book review- lashon hakodesh: history, holiness, & hebrew
DESCRIPTION
This is a book review written by Ruth Judah about my book Lashon HaKodesh: History, Holiness, & Hebrew (Mosaica Press, 2014). It was published in the Feb. 26, 2015 edition of the newspaper Jewish Home LA.TRANSCRIPT
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This elegantly presented book is an
easy read and provides a detailed texture
of the three essential Jewish languages;
Lashon HaKodesh, Aramaic and Modern
Hebrew. Using a structure that is decid-
edly textbook, the information is simple
to grasp. At times original, interesting but
factual, the reader is left with a comprehen-
sive understanding of the history of our an-
cient languages and their mystical magical
nature as interpreted and debated by wise
Rabbis of old.
Did Adam speak in Lashon HaKodesh
from his creation, did he speak it after eat-
ing the forbidden fruit, did he speak it in
Gan Eden, did he speak other languages as
well? Is Lashon HaKodesh the language
that angels understand because it is the su-
preme language that was created by G-d
Himself? Have we stopped conversing in
prayer book Hebrew because we are not so
holy? Have our negative traits necessitat-
ed an alternative collection of languages?
Rabbi Klein discusses these questions and
presents several answers but withholds
from passing judgment. As a result, the
book moves us to understand how and why
the rabbinical debate is ongoing.
Lashon HaKodesh is the purest lan-
guage that Jews have had available from
the very start of creation, when Adam
could actually speak directly with Hashem.
As we have fallen further from the lofty
heights of our ancestors, the language has
been destined to prayer, where we can still
aspire. Modern Hebrew by contrast, with
its adoption of Yiddish, German and Ara-
bic sounds, is the language of our mundane
lives. Rabbi Klein leads us to believe this
is all for the best.
Other languages have been taken up by
generations before us and these are all a
melting pot of many words so that Modern
Hebrew, Yiddish and Aramaic, as well as
Arabic, Greek and other ancient dialects,
frequent word structure which is an amal-
gamation of Lashon HaKodesh with the
additional language. In fact, Rabbi Klein
provides a delightful presentation that re-
minds us of the history of words with trilat-
eral and quadrilateral syllables and sounds.
Even the Torah uses foreign words to ex-
press to the reader the possibility of inter-
pretation and explanation.
The book works its way to an analysis
of Aramaic, a language which is essential-
ly a collection of Semitic languages. Al-
though there is still dispute about the origin
and importance of Aramaic, the language
comprises a vast collection of dialects
which evolved so long ago, as far back as
Abraham, and even further to the Torah.
Aramaicisms are found in the Torah, it is
the language universally accepted for a ko-
sher Get, and it is still spoken in an estimat-
ed 19 varieties by pockets of Jews around
the world, yet it is undoubtedly dying out,
spoken by few. While this linguistic his-
tory is not part of the book, the material
that is presented encourages the reader to
consider these facts and the history of our
languages in more depth.
-
standing the interconnection between the
earliest Jewish languages are few. Does
this matter? Rabbi Kleins book allows us
to learn a little more on the subject so we
can be conscious and cautious of the lan-
guages which are our ancestors legacy for
us.
Rabbi Klein is a fellow at the Kollel of
Yeshivas Mir in Jerusalem and received
rabbinic ordination in Jerusalem, but his
routes lie in Valley Village where he was
schooled at Emek Hebrew Academy and
Yeshivah Gedolah of Los Angeles.
The book is available for purchase on
Amazon.com and at Mosaica Presss
website, mosaicapress.com.
LASHON HAKODESH
HISTROY, HOLINESS & HEBREW
by Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein
Reviewed by Ruth Judah
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