-to-Wall Carpeting
the "father of modern Hebrew
ing before the coming into being
COMPLETE
shorthand," was teaching this
of Medinat Israel, or, for that
ACCOMMODATIONS
subject at the Seligsberg Girls'
matter, that a considerable por-
AT NO EXTRA COST
School of Jerusalem. He decided
tion of this period was devoted
• TV and Radio • Parking
one day to take his entire class
to work in Keren Hayesod's
e Continental Breakfast
along to see of what help they
head office, which means being
PRONE
might be in the transit camps.
immersed daily in the vast prob-
TO 8-2662
He soon realized that there was
lems of immigration and absorp-
a crying lack of rapport between
tion.
the newcomers and the rest of the
What does he talk about? His
• population. and that one very good volunteer assistants throughout the Moderate
reason for this was simply ignor- years — high school students. scout Rates
' ance of the Hebrew language. and youth groups and just plain Start at
Yaakov Maimon set himself to the others.
$8.00
task by bringing himself and his
But he does not overlook Israel's
volunteers to the recent arrivals officialdom_ The ministry of edu-
wherever they were: in ma'abarot. cation and the Jewish Agency's
in "work villages" and in the absorption department and the of- Woodward
settlements beginning to spring up fice of the president — all have Near 7 Mile Road
throughout Israel.
aided and are continuing to aid
Learning spoken .Hebrew was one
- - - —
thing, however. and curing one's
basic illiteracy quite another. And
MONTEFIORE LODGE FREE SONS OF ISRAEL
• this is how Yihye and all the hun-
CELEBRATING 100 YEARS IN DETROIT
dreds of Yihyes came into the pic-
ture. with all their ultimate proud
achievements in written numerals
Presents
and alphabet. "When you really get
in
down to it." Maimon points out.
PORTRYAL OF NEW BROADWAY MUSICAL
: "the gap starts with the home.
Mother and father find they cannot
AT TEMPLE ISRAEL
converse and can be of only limited
ednesday, Dec. 2nd at 8 p.m.
assistance to the growing young-
Refreshments
Don ion $2.00
ster.
19630
SULIE HARAND
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Friday, November 27, 1964-19
Ticket I formation: Horace J. Haber UN 2-8530
Tickets will be available at the door
anuka
Burbanet
Chocolates
TRADITION
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Sanders very finest as-
sortment of selected
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all with extra-heavy coat-
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. almonds, pecans, walnuts,
cherries, pineappl e,
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many others. 1-, 2-, 3-
and 5-pound boxes.
POUND
Yaakov Maimon teaches two of his Yemenite pupils in a new
Israeli immigrant village. The "father of modern Hebrew shorthand,"
?daimon has turned his talents to the instruction of basic Hebrew.
He and his volunteer staff teach, also, the writing of numbers, like
those that fill the page below.
$1. 95