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What is Hebrew?

by Rabbi Mendy Hecht

  

Library » Miscellaneous » Hebrew / Languages » Hebrew | Subscribe | What is RSS?

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A. Hebrew is the oldest language known to mankind. It is humanity’s interface with G-d. The terminology in which the universe was created. The language of the Torah. Jewish scholarship’s answer to Latin. The vernacular of the Patriarchs. The mother tongue of the Jewish People. The word “Hebrew” arises from “Ivri,” or “other-sider,” a Torah phrase describing Abraham, who immigrated to Israel from the eastern side of the Euphrates River. A Jew—Abraham’s descendant—was thus called an Ivri until the word “Yehudi,” or “Judaite” (from the Biblical Judah) came into play and gave rise to the word “Jew.” “Hebrew” can also mean “Jewish” or something pertaining to Jewishness or Judaism, i.e., Hebrew School.

B. Hebrew today has two forms: Lashon Hakodesh (pronounced LAH-shown hah-KOH-dehsh), or the Holy Tongue, and Ivrit (pronounced eave-REET), or (modern) Hebrew. Lashon Hakodesh is the language the prophets received in, and the official language of prayer, while Ivrit, a Westernized version of the Holy Tongue, is the language of present-day Israel and the backbone of Zionism.

there are untold layers of Kabbalistic wisdom locked within its 22-letter alphabet. The letters are symbols of spiritual energies...
C. While Hebrew may seem to be just another language, there are untold layers of Kabbalistic wisdom locked within its 22-letter alphabet. The letters are symbols of spiritual energies, and the combinations of letters known as words are symbols of spiritual energy combinations known as physical matter. For example, the Hebrew word even (stone, pronounced EH-vehn) is spelled with the letters Aleph, Beit and Nun. Each letter symbolizes a distinct spiritual energy, and when these energies are combined and condensed, a physical rock results. Likewise with all minerals, vegetables, animals, and man—Hebrew is the DNA code of the entire universe.

How can I learn Hebrew?

1. Read it, Write

Hebrew reads right-to-left and features chunky, square letters, the designs of which have evolved considerably through the eons but without losing their essential, significance-rich elements. The Hebrew alphabet consists of consonants only, using diacritics as vowel indicators. Hebrew reading classes for adults can be found at any of the 1,587,429 global Chabad centers (just kidding, there’s only about 2,000). [Read about "What is Chabad?" and go to http://www.chabad.org/centers/default_cdo/jewish/Centers.htm to find a Chabad center in your city.] And once you’re familiar with Hebrew reading, move on to Hebrew writing. The Hebrew manual alphabet is a simplified stick-figure script, making Hebrew writing easy with its simple strokes. The only disadvantage is, if you’re a righty, you’ll get an inky right hand after any considerable writing effort. The Chabad reading classes usually incorporate Hebrew writing skills or offer separate Hebrew penmanship instruction. There are also a variety of computer programs to study Hebrew, available at your local Jewish bookstore and also via online study programs.

2. Make a Move

To Israel, that is—nothing teaches you a language faster than being in a place where that’s all they speak. Or hang around Israelis—you can find ‘em everywhere.

3. Practice makes Perfect

As with acquiring any new skill, constant repetition becomes second nature. With a scheduled daily regimen of Hebrew reading and writing practice, you’ll have it down pat in no time at all.

TAGS: hebrew

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What is Hebrew?

Posted by: Shachtman, Rochester, New York on Jun 30, 2005

A. Hebrew is the oldest language known to mankind.

Language: is human speech, either spoken or written

Hebrew is not the oldest language known to mankind, but rather it is the oldest language still used in the modern world. The oldest language to man kind is Cuneiform created by the Sumerian’s located in the Fertile Crescent, in the city of Ur. Yet Hebrew is very connected to this civilization. Speculations are that Abraham and Sarah came from the city of Ur (home of the Ziggurat) then settling down in southern Turkey so subsequently Hebrew is derived from the oldest language.

