records and tombstone inscrip- tions, there were very few people speaking Hebrew, and even few- er writing Hebrew literature by the late 19th century. It is popular to begin the story of the revival of Hebrew with the disembarkation of Eliezer Ben- Yehuda on the shores of Pales- tine in 1881. Born in 1958, Ben-Yehuda had come to Israel with his family in 1881 and taught high school Between 1894 and 1915 he wrote for and later served as editor of the leading newspapers of the day: Mevasseret Zion, Hahavezelet, HaZvi. Both in his private life and in his professional activities, Ben-Yehuda refused to speak anything but Hebrew. He estab- lished "The Association for the Revival of Israel" to promulgate The alphabet. Hebrew culture and was a found- ing member of the Va'ad Ha- Lashon ("The Committee for the Hebrew Language"). He advo- cated simplicity and passion in the language and fought rhetoric and artifice. For all Ben-Yehuda's zeal and perseverance, the revival of a lan- guage could not have been the work of one man alone. The Com- mittee for the Hebrew Language was established in 1890 to guard the nascent, tender Hebrew tongue from foreign influences. Later, in the 20th century, it be- came responsible for coining words as the Hebrew Language Academy. To this day, commit- tees established for the various branches of knowledge ensure the continued adjustment of He- brew to modern reality. Hebrew poets played a tremen- dous role in the revival of the lan- guage. H.N. Bialik (1873-1934) devoted endless energy and eru- dition to the ingathering and edit- ing of forgotten Hebrew sources; Shaul Tchernikhovsky (1875- 1943) engaged in a parallel ven- ture: the translation of European classics from antiquity to this time, from which Hebrew poetry had been severed in the ghetto- centuries. The impact of these poets was so great that by the 1920s, the center of Jewish cultural activi- ty had shifted from Odessa to Palestine in the space of 30 years. 1 We would like to wish our neighbors, friends 6 customers a very Happy New Year! •74eeed,(leiteit4, AIR CONDITIONING ENGINEERS Heating & Cooling Residential & Commercial 5250 Auburn Road • Utica 310-979-3000 810-739-49421 We Wish Everyone A Healthy, Happy New Year! 737-7122 May the New Year Bring To All Our Friends and Family—Health, Joy, Prosperity and Everything Good in Life. FOOD SERVICE DESIGN • EQUIPMENT • SUPPLIES Herman Frankel Organization Wishing You and Yours A Very Happy and Healthy New Year GLASSMAN OLDS/SAAB HYUNDAI 28000 Telegraph • South of 12 Mile • 810-354-3300 28857 ORCHARD LAKE ROAD FARMINGTON HILLS, MI 48334 553-0305 f..00 School of Dance Annette Bergasse, her family and staff wish A Happy and Healthy New Year to all our Customers and Friends! A Perfect Famik A Subscription to the Jewish News. t