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December 2002
1. There is nothing quite like a wedding for a good time. And to think
we are doing a mitzvah at the same time; this is a very happy situation
indeed. So why is a sad element introduced, at very end of the ceremony,
with the breaking underfoot of a symbolic glass? The most common reason
given is that this is a reminder that even during celebration we should
not forget the destruction of the ancient Temple in Jerusalem. Another
very similar explanation is that a person must temper life's joyous
moments with the realization that we still live in an unredeemed world.
So how do people respond to this bittersweet moment, so imbued with
solemn meaning? They cheer and yell "Mazel Tov"! Go figure…..
2. The attempt to explain and unravel the meaning of Biblical passages
is called Midrash. Midrash also refers to a specific exposition or rabbinic
commentary on a Biblical story, usually emphasizing a lesson or point
of law. Finally, the word Midrash is applied to the entire collection
of literature to which this interpretive activity gave rise. The rabbis
of old, assuming that no word of the Biblical text was superfluous,
generated a vast midrashic literature, including most of the Talmud.
However, the work is never done and Midrash continues to be created,
as we interpret the Scriptures in the light of modern experiences. The
word itself derives from a Hebrew root meaning "to inquire, study,
investigate". A synagogue is to serve as a "Beit Midrash",
a house of study, as well as a house of prayer (Beit Tefila) and a house
of assembly (Beit Knesset).
3. The Hebrew word "kadosh" - holy - is first used in Genesis
2:3 in reference to the Sabbath. "And God blessed the seventh day
and called it holy ….". So the first application of "kadosh"
is invoked by God, but not to describe God's uniqueness. Nor is this
first reference to any person, place, or thing; examples of all these
will come later. The first holy entity named in the Bible is a time,
the special time of Shabbat.
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November 2002
1. "Anyone who destroys a single soul destroys a whole world…
and anyone who preserves a single soul has saved a whole world".
This familiar but elegant statement expresses a complete worldview.
It comes to us from the storehouse of so much wisdom, the Talmud. This
thought is especially compelling when presented by Rabbi Greenberg,
whose son recently died in Israel. Despite his own loss, this deeply
humane man urges all of us to maintain our faith. The rabbi, a product
of devout Orthodox upbringing, asked his audience to show compassion
for the Palestinians also.
2. There were twenty-one kings of the House of David. Starting with
David himself, this dynasty ruled first the combined Israelite state
and then the kingdom Judah for almost five hundred years. The Second
Book of Kings minces no words about its assessment of successor kings,
most of whom it despises. Hezekiah, the monarch who built the ancient
water tunnel under Jerusalem to withstand the Assyrian siege, was very
highly esteemed. His son Manasseh, though, was reviled for many practices
in his fifty-five year reign, especially for reinstating pagan worship.
The very highest praise was reserved for Manasseh's grandson, King Josiah,
a great religious reformer. The kingdom's spiritual fortunes recovered
under Josiah, who commanded the ritual cleaning of the Temple. But then
Judah reverted to a downward course toward punishment and exile when
Josiah's son Jehoakim became king. Ignoring the prophet Jeremiah's warnings,
Jehoakim led an unsuccessful revolt against his Babylonian overlord
King Nebuchadnezzar and was banished. Not long after, Judah was crushed,
Jersulem sacked, and the Temple destroyed by the Babylonians.
3. In our country, Chanukah, the Festival of Lights, is now the third
most widely observed Jewish holiday, after Pesach and Yom Kippur. Naturally
a lot of glorious traditions have grown up around it. Yes, it's true
that the first eight-day period was specified by the priests and elders,
the Sanhedrin, for the rededication purification of the Temple after
its desecration by the Greeks back in 165 BCE. This account is found
in both the Mishna and the Books of the Maccabees. These books are not,
however, are not included in the Hebrew Scriptures, though they are
in the Catholic Bible. These works, written shortly after the events
they describe, make no mention of the miraculous oil, though the Talmud,
written centuries later, does. The coincidence with Sukkot is no accident
for one of the themes of Sukkot was the annual rededication of the Temple,
which normally occurred at this time. Since the Temple was in Syrian
hands at Sukkot, it could not be rededicated. But when the Temple was
retaken from the Greeks, the Maccabees used Sukkot as the example for
rededication. As Sukkot lasts eight days - so does Chanukah. But unlike
Sukkot, this festival is not mentioned in the Torah - or anywhere in
the Tanakh for that matter. Chanukah recalls events that occurred after
the periods described in the Jewish Bible.
