But there are at least two overwhelming reasons that they should.
Why Won’t American Jews Learn Hebrew? Because They Don’t Want to.
And this illiteracy, I suggest, will leave American Judaism and American Jewishness forever crippled and scandalously thin…. Without Hebrew, the Jewish tradition will not disappear entirely in America, but most of it will certainly disappear. This is reason enough.
But there is a second, no less overwhelming reason, one that focuses on the Jewish future rather than on our past. Because the time is coming very soon — if it has not already arrived — when one will not be able to fully participate in Jewish cultural life without knowing Hebrew. This is true in part because of the sheer quantity of cultural creativity, but also because of the trends: Israel is quickly growing in wealth, population and global influence, while American Jews are, in the optimistic view, marching in place.
American Jews have a great deal to contribute to the Hebrew discourse and therefore to our collective Jewish future — their tradition of tolerance and religious liberalism, their democratic experience and their philanthropic habits, to name just a few things.
American Jews and Hebrew–A Case of Active Resistance
But they will do so only if they dispense with the ignorance-as-wisdom arrogance that locks them out of Hebrew-based culture. It will let you engage with your Bible, your Talmud, your medieval Jewish texts, without the hazy filter of translators and professional interpreters.
It will let you read song lyrics and op-eds and plays at will, choose your own Israeli adventure. It will help you become, for a moment at least, an eternal Jew. Home Memo to American Jews: Home Share 71 Search.
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- American Jews and Hebrew-A Case of Active Resistance - UW Stroum Center for Jewish Studies.
- Why Should Every Jew Learn Hebrew? - Israel National News?
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- Memo to American Jews: Learn Hebrew – The Forward!
- Israeli? Israeli-American? American? Why Speaking Hebrew Matters.
- Israeli? Israeli-American? American? Why Speaking Hebrew Matters | Jennie Starr | The Blogs.
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Why Won’t American Jews Learn Hebrew? Because They Don’t Want to. » Mosaic
Access to Philologos, the greatest living Jewish-language columnist. I raise this issue linking Israeli identity to Hebrew language skills, knowing it is sensitive, to inspire dialogue about the importance of Hebrew. Years ago in the midst of a conversation in Hebrew with Israeli friends, one friend shared with the others his amazement that I could speak in Hebrew with them. This was about Hebrew and identity.
The comment struck a nerve because he raised children in the U. One thing is certain, we have more options today than ever before to raise a child with Hebrew in their lives. These programs and others are creating Jewish educational alternatives nationwide that develop Jewish and Israeli identity and strong Israel connections. Offered outside of religious institutions, they reach many seeking cultural rather than religious experiences and engage them in Jewish life.
Americans will tell you in droves they went to Hebrew school, but never learned Hebrew.
With estimates of up to 1 million Israelis living in the U.