spirituality >> Torah portion

LIFE & MEDICINE

in the Warsaw Ghetto

Please join us for this _fascinating lecture

Parshat Devarim: Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22; Isaiah 1:1-27.

A

Maimonides Society of Southeastern Michigan

Holocaust Memorial Center
Zekelman Family Campus
28123 Orchard Lake Road, Farmington Hills

Join us for a complimentary tour of the Holocaust Center
following the program

There is no charge for this event
This event was generously underwritten by Dr. Jeffrey and Miriam Forman

RSVP by August 14 to jlazor@jfmd.org

This program is open to all Health Care Professionals and their spouses.

Jewish Veikration of Metropolitan itrtanit

Maimonides

of

Society

Michigan

34 August 4 • 2011

of Metropolitan Detroit

s a child, one of my favorite
songs was a silly song that
taught new Hebrew words
using English puns ("Etz a nice tree!
How do you say 'tree' in Hebrew? Etz!).
The refrain is "Ivrit, Ivrit, Ivrit Daber
Ivrit" (Hebrew, Hebrew, I speak Hebrew).
This song was a staple at family camp
during my youth, and now
my own children love to sing
it, too.
I've taught this song on
the bus during trips I've
led through Israel because
it's a simple way for par-
ticipants to return home
having learned a few dozen
Hebrew words. After all, one
can't travel to Israel without
learning some Hebrew —
the indispensable language
of the Jewish people.
There are many Jews who are not
comfortable with the Hebrew lan-
guage. In this week's Torah portion,
Devarim, we read "On the other side of
the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses
undertook to expound this teaching."
What does this mean?
The commentator S'fat Emet wrote,
"Moses interpreted the Torah in many
languages, so that future generations of
Jews in many lands would have access to
the Torah in a language and in terms that
they could understand."
I want every Jew to be able to under-
stand the Torah. Likewise, I want all Jews
to understand what they are saying dur-
ing their prayers. I want the vast library
of rabbinic legend and lore, the midrash,
and the great legal works of the Jewish
people to be accessible to the entire
global Jewish community.
It is for those reasons I embrace the
translations of the Torah and the Talmud,
the prayer book and Hebrew literature
into so many languages. If an English
translation means that one more Jew
embraces the beauty and wonder of our
sacred liturgy who otherwise would not
have been able to because the Hebrew
was a barrier, then it is a worthwhile tool.
However, I also believe that Hebrew is
the indispensable language of the Jewish
people, and every Jew should make an
effort to learn Hebrew, which is known
as lashon hakodesh "the holy language."
Resources exist in our community to
learn Hebrew from the most basic level.
While it is possible to study the Torah in

English, it is no replacement for under-
standing our sacred tradition in its origi-
nal Hebrew.
In The Sacred Cluster, Rabbi Ismar
Schorsch writes, "Hebrew is coterminous
with that of the Jewish people, and the
many layers of the language mirror
the cultures in which Jews perpetuated
Judaism. It was never merely a
vehicle of communication, but
part of the fabric and texture of
Judaism.
"Words vibrate with reli-
gious meaning, moral values
and literary associations.
Torah and Hebrew are insepa-
rable, and Jewish education
was always predicated on
mastering Hebrew. Hebrew lit-
eracy is the key to Judaism, to
joining the unending dialectic
between sacred texts, between
Jews of different ages, between God and
Israel. To know Judaism only in transla-
tion is, to quote Biala, akin to kissing
the bride through the veil."
There is nothing like being able to go
to Israel and get directions in Hebrew
or order a meal in Hebrew. Yehudah
Amichai's poetry in English is still mar-
velous, but it is not the language in which
the poet expresses himself best. Studying
Torah in the language in which it was
originally written is a feeling that every
Jew should experience.
God hears our prayers in any language.
However, there is something beautiful
about the Hebrew language. Something
about it that connects us together as a
people. As the Jewish New Year approach-
es, it is a great time to resolve to learn
Hebrew or advance your Hebrew literacy.
The Torah will come alive like never
before. I

Jason Miller is rabbi of Congregation

T'chiyah in Oak Park. He is also the
president of Access Computer Technology

and the founding director of Kosher

Michigan, a kosher certification agency

based in West Bloomfield.

How does the Hebrew language
connect Jewish people all over
the world? What is the main
problem with a translation of the
Torah? What are some Hebrew
words or phrases that are part of
your vocabulary?