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October 2002
1.. In James Carroll's view, the near omnipotent "enemy" of
the early Christian Church was Rome, not the diverse Jewish world into
which it was born. The Gospels of the Christian New Testament were written
between 68-100 C.E., several decades after the events they chronicled,
but during the period when the land of Israel was experiencing the first
of the devastating Roman Wars. (The Epistles of Paul were written somewhat
earlier). Rome's victory was complete and her civilization absolutely
dominant in this period. The Jewish world was traumatized. As Carroll
says "to read the New Testament apart from the Roman war against
the Jews - as it almost always is - amounts to reading (Anne Frank's)
The Diary of Young Girl without reference to the Holocaust". At this
time Christianity was a marginal persecuted upstart sect. It did not become
the official state religion until many centuries later, early in fourth
century of the Common Era when Constantine reunified the Empire.
.
2. There is always a special prayer for rain that occurs during the
Shemini Azeret service. Not long after the rainy season begins in Israel
and rain is of course essential to an agricultural community. But if
you must spend eight days in a roofless sukkah, you would naturally
prefer good weather during that time and only start praying for rain
at the conclusion of your sukkah stay. Thus the prayer for rain is first
heard on Shemini Azeret. The diminution in importance of this holiday
may stem in part from the fact that we are not as tied to the land as
previous generations or as dedicated sukkah builders. It is also worth
noting that Shemini Azeret is not even mentioned in Exodus 23 and Deuteronomy
16 as the conclusion of the seven-day Sukkot holiday. Its observance
as a full festival day, complete with cessation from work, is however
commanded in Leviticus 23:26 and Numbers 29:35-38.
3. Of all the prophets, Ezekiel stands out for his bizarre visions,
like the valley of dry bones which awake on hearing the word of the
Lord and self-assemble into a great army. In another image, Ezekiel
himself is bidden by the Lord to eat a scroll, which he found "tastes
as sweet as honey". Ezekiel wrote his haunting but ultimately hopeful
visions while in exile in Babylon, where he was sent in 598 B.C.E. when
the new conquerors annexed Jerusalem. He was thus the first prophet
to write outside the land of Israel. He also predicted the destruction
of the (First) Temple, which occurred at the hand of the Babylonians
in 587 B.C.E. For all these things, he is justly renowned. But in the
opinion of the scholar Paul Johnson, his most lasting contribution was
to move individual accountability to the very essence of the Jewish
religion. Ezekiel departed from Jeremiah , Isaiah, and the great nevi'im
who went before; they emphasized collective guilt, often for the sins
of a leader, while Ezekiel preached that each individual was responsible
directly to God.
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September 2002
1. During the 1960s and 1970s Soviet Jews brought the celebration of the
holiday of Simchat Torah to new heights. This is for all a uniformly positive
holiday, with no connotations of sorrow or atonement. It is a truly joyous
celebration of the completion (and beginning) of the annual cycle of Torah
reading. Here you will see grown people, even rabbis, dancing jubilantly.
But apparently none of these matched the intensity and sheer jubilation
of the Russian celebrations, the only day of the year on which the authorities
permitted any public Jewish exhibitions. Thousands poured into the streets
around the synagogues in Moscow and other main cities to sing Jewish and
Yiddish songs and dance for hours, often until Russian police brutally
dispersed them. Some commentators feel Simchat Torah became a major event
in the calendar for Jews in the Soviet Union not only for rejoicing of
the Torah cycle but more so as a day of identification and unity with
fellow Jews around the world from whom they had been separated for decades.
Our congregation is blessed with a few Russian families who experienced
these Simchat Torah celebrations first hand.
2. Tashlich is performed on the first afternoon of Rosh Hashanah (unless
this falls on a Saturday - as happens in 2002 - in which case it is
postponed to the next day). A rabbi usually leads the congregation to
a nearby body of water, where all toss in crumbs of bread, and watch
the current take their sins away. This is usually done while reciting
verses from the prophets Isaiah and Micah; Micah 7:19 states "you
will cast [tashlich] all their sins into the depths of the sea".
This custom seems to be medieval in origin, and the earliest reference
is found in the 15th-century Germany. Originally it was resisted by
the rabbis as a frivolous practice, but eventually the common people's
need for tangible actions prevailed and Tashlich became an integral
part of both Ashkenazi and Sephardic custom. This need to do something
physical in response to a spiritual need is deeply rooted. Do you remember
the impromptu memorials of last September 11th?
3. It is indeed impressive how much of everyday English speech can be
traced to Shakespeare and to the Bible. The playwright's insights into
human nature come through crystal clear to us more than four hundred
years after he wrote. It is even more amazing that the Bible's wisdom
also resonates so deeply, across our much different cultures and a temporal
distance of more than two thousand years. Of the examples given, A.
matches to 4. - "There is nothing new under the sun." (Ecclesiastes
1:9); B matches to 3 - "Man does not live by bread alone."
(Deuteronomy 8:3); C matches to 1 - "A voice crying in the wilderness..."
(Isaiah 40:3); and D matches to 2 - "Pride goes before a fall."
(Proverbs 16:18).
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August
2002
1. There is not complete scholarly agreement on the origins of the synagogue,
the most central religious institution of Judaism. However, of the answers
given, the best approximation is that the first proto-synagogues began
develop either during or shortly after the Babylonian Exile in the sixth
century BCE. The Jews there clearly maintained their religious practices
and scriptures. On his migration to Israel, the great teacher Ezra brought
the sacred books and introduced their public reading. Some see a reference
to Babylonian synagogues in this passage from Ezekiel 11:16 when God says
"…I have become to them a small sanctuary in the countries to
which they have gone". The Talmud also speaks of hundreds of synagogues
in Jerusalem BEFORE the destruction of the Second Temple. By then they
were commonplace in adjacent locales like Alexandria, Cyprus, and Turkey.
And there is solid evidence of a synagogue in Egypt in the third century
BCE. Though it has always been the focus of religious activity, during
the Middle Ages the synagogue developed its central role in all aspects
of Jewish life - as school, study, social center, assembly hall. Clearly
by the time of the Roman repression and expulsion from Israel, there was
in place an alternative to the Temple in Jerusalem, and thus Judaism was
able to survive and even prosper during the enforced exile from its homeland.
2. Today Ohabei Shalom is at home in a magnificent Byzantine building
on Beacon Street in Brookline. This is Boston's oldest congregation,
founded in 1842, in what is today the Theatre District of the South
End. They built Boston's first synagogue in 1852 on Warrenton Street
(then called just Warren Street), which runs off Stuart Street between
Charles and Tremont. The next home for Ohabei Shalom, from 1863-1886,
situated diagonally opposite from the first synagogue, was the building
that now houses the Charles Playhouse on Warrenton Street. In 1887 the
congregation moved to still larger quarters further into the South End.
And in 1928 they moved to their current site in Brookline. The Touro
Synagogue was found by descendants of Spanish and Portuguese Jews, who
had arrived in Newport as early as 1658. Boston's was established by
recently arrived German and Polish Ashkenazic Jews.
3. It seems the ancients needed time to warm up to the idea of incorporating
any part of God's name into those of their children. In time, however,
it became quite common not only among the Israelites but also among
their neighbors. The Canaanites frequently used Baal ("Hannibal")
as part of a name; Egyptians Pharaohs were named after gods. And for
Israelites, commoner and king alike, the Jehu (Jehosephat) or Josh (Joshua)
root was a reference to Yahweh. Elisha, Elijah, and Elihu relied on
the other ancient name for God, El. But the first appearance of a prominent
name incorporating a root for God does not occur until the middle of
Genesis, at the time of the Patriarchs. The name is Judah or Yehudah,
Leah's fourth son, the progenitor of the tribe of Judah and ancestor
of King David and his 20 successors. And Yehudah also gave rise to "Jew"
and that's very good lineage indeed.
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May 2002
1. As many Gimel students know, all of these events provide an opportunity
to say the brakhah of the Shehecheyanu, ("Who has kept us alive")
the name given to the blessing recited over something new or special in
time. The English translation and spelling of the blessing itself vary
but the sense is always very close to this. "Blessed are You, Lord
our God, King of the universe, who has kept us alive [She-hecheyanu],
sustained us, and brought us to this time". The events range from
lighting a candle on the Hannukiah to eating the first fruits of a season
and celebrating holidays; the Shehecheyanu always marks the special moment
in time. The tractate in the Mishnah dealing with blessings, Berakot,
prescribes several situations when this blessing is to be recited, such
as moving into a new house or getting new kitchen utensils. Given that
the Mishnah was codified almost two thousand years ago, this brakhah is
woven very deeply into the fabric of Judaism, and that is indeed a blessing.
2. Although it is hard for us to imagine there was a time when written
prayer books were completely discouraged. During the early centuries
of the Common Era, the recently canonized Jewish Bible constituted the
whole of sacred writings. Prayer was part of the Oral Tradition, which
was at that time exclusively oral. The early Talmud writers speak exclusively
of memorized prayers. The written and oral codes were not to be mixed.
After the Roman persecutions and the threat of complete dispersion of
the Jewish people, later generations relented. Prayer books - for the
prayer leaders only - began to appear in late Talmudic times. The first
prayerbook for general use by community leaders was complied in the
ninth century in the then greatest center of Jewish learning in Babylon.
A century later, another Siddur, this one intended for general use,
was developed in Egypt. Parts of it were written in Arabic. Since then,
the many movements and traditions have evolved an astonishing variety
of Siddurim. It is also interesting to note that the root meaning of
Siddur is the same as that of Seder - order. One describes the order
of prayers, the other the order of a traditional meal. In fact, to indicate
"OK" in Hebrew, you say "B'Seder", or more literally
all is in order.
3. One of the closing verses of Ehad Mi Yode'cha is "Four are the
Matriarch mothers of Israel". And of course, these four are Sarah,
Rebecca, Leah, and Rachel. Genesis relates the stories of each of them.
First, we learn how Sarah finally conceived her only child Isaac (at
the ripe old age of ninety!). Rebecca and Isaac also had trouble conceiving,
but in time she became the mother of twins, Esau and Jacob. The younger
twin Jacob went to work for his uncle Laban and returned to Canaan years
later as the husband of Leah and Rachel. Leah was very fertile and bore
six sons (Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulon) and Jacob's
only daughter, Dinah. The lineage of Leah's fourth son, Judah, includes
King David and his successors, who ruled Judea for almost five hundred
years during the First Temple period. Jacob's most beloved wife, Rachel,
also had trouble conceiving but did have two sons, the famous Joseph
and then Benjamin. While giving birth to Benjamin, the youngest of Jacob's
twelve sons, Rachel died and was buried in Bethlehem at the site now
known as Rachel's Tomb. Tradition holds that all the other matriarchs
and patriarchs are interred at the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron".
Some suggest that in fact we should have six matriarchs. During their
infertile times, both Leah and Rachel "gave" Jacob their handmaids
to increase the children attributed to them. Bilhah (Rachel's maid)
gave Jacob sons Dan and Naphtali and Zilpah, (Leah's maid) gave him
Gad and Asher.
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April 2002
1. Only the second of the statements is true. The first Passover does
mark, in a very real sense, the creation of the Israelite people since
it defined the "community" as those who took part in this observance.
In fact, Exodus 12:19 states that the person who eats leavened food during
this time "shall be cut off from the community of Israel". The
commandments about the observance of Pesach (such as the obligation to
eat matzah) are not the first ones in the Torah, but they do include the
first COMMUNAL mitzvot, like the requirement to eat together. The very
first mitzvah, found in Genesis 1:28, is simply to procreate. Chapter
12 of Exodus stipulates that the meal be held on the fifteenth of the
month, at the time of the full (not the new) moon. In the Hebrew calendar,
the "day" begins at dusk and the months are lunar months, so
Pesach was then and is now celebrated on the evening of the first full
moon in spring. We should recall that the very first Passover took place
while the Israelites were still in Egypt, just before the tenth plague
and the Exodus itself, so the first Passover did not take place in Canaan.
This is the Pesach Mitzraim, the Passover in Egypt. However, the Exodus
ended forty years later with the celebration of the second Passover at
Gilgal, just outside Jericho, as recounted in Joshua 5:12.
2. All but one of the events cited in this question happened on that
one momentous day back in May 14, 1948. Only the UN General Assembly
vote for a partition plan for Palestine preceded the other events mentioned.
The vote was taken on November 29, 1947 and, thanks in a large part
to U.S. President Harry Truman's urging, passed 33-13. Nonetheless the
tension and guerilla warfare continued in the region until May 14, when
a series of events unfolded quickly though not unexpectedly. And the
sequence was the same as in the question. Though the British colonial
mandate over Palestine was due to end by the 15th, the Union Jack was
lowered in Jerusalem early on the morning of Friday the 14th. Hours
later, Arab armies were on the attack, with soldiers from Egypt, Syria,
Iraq, Lebanon, and highly trained crack Jordanian troops. The actual
establishment of the new state of Israel was marked by David Ben Gurion's
reading of the Scroll of Independence in the Tel Aviv Museum at 4PM
that afternoon. Very soon after, President Truman recognized the new
country. So as we remember the birth pangs of our country during Patriot's
Day this April, we can also be reminded of Israel's struggle as well.
