The Holy Language

"There is just one serious matter in life," remarked a great philosopher of the 20th century, Ludwig Wittgenstein, "and that is the use and the misuse of language."

I recalled this remark when I participated, a while ago, in the 120th anniversary of the first Hebrew school in Israel, which was founded in Rishon Le Zion. One of the most famous teachers at the school, Eliezer Ben Yehuda, had insisted that in Israel there would be only one language, Hebrew.

Theodor Herzl did not pay much attention to "issues of the tongue." He thought that it may be possible to adopt the Swiss model and speak several languages.

In fact, during Herzl's time, the Jewish people used several languages: Those in Eastern Europe used Hebrew as the holy language and Yiddish as the daily one, while in other parts of the world Ladino was used as the spoken language. When asked why two and not one language, the answer was rather humorous: "We need the holy language with which to praise the Lord and the secular Yiddish with which to argue with him..."

In the first years of the State of Israel's existence, there was a strong demand that the Jewish people in Israel will speak Yiddish as well. Some unfortunate Yemenite immigrants were forced to study Yiddish... Fortunately, this idea was rejected.

Today, with the dramatic change of distribution of the Jewish people - half of them living in Israel, while the other half scattered throughout the world, with the most significant representation in the U.S., we are once more using two languages, only this time it is Hebrew and English.

Those who live outside of Israel, and who speak the internationally accepted English, do not necessarily speak Hebrew, yet they may pray in the holy language. On the other hand, almost all Israelis speak English. English has, in fact, become the language of science and of the Internet.

"Yes, the identity is the space and not the fence or the sword," wrote the great Arab poet, Adonis.

In order to maintain our identity, we pray, throughout the world, in Hebrew, and in order to maintain our modernity, we use English.

That is the secret of Judaism today - to be simultaneously as ancient as the tongue of the Ten Commandments and as modern as the Internet.

Related links: