THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Friday, May 12, 1978 41 —
To Israel's 30th Anniversary
By JEAN ELLMANN
Editor's Note: Jean Ellmann, author of this poem, has written hundreds
of verses and at age 91 her chief hobby is poetry. A former resident of
Highland Park, Mich., where her husband, the late James I. Ellmann, held
a judgeship, she now lives in Fort Lauderdale.
Rejoice that after three decades the dove
that sobbed so long on the lonely road of grief,
now makes its ardent voice with rapture sing of peace.
Of course, we never forget the tired, defeated, shelterless, fearful
who braved to plow their passions in the arid earth,
revive rocky fields, sparse of grass,
pluck weeds like thorns in bitter clay while
they suffered the inhumanities of man and died, and died and died.
However worn from work and pain, Phoenix-like they survived the fire.
They heard David's "Alas, my son"
that sang of light beyond the dark,
that inspired the hope of a new dawn under a free sky;
of clean water running in holy lyric rhythm.
They knew peace awaited them,
when they could ascend the ladder of their dreams unforeknown.
They were avid to contribute prophets, writers, musicians,
statesmen and scientists to make of mysteries a truth,
and not just trade in weapons, but create a phantom land.
Today, at this rebirth, as we go into another decade of our statehood
let us release the fruitage of our dreams,
sing songs of sorrow so nobody will see our tears.
Let all share our laughter.
Hebrew Revival Recalled on 30th
by a 100-year-old-lady of
stealing time from her, if
your can imagine that, by
There is a famous, and by your incessant "chizbatim
now well-worn story about al* ha telephone." Chizbat
an old learned Jew who isn't even a good word in
emigrated to America at the Arabic, from whence it was
turn of the century. Asked lifted. But since you don't
about his ability to speak know it means something
many languages, he replied, like a tall story you are so
"Dets chrite. Ey kin spik busy apologizing to the old
sivin lungvuadges — dame that you stumble over
your words, not mention a
Hinglish de beshtt!"
In Israel today, 30 years crack in the pavement, and
after independence, such an cops!
From your prone position
immigrant would find quite
a different situation. Al- on the ground you see a big
most no matter what his sign over a supermarket
level of education, he would that says "Super Sol." Actu-
influence his children, his ally, the storeowner prefers
friends, and almost that you not take up space
everyone with whom he in front of his entrance by
spoke to communicate in his spreading your body all over
new language, Hebrew. the ground, but since you
After all, it would be new to are in such a reflective spot
you think that he, the
about half of them as well.
There are countless owner, is trying to be clever
stories about how the lan- and show everyone how
guage was revived. But much English he knows.
what they all come down to "Big Sun" right? Wrong!
is the simple fact that the Old Hebrew for overflowing
people who live here have or abundant basket.
The encouraging thing
done all the reviving. So it is
to all speakers of Hebrew, about all this is that people
both the native born and the are beginning to write the
new immigrants, that we same way they think and
must look to for a true speak. The phenomenon of
understanding of the flip- diglossia, so common in the
pant, the irreverent, the Middle Ages, of having
satirical, and even the affec- separate languages for
tionate uses we have come separate functions, is dis-
to understand as part of the appearing. You don't need
Church Latin anymore. So
modern vernacular.
When you get your in- - now you can write, and
come tax form back from create, and once in a while
the government there is a even think if you're in-
very popular expression clined, in the same lan-
used by one and all — guage your mother taught
"Zeh lo fair" (that's not you. But come to think of it,
fair). Whether it is or not if you are an Israeli, your
really doesn't concern mother ,,probably didn't
Wilma] bureaucrats, so teach you -*brew at all.
they are likely to counter Yiku taught her!
Waliong en a solidbase
with a quick "zebasheha"
— short for "zu bayah of biblical Hebrew, with
admixtures
of mishnaic,
shelchah", for that's your
or a later kind of Hebrew
tough luck, friend.
used by compilers of the
Or, as you are leaving the
phone booth you are accused Talmud, helps when you
By BURT KEIMACH
World Zionist
Press Service
are creating a new mod-
ern language. But when
you add still more ele-
ments, like the rich voc-
abularies of the medieval
poets, translators, and
prose writers, not to men-
tion the host of work
turned out in Eastern
Europe during the 19th
Century, you multiply
your original biblical
fund of 8,000 words by at
least five. Then, by the
time you are finished
with technical words
from this century, plus a
few thousand direct bor-
rowings from other mod-
ern tongues, you end up
with a working vocabu-
larly of more than 60,000.
These things were made
easier by the fact that in
spite of the tongue not being
spoken for nearly 2,000
years, Hebrew was by no
means dead. The language
survived not only as a mere
lingua franca among Jews
of different countries, but as
a language of learning and
prayer as well. Very often,
even though a Jew might
not be able to read and write
his own spoken native lan-
guage, he was quite profi-
cient at understanding the
written word in his ancient
Hebrew idiom.
THE
SINAI
HOSPITAL
OF DETROIT
Sends warmest greetings to
its colleagues in the
health care field
on the occasion of their
/SRALL
_30T1-1 ANN/VERSARY /_97B
The efforts of the
Academy of the Hebrew
Language and the great
comprehensive dictionaries
of Ben Yehuda,ar ofJ. Goor,
or Even Shoshan, were sub-
stantial contributions.
I will turn your captivity,
and gather you from.all the
nations, and from all the
places ‘Alither -I have dri-
ven you, saith the Lord; and
I will bring you back unto
the place whence I caused
you to be carried away cap-
tive.
— (Jeremiah 29: 12-14)
Sol Eisenberg
President
Julien Priver, M.D.
Executive Vice President