3. Leo Trepp's The Complete Book of Jewish Observance inspired this
question. He explains the logic that guided the rabbis of old in interpreting
the key commandment to abstain from work on the Sabbath. The 39 prohibitions
and 7 major categories covered very well the situations and options
available several centuries ago. In most cases, their thinking applies
quite directly to conditions a very observant Jew could encounter today
- like those mentioned in this question. No, it is not strictly acceptable
to open an umbrella - even while walking to the synagogue - because
that is "building shelter" and too much like work. Yes, it
is fine to let that pot simmer on the stove, just as long as you turned
on the stove ("lit a fire") before Shabbat began. Sorry, in
the most meticulous practice, one should not carry anything outside
the home on the day of rest, even a Tallit bag. That's work. If, however,
you wear the Tallit, that is acceptable since it is then a garment.
(To be more precise, the prohibition applies to carrying items from
one "domain" to another. That is why orthodox Jews often construct
an "eruv", which creates a single domain out of a neighborhood
and thus allows people to "carry" on the Sabbath.) The rabbis
would always advise you to read a letter from your mother, provided
it is not about business; but make sure the letter is already opened.
There is one principle governs all situations is that any mitzvah may
be broken if a life is in danger. That would seem to cover giving medicine.
Trepp closes this section with a discussion that is respectful of all
the various traditions of Judaism. Most do not advise or insist upon
the scrupulousness of observance suggested above, but all are "united
in the emphatic affirmation of the Sabbath as the cornerstone of Judaism".
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March 2002
1. Amos was one of the true prophets. Describing himself as a simple shepherd
and tender of fig trees, he is called away and told by the Lord "Go
prophesy to My people Israel (Amos 7:15)". Though he was from the
town of Tekoa in the southern kingdom of Judah, most of his prophesies
are set in the northern kingdom of Israel, especially in the shrine at
Bethel, not too far north of Jerusalem. There he confronted Amaziah, the
priest of Bethel, predicting the fall and exile of the sinful kingdom.
A few decades later the Assyrians did in fact plunder the northern kingdom
and send its population into exile. Speaking through Amos, the Lord found
no comfort in the sacrifices and rituals offered in his name. In Amos
5:22-23, He says "I will pay no heed to your gifts of fatlings. Spare
Me the sound of your hymns….". The God of Israel demands justice
above all; through Amos, he addresses the House of Israel in 5:10-12 as
"You takers of bribes, you who subvert in the gate the cause of the
needy". Amos derides the empty rituals of the Temple and has only
scorn for those who oppress the poor. He remains perhaps the earliest,
and most forceful, spokesmen for social justice.
2. Pesach is indeed a wonderful holiday. It captures a timeless message
of liberty for all of us. Each year we ourselves, not some remote ancestor,
are the ones escaping from Egypt and slavery. So when was the first
Passover celebrated? After a little reflection, you may remember that
day got its name when the avenging hand of the Lord passed over the
homes of the Israelites. As instructed, they had smeared their doorposts
with lamb's blood to avoid the consequences of the tenth plague, the
death of the first-born. Chapter twelve of Exodus recounts all this
and also includes the details of how the Passover lamb is to be selected
and prepared. Then in verse 11, the community is commanded to "eat
it hurriedly: it is a Passover offering to the Lord". So the first
Passover occurred in Egypt, on the night before the Israelites fled
from Egypt. If we accept the historicity of this event and the scholars'
best guesses on dates, this first Pesach occurred sometime before the
end of the reign Pharaoh Rameses II in 1225 BCE, over thirty-two centuries
ago.
3. Since their takeover in 1939, the Nazis had been systematically shipping
off most of the Warsaw's half million Jews and starving those who were
left. Their numbers had been reduced to about 60,000, or less than an
eighth of the pre-war population, when the revolt began in a response
to a 3AM invasion on Passover night of 1943. The Germans retreated,
but soon their deadly counterattack began. Despite being completely
outgunned, facing tanks and machine guns, the Warsaw Jews managed somehow
to resist for almost an entire month. Until this time, no civilian urban
population had offered any resistance to the mighty Nazi war machine.
The tenacity and heroism of these starving people was quickly reported
throughout Europe and the world, no doubt inspiring further resistance.
