COMPILED BY ELIZABETH APPLEBA M
Consider This
Eliezer Ben-Yehuda was the
man responsible for making
Hebrew the language of mod-
em Israel.
He was born Eliezer Perel-
man in 1922 in Lithuania. In
the mid-1870s he became in-
terested in Zionism; later, he
would write in an introduction
to his dictionary, "In those
days it was as if the heavens
had suddenly opened, and a
clear, incandescent light
flashed before my eyes, and a
mighty inner voice sounded in
my ears: the renascence of Is-
rael on its ancestral soil."
Planning for a career he
could use once he settled in
Eretz Yisrael, Ben-Yehuda
moved to Paris to study med-
icine. There, he met journal-
ist George Selikovitch, who
told him he had heard Jews
in Asia and Africa speaking
Hebrew. This was to be the
seed that eventually grew into
Ben-Yehuda's full-fledged pas-
sion for modern Hebrew. He
was convinced that only by
speaking the same language
could Jews throughout the
HERE'S HOW A
LARGE EMPTY BOX
CAN BECOME A
NICE LITTLE HOME.
-
At Ben-Yehuda's insistence,
his family conversed only in
Hebrew, making his the first
completely Hebrew-speaking
home in the land.
Ben-Yehuda taught, wrote
about, lived the Hebrew
language. He was so in-
sistent upon furthering
Hebrew that he would not
allow his children to even
hear another language.
When guests who knew
only Yiddish came to visit,
Ben-Yehuda sent his chil-
dren upstairs, lest they
hear a word of it.
What do you think of
Ben-Yehuda's determina-
tion? What would have
happened had there not
been a single language es-
tablished during the early
years of Israel?
Do you think it's impor-
tant to learn Hebrew if you
don't live in Israel? Should
you learn to speak the lan-
guage or just read it?
Do you feel differently
saying prayers in Hebrew
or English? Why do you
think so few Jews today know
any Hebrew?
:Dc_1 ■ \ 1 71 1
L)
Sometimes shadows can be spooky. But they're a lot of fun
if you turn them into silly creatures and shapes.
The flexitime you're in bed and feeling lonely, create your
own shadow animals on the wall. It's easy to try a giraffe
(your arm becomes his long neck) or a toothless crocodile
(bend your thumb to the base of your forefinger, then sepa-
rate the rest of your fingers in two groups — the forefinger
and middle finger become the top of the crocodile's mouth,
your ring finger and pinky are the bottom. Now make him
go chomp, chomp, chomp by opening and closing your mid-
dle and ring fingers.)
What other animals can you make?
Nothing tastes better on a warm summer day than fresh fruit you
picked yourself.
Now that summer is j -ust about here, you may want to plan an af-
ternoon at one of Michigan's many great orchards. Meanwhile, you
can prepare for what you'll be picking by knowing the seasons for
some of your favorite fruits.
Strawberries: Mid-June through early July.
Cherries, Blackberries: July through early August.
Blueberries: Mid-July through August.
Raspberries July through October.
Apples: July through November.
Peaches, Pears: August through September.
Plums: August
Pumpkins October.
Ellyce Field's Kids Catalog of Michigan Adventures contains
a complete list of the state's orchards. Two good ones to try:
Spicer Orchards and Farm Market is at 10411 Clyde Road in Fen-
ton. (810) 632-7692.
Erwin Orchards is at 61019 Silver Lake Road In South Lyon.
(810) 437-4701.
it
Eliezer Ben Yehuda
7
411E3sit PicKs
Place the box upside down on the floor.
In one of the sides, draw a huge capital
letter I. Then cut all along the lines of the
letter. This will give you a window that
you can keep open or close if you need pri-
vacy.
You can leave the little home just like
this, or you can decorate it with markers,
stickers and pieces of scrap fabric. Draw
paintings on the wall inside and a win-
dow box with flowers for the outside.
world be reunited as one peo-
ple in their own land.
In 1881 Ben-Yehuda and
his wife settled in Palestine.
Pith Of triumph
Noah builds the ark.
God commanded Noah to build an ark,
onto which he would take his family and
two of every living creature. Have you ever
thought of building your own ark?
You can use a shoe box or any other
medium-sized container to make your ark.
You also can draw and cut out your own
animals, or buy some from the toy store.
As you work, you might want to listen
to Le Deluge, a musical version of the sto-
ry of Noah, written by French composer
Camille Saint-Saens.
After you have completed your ark, read
what the Torah has to say about Noah's
journey and about Noah himself. (Gene-
sis 6:9 is a good place to start.)
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