Editor's Comment

Hebrew is the language which G-d used when creating this world, and the language which was spoken by Adam and Eve and their descendants. While scientists may not have found archeological evidence to prove this (so far...), this is a Jewish belief based on the teachings of the Torah.

language

Posted by: Mora on Sep 13, 2005

I am sorry but hebrew is not the oldest language. It is Sanskrit from India or that part of the world which is the mother of languages. It is a fact accepted by many scholars.

On Language

Posted by: BeholdASon on Oct 19, 2005

Sumerian and Sanskrit are ancient written languages, but they are not the oldest languages. Spoken languages are not preserved in the archaeological record. But surely there was language before there was writing. According to the science the above posters seem to champion, humans were hunter-gatherers for dozens of millenia before the first glyph was ever inscribed. Were those hunters mute as well as illiterate? The rabbi's assertion that Hebrew was the first spoken language (older, in fact, than humanity itself) is not refuted by references to ancient written languages. Logically, spoken language predates the written form. According to the Torah and Jewish tradition, HaShem spoke Hebrew to ignite the heavens. Later, humans wrote about it.

Hebrew

Posted by: Adam, Coral Springs, FL on Oct 28, 2005

????? Hebrew is the oldest known language in the world??? Now I've read a few wrong things on this AskMoses.com, but I must say, this is the funniest. Though I love Hebrew and find it a beautiful language, it certaintly is NOT the oldest language in the world. As to Aramaic being a mere dialect of Hebrew or semetic languages; not only is Aramaic a language in its own right from Babylon, but it also gave hebrew the modern alphabet it has today. Who actually writes for this site?? Last I checked, there weren't very hard facts to find.

Editor's Comment

1. Regarding Hebrew being the oldest language, see previous Editor's comments. 2. Askmoses never claimed that Aramaic is a dialect of Hebrew. We merely state that Aramaic is similar to, and originated from, Hebrew. Anyone who is familiar with Aramaic knows that this statement is correct. 3. The Hebrew alphabet has existed since the very beginning of time.

Hebrew the oldest language

Posted by: Richard D. Joffe, Columbia, MD on Nov 02, 2005

Quite a few languages are older than Hebrew: Sumerian, Akkadian, Ancient Egyptian, Hurrian, Hittite, Linear B (Mycenaean Greek), Ugaritic, etc., plus the Canaanite reflected in the Tell el Amarna tablets.

Hebrew

Posted by: Nick Ceroli, Omaha, Nebraska, USA on Dec 25, 2006

Your statement about Hebrew is not accurate. Hebrew was the spoken language of ancient Israel for hundreds of years. Your dichotomy of Lashon Ha'kodesh and Modern Hebrew is overly simplistic and misleading.
Torah
Torah is G–d’s teaching to man. In general terms, we refer to the Five Books of Moses as “The Torah.” But in truth, all Jewish beliefs and laws are part of the Torah.
Chabad
Chabad, an acronym for Wisdom, Knowledge, and Understanding, is the name of a Chassidic Group founded in the 1770s. Two of the most fundamental teachings of Chabad are the intellectual pursuit of understanding the divine and the willingness to help every Jew who has a spiritual or material need.
Abraham
First Jew, and first of our three Patriarchs. Born into a pagan society in Mesepotamia in 1812 BCE, he discovered monethieism on his own. He was told by G-d to journey to the Land of Canaan where he and his wife Sarah would give birth to the Jewish People.
Kabbalistic
(adj.) Pertaining to Kabbalah—Jewish mysticism.
Judah
1. The fourth son of Jacob and Leah. He was blessed by Jacob to be the leader of the tribes. Consequently, the Davidic royal dynasty is from the tribe of Judah. 2. The southern part of Israel which was occupied by the Tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and always remained under the reign of the kings from the tribe of Judah.
G-d
It is forbidden to erase or deface the name of G-d. It is therefore customary to insert a dash in middle of G-d's name, allowing us to erase or discard the paper it is written on if necessary.