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February 2002
1.Per the advice of Hillel, the festival of Tu B'shevat was fixed as the
day of the full moon of Shevat, the fifteeth day of the month. It was
celebrated in the time Hillel, almost two thousand years ago, but then
ignored for many centuries. The holiday was revived in Israel in the early
1900s when Jews began repopulating the land. Deuteronomy 8:7-8 emphasizes
the connection with the land when Moses speaks of "a land with streams
and springs and fountains issuing from plain and hill; a land of wheat
and barley, of vines, figs, and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and
honey…". These are the seven species, all were found in Israel
more than three thousand years ago. Corn, lemon trees, dates, apples,
and tomatoes may grow there today but do not have the distinction of being
mentioned in the "seven species" passage of Deuteronomy. There
is a growing tradition of a Tu B'shevat seder, where the table is set
with these diverse agricultural products of Israel. Incidentally, both
corn (maize) and tomatoes are New World plants, although Max Israelite
notes that the term "corn" was commonly applied to the principal
grain of a country in the centuries before the discovery of the Americas.
Thus Biblical references to corn actually refer to barley.
2. Shabbat Shirah ("The Sabbath of the Song") is the Sabbath
in which the Song of Moses ("the" song) is the assigned Torah
reading. The song is found in Chapter 15 of Exodus. Just after crossing
the Sea of Reeds, Moses sings to the Lord in praise and thanks for saving
the Israelites from Pharoah's chariots. This chapter also records how
Miriam, Aaron's sister, took a timbrel in her hand and danced with all
the women in celebration. Moses' song is clearly meant as a song, as
the words, phrasing, and its very special layout in the Torah scrolls
attest. This song, the Shirah, is of course prominent during Passover
but also has become part of the daily service in the familiar "Mi
Chamocha". In this manner, reading the Song of Moses every day
fulfills the biblical injunction of Deuteronomy 16:3 to "remember
the day of your departure from the land of Egypt as long as you live".
3. Today's fundamentalists may wish to ignore the long common history
of Judaism and Islam. There have been periods of great tension as today,
but also there have been times of great mutual prosperity and tolerance,
as in the flourishing Muslim-dominated societies of medieval Spain or
the hundreds of years when the Ottoman Empire was ascendant. However the
history is interpreted, however, the common Semitic origin of the Qu'ran's
Arabic and the Bible's Hebrew is indisputable. Mary LaHaj, an American
Muslim woman who spoke at the brotherhood breakfast last month, pointed
out two very striking examples of this common linguistic heritage. The
consonant group ShLM (Shin, Lamed, Mem) appears as the greeting "Shalom",
or peace in Hebrew and also forms the core of the word Islam, the religion
of peace or surrender to God's will, and of the word Muslim, one who surrenders.
You can also recognize the same root in the Arabic name for God, Allah,
and our own "Elohim". El is the generic Semitic name for God.
Even before the periods of Abraham and Moses, back in the Akkadian language
of the very early second millennium BCE, there are references to Ilu..
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January 2002
1. The Mourner's Kaddish is said not only at every Jewish funeral service,
but it is also part of every daily service as well. Though recited in
memory of the departed, it says absolutely nothing about death, and focuses
only on the greatness of God. To many, this is very humbling and beautiful.
Scholars believe the Kaddish is over two thousand years old, and sometime
during the Middle Ages its current usage evolved. In any case, if you
read the translation The translation, it is plain that there is but one
answer to this question; the theme is simply praise for God.
2. When the Zionist movement emerged in the late nineteenth century
and the Jews of Eastern Europe began coming to Palestine, there was
no national language. The newest arrivals spoke Yiddish and a mix of
European tongues, while the Sephardic Jews of the Mediterranean lands
spoke Ladino as well as the language of their original countries. One
man is generally credited with the revival of Hebrew and its establishment
as the national language of Israel. When Eliezer ben Yehudah arrived
in Palestine, he and his wife vowed to speak only Hebrew in their home.
Along with his tremendous enthusiasm for this cause, his major contribution
was the publication of a Hebrew dictionary, incorporating hundreds of
new modern words. It was first published just before his death, in 1922,
and has been updated and reissued more than a dozen times since.
3. . Reverend Martin Luther King had a very special affection for Jewish
people, and the feeling was mutual. In fact, during the heyday of the
civil rights movement in the 50's and 60's, it is estimated that Jews
contributed about half of the support funds - far out of proportion to
their numbers in the general population or even the progressive community.
It is worth noting that Dr. King also had a special connection with the
Boston area. He received his doctorate at Boston University. His use of
nonviolent civil disobedience to achieve social goals earned him a Nobel
Prize as he further developed this great tradition, rooted in the writings
of Concord's Henry David Thoreau, that India's great Mahatma Gandhi brought
to the world's attention.
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