April 9, 2018

Hebrew is one of the world’s oldest living languages. Hebrew has been the main language of the Jewish people since the beginning of Jewish history. It is also one of the two official languages of the state of Israel, along with Arabic.

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Hebrew vowels are indicated by vowel points placed with a consonant. Some vowel points are shown here with the letter Daleth. Credit: WORLD BOOK illustration

Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asian family. It comes from the same source as the Arabic and Aramaic languages. The Hebrew alphabet has 22 letters. Most are consonants, but a few can represent either a consonant or a vowel. Vowels are not usually written, but they can be indicated by a system of dots and lines. Like Arabic and Aramaic, Hebrew is written from right to left.

Throughout history, Jewish communities developed their own ways of pronouncing Hebrew words. In the United States, the two most common pronunciation styles are the Ashkenazic and the Sephardic. The Ashkenazic originated in central and eastern Europe; the Sephardic originated in Spain.

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The Hebrew alphabet has 22 letters, shown here in alphabetical order from right to left, as Hebrew is written. The illustration shows 26 letters, because 4 letters have two forms—with or without a dot—that stand for different pronunciations. Credit: WORLD BOOK illustration

For centuries, the Hebrew language was often considered sacred, called lashon ha-kodesh (holy language). Most of the Hebrew Bible, or Old Testament, is written in Hebrew. The compilation of Jewish law called the Mishnah, which dates from A.D. 70 to 200, is also written in Hebrew.

In A.D. 135, Roman armies killed or scattered the Jews of Judea and renamed the area Palestine. By about A.D. 200, a Hebrew-speaking community no longer existed. As a result, Hebrew died out as a spoken language and was used only in religious writing and in scholarly discussions for almost 1,700 years.

In the later 1700’s, a religious cultural movement called the Haskalah emerged among German and Polish Jews. The goal of the movement was to modernize traditional Jewish beliefs and practices. Haskalah is Hebrew for enlightenment. The Haskalah stimulated an interest in the revival of Hebrew for nonreligious uses, leading to the establishment of newspapers and magazines in the language. Jewish writers began to turn to Hebrew as a literary language.

Hebrew became popular among Jewish poets and novelists during the 1900’s and early 2000’s. Leading Hebrew writers include the eastern European poet Chaim Nachman Balik and the Israeli novelists and short story writers Shmuel Yosef Agnon, Aharon Appelfeld, David Grossman, Amos Oz, and A. B. Yehoshua. Agnon shared the 1966 Nobel Prize for literature.

Hebrew underwent a revival as a spoken language beginning in the late 1800’s. At that time, Jews from many lands began to settle in Palestine. Many started speaking Hebrew as their everyday language, passing it on to their children.

December 23, 2016

Tomorrow, December 24, at sunset, Jewish people around the world will begin celebrating Hanukkah, the Feast of Lights or Feast of Dedication. The Hebrew word Hanukkah (also Hannuka or Chanukah) means dedication. The dates of Hanukkah change from year to year, because the Jewish calendar is based on the cycles of the moon. Hannukah begins on the eve of the 25^th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev, which may include parts of November and December. The festival lasts for eight days and commemorates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem to God by the Jews in 165 B.C.

A family lights the candles of a menorah for the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. Credit: © Shutterstock

Two Biblical books, 1 and 2 Maccabees, tell the story of Hanukkah. In the early 160’s B.C., the Jews in Jerusalem were subjects of the Seleucid Empire, one of the successor states formed out of Alexander the Great’s empire. The Bible tells how the Seleucid king, Antiochus IV, outlawed the practice of Jewish law and defiled the Temple in Jerusalem. Many Jews who defied Antiochus were killed. In 165 B.C., after a three-year revolt, Jews led by Judah Maccabee defeated Antiochus and rededicated the Temple to their God.

According to the Talmud, when the Jews cleaned the Temple, they found only one small bottle of oil with which to light their menorah (branched lamp). But the bottle miraculously provided enough oil for eight days. The Talmud is a collection of Jewish religious and civil laws and their interpretations. Today, lighting the menorah (also called a hanukkiyah) is a popular Hanukkah tradition. Modern menorahs generally have nine branches. On the first evening of Hanukkah, one candle is lighted. Beginning on the second night, one additional candle is lighted every night until the total reaches eight on the last night. The ninth branch of the menorah holds the shamash, or a “helper” candle used to light the other eight. Sometimes menorahs are displayed in windows as a way of publicizing the Hanukkah miracle. In some Jewish families, each person has a menorah. Some communities hold public menorah lighting ceremonies.

Another Hanukkah tradition is eating oily foods, in memory of the oil found in the Temple. Latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts) are popular treats. Other customs include playing a low-stakes gambling game with a four-sided top called a dreidel and giving gelt (money or chocolate coins) to children. Four Hebrew letters on the sides of a dreidel stand for the saying “A great miracle happened there,” referring to the miracle of the oil and the menorah. In some families, giving gifts is customary during Hanukkah. This custom may have developed as a response to Christmas gift-giving in largely Christian areas.

September 14, 2015

On Monday, Jews throughout the world celebrate Rosh Ha-Shanah, the New Year. The solemn religious festival actually began at sundown Sunday evening and for most Jews continues for a second day, ending at sundown Tuesday. Rosh Ha-Shanah are Hebrew words that mean “Beginning of the year.”

This photograph shows a Jewish man blowing into a ram’s horn, known as a shofar, during Rosh Ha-Shanah, the Jewish New Year. The shofar is blown at a Rosh-Ha-Shanah service to call the people to repentance and to awaken the Jews to the service of God. (© Howard Sandler, Shutterstock)

The holiday does not commemorate any historical event in Jewish history but rather the creation of the world. Jews believe Rosh Ha-Shanah is the start of God’s annual judgment of humanity. At that time, God decides who will continue to live and who will die during the coming year. The traditional greeting on the holiday is “May you be inscribed in the Book of Life for a good year.”

Rosh Ha-Shanah usually begins in September on the first day of the Hebrew month of Tishri. Jews attend synagogue services that emphasize the themes of judgment, penance, and forgiveness. Worshipers pray for God’s forgiveness, for a good year, and for long life. A ram’s horn, called a shofar, is blown to call the people to repentance and to awaken Jews to the service of God.

Rosh Ha-Shanah begins the Ten Days of Penitence, which end on the holiday of Yom Kippur. Three special groups of prayers are recited during Rosh Ha-Shanah. The first group reminds the people that God rules the world. The second group tells them that God responds to the sound of the shofar, and the third group that God remembers people’s deeds.