 OCTOBER 31 • 2019 | 17

iarity with Chaldean culture 
and family life that Adelman 
took notice of the terrorism 
being perpetrated by ISIS 
on Chaldean Christians in 
Northern Iraq.
In her book, Adelman 
writes about the diaspora of 
the Christian community 
and links it to the reasons 
why Christianity is disap-
pearing from Iraq and Syria, 
both Islamic countries. 
She says the diaspora has 
increased in the last 15 years 
due to the American inva-
sion in Iraq in 2003 and the 
rise of ISIS in 2014. 
Hundreds of thousands 
of Chaldean Christians 
living in Iraq and Syria 
have been killed by ISIS, 
Adelman says. This, she 
says, has direct implications 
for Aramaic as a language 
and for its very survival as a 
spoken language.

WHAT IS ARAMAIC?
The Aramaic language, today 
often known as Chaldean, has 
been spoken in the Middle 
East for about as long as 
Hebrew has — around 3,000 
years. Aramaic is most likely 
the language spoken by Jesus 
and is the language of many 
critical Jewish historic and 
religious texts, including the 
Talmud, not to mention poet-
ry, songs, folklore and myths.
“From a religious aspect, 
[the preservation of the 
Aramaic language] is import-
ant,
” Adelman said. “From a 
scholarly aspect, it is absolute-
ly critical.
”
Currently, in Metro Detroit, 
there are between 120,000 to 
150,000 Chaldean residents, 
according to the Chaldean 
Chamber of Commerce. 
Adelman felt it was import-
ant to spread the word about 
the struggle of the Chaldean 
Christians living in Northern 
Iraq and the threat that terror-
ism poses to the culture and 
language.
“I feel very passionate about 
the importance of getting 
their story out, letting readers 
know about these people and 
getting the United States to be 
proactive in getting involved 
in the Chaldean community,
” 
Adelman said. “The best pos-
sibility of getting Christianity 
re-established in their own vil-
lages is in Northern Iraq. And, 
in terms of Aramaic being 
spoken, that’
s gone unless 
these people are able to live in 
their villages.
”
Some of the Hakim family 
speak Aramaic/Chaldean, 
including Norma and some of 
her eight children.
Karen Jalaba, 66, one of 
Norma’
s daughters, says her 
older siblings speak Chaldean 

continued on page 18

Click. Call. Give Now. 

www.hfldetroit.org 248.723.8184

Hebrew Free Loan Detroit

6735 Telegraph Road, Suite 300 Bloomfield Hills, Michigan 48301

@HFLDetroit

JEANNE MILSTEIN has lived in the same house for
approximately 17 years. Most of the upkeep on the
home was the province of her late husband, who
passed away three years ago. 
“It’s hard owning a house,” Jeanne said. “There’s
always something to look at, something to fix, some-
thing to maintain. Most of this isn’t my forte, but I’m
lucky enough to have a son who pitches in.”
A few years ago, the Milsteins put an addition on
their home, and it was at the point where the old
roofline met the new roofline that an issue arose.
“I came home one day and it had been raining
outside, but when I came in the house, it was also 
raining inside. It was right at a place in the ceiling
where the addition began. I put down a bucket, and
the builder came out and fixed it temporarily, but it
happened again. I didn’t want water damage to the
inside, so I figured I might as well get the whole roof
done and solve the entire problem, but it was pricey.”
Jeanne considers herself very connected in the 
community, and says in her circle, people know about
Hebrew Free Loan.
“I have friends who have used Hebrew Free Loan,
so I knew about it and I didn’t hesitate to call them
about my roof, even though I wasn’t sure this was the
type of loan they made. I was a little nervous to tell my
story, but everyone was very nice and they put me at
ease. It was a conversation, not intimidating at all. That
was close to a year ago, and my home is safe and dry
now. Everyone needs to know HFL is our people, helping
our people with whatever they need, interest-free.”

 

STORY
My

STORY
My

