Friday, October 13, 1978 31
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
The world stands firm be-
cause of those who close
their lips during a quarrel.
— Nachman of Bratslav
Ladino A Conglomerate Tongue Beset by Time
By DULCY LEIBLER
World Zionist
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Yitzhak Navon, Israel's
first Sephardic president, is
both proud of and well-
versed in his mother-
tongue, Ladino. This fact
has kindled a spark of inter-
est in an all-but-forgotten
language, and has
encouraged research in
general on the cultural
heritage and works of
Sephardic and Oriental
Jewry.
Ladino, or Judeo-Spanish
as it is sometimes called, is
an- Hispanic language that
developed after the Jews
were expelled from Spain in
1492. Forced to flee their
homes and settle in strange
lands,. the Jews naturally
took comfort in preserving
for generations the Spanish
that had been spoken in the
14th and 15th Centuries.
Because of this, hundreds of
archaic words, most of
which have completely dis-
appeared from modern
Spain, are still part of the
Ladino vocabulary.
The Sephardic com-
munities which flourished
in more advanced parts of
the world s'on abandoned
this language. Jews in
Amsterdam and London, for
example, kept up with mod-
ern Spanish as it developed.
Other well-off Jews
forgot the language
entirely, in an attempt to
fully integrate into their
new homelands. One
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such group of Sephardim
were the first Jews to set-
tle in the New World. Al-
though they founded the
first Jewish congrega-
tion there in 1654, Ladino
was and remains
peripheral in the United
States. .
Unfortunately, the bulk
of Sephardim found them-
selves in countries of
limited cultural develop-
ment. They longed to retain
the knowledge of their prev-
iously rich Jewish life in
Spain. The use of Ladino
enabled them for some time
to resist influences of the
less developed surround-
ings in which they found
themselves, but to which
many eventually became
accustomed.
Ladino borrowed and
abosrbed words wherever it
was spoken, passing under
the influences of Greek,
Turkish and Arabic. Later
on, when Jews began im-
migrating to Eretz Yisrael,
the language incorporated
Hebrew and even Yid-
dish — words. (One common
example of a Hebrew word
found in Ladino is "mazel,"
luck. A lucky,--person is de-
scribed as "mazalado.")
At various times Ladino
has been spoken in North
Africa, Egypt, Greece, Tur-
key, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria,
Romania, and France.
Today Israel is the country
with the largest number of
Ladino speakers, estimated
at some 200,000. Only a
much smaller number know
how to read and write
Ladino which — like Yid-
dish — employs the Hebrew
alphabet.
Linguists began taking
an interest in Ladino in
the late 19th Century, but
it was only in the 20th
Century that serious re-
searches were under-
taken. By that time, of
course, the Nazis had ex-
terminated many com-
munities in which
Judeo-Spanish had been
the principle means of
communication, thus
probably condemning
the language to a gradual
disappearance.
For example, there had
been 256 publications in
Ladino between 1845 and
the adirent of World War II.
A survey in the 1960's re-
vealed hardly any regular
Ladino press existing, ex-
cept for two weeklies in Is-
rael and one written partly
in Ladino in Turkey.
While Ladino literature
includes a rich collection of
adapted and original works
— covering mysticism,
poetry, biblical exegesis,
history, medicine and ethics
— it is the popular "roman-
cero" which appeals- to most
scholars today. These are
largely a continuation and
adaptation of 14th and 15th
Century ballads, and repre-
sent an oral treasure of
poetry, folk tales and prove-
rbs. They are often sung at
weddings, Bnai Mitzva and
other festive gatherings.
Some are lullabies and still
others are dirges.
Since Ladino roman-
ceros have only recently
acquired a written form,
they vary quite a bit from
community to commu-
nity. In fact, one ongoing
study has already re-
corded over 230 different
musical - themes.
President Navon himself
is well-known for his own
Romancero Sephardi, a
concert-presentation of
secular and sacred songs
which he wrote and
edited in 1968.
Recently, the first inter-
national congress on
Sephardic and Oriental
Jewry was held at the He-
brew University of
Jerusalem. Among the
problems that it dealt with
is the urgent issue that
Ladino (as well as dozens of
Jewish-Arabic dialects) is
no longer taught and is in
danger of disappearing. As
a result, various Sephardic
organizations are trying to
influence Israel's univer-
sities to offer courses in the
langauge as well as in the
history of Sephardic Jewish
communities.
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Shalom — More Than Peace
By LAURIE DROSSIN
Jerusalem
Sometimes I wonder if
people recognize just how
important are the pleasan-
tries we say to one another,
the greetings that we ex-
change in passing. To some
this may seem unimpor-
tant, but I am continually
delighted by the ambience
created and sustained
through the everyday
phrases heard in Israel.
The little things ARE
important.. I feel good
when people say
"shalom" upon meeting
or departing. I like the
sound of "Shabat
shalom" even better. Five
days a week we say some-
thing special and on the
sixth and seventh we say
something even more
special. On Saturday
night, too, a positive at-
titude is unavoidable
when people tell one
another to have a
"shavua tov" (good
week).
I like it when the shop-
keeper, the bus driver, the
man in the office down the
hall or my friends say "hag
same 'akh" (happy holiday)
— what a lovely way to take
leave of someone.
For a week before and
during the week of Pesach
this . phrase was on
everyone's lips as Pesach
was on everyone's minds.
The seder was the major
topic of discussion ---
everyone asked "Do you
have somewhere to go?"
or "How was your seder?"
Where else, but in Israel,
could I have received eight
seder invitations, some
from people I barely know?
I enjoy being conscious of
the Jewish festivals and I
like living where the major-
ity of the people are also
aware of the historic and re-
ligious significance of their
days.
It is impossible to mea-
sure the value of simple
words or the identifica-
tion they stimulate. All I
knlow is that I not only
genuinely feel a part of
something- when
everyone around me says
"Sliabat shalom" or "hag
same 'akh" but that I am
a part of that something.
Equally important, I need
and want to tell others
"Shabat shalom" and "hag
same 'akh." For me, this is
what the quality of life in
Israel is all about. Our daily
words are the finest expres-
sion of who we are and why
we are.
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re- V fen
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