007 Hebrew Mayhem

By Dustin Herlich

Lashon Hakodesh, which translates to “holy language”, is an essential pillar of Judaic life, both culturally and spiritually.  Hebrew is a tie that binds, and it binds tighter than the grip of your over-protective mother, or your innards after eating too much Matzo.  Throughout the ages, the ability to read Torah and pray in Hebrew has been passed down from generation to generation even under threats of certain death.  Considering how important Hebrew is to our ritualistic life; not to mention every day life in Israel for almost sixty years, we can safely assume that what we speak is essentially the same as our forefathers, right?   Unfortunately, no, we can’t.

While written Hebrew has emerged from the sands of time remarkably intact, being carefully preserved through training and tradition, the spoken component has morphed and changed as the influence of other cultures seeped its way into Jewish life.  Not only that, but as Jews began living outside of Eretz Yisroel, they picked up bits and pieces of local accents and language along the way.  Today, we have what we call Modern Hebrew, which is the every day language you’ll hear in any Tel Aviv night-club and we have the Biblical Hebrew we are all familiar with from synagogue services.  For us anglicized fellows, think of it like the difference between Shakespeare, and how you talk now.  What you learned in Hebrew School might sound fairly archaic; it is still not completely true to the original.  The written letters and grammar might be there, but the elocution is not.
While there is some doubt regarding this position on proper pronunciation, a growing number of scholars and Rabbis are now seeing the light.  Leading the way in this enlightenment is Rav David Bar-Hayim, Av Beth Din of Machon Shilo (www.machonshilo.org) and head of Makhon Ben Yishai Institute for Torah Research.

According to Rav Bar-Hayim, “Our language is unlike any other- it comes direct from the Creator Himself… we know that the world was created in Leshon Haqodesh”.  Rav Bar-Hayim goes on to explain that several factors have influenced the decline of Hebrew pronunciation over the ages.  Primarily, the fact that Jews have been scattered throughout the world since the destruction of the second temple is to blame.  As Jews moved into new lands, they took on new accents.  You can be sure that the Hebrew spoken by a French Jew sounds very different than that of an American.  How about the difference between that of an American from the North of the US, or one more accustomed to Southern Drawl?

Also, if your family has been living in a Diaspora community for several generations, you’ve probably never had the opportunity to hear the correct pronunciation, how are you to know what it actually is?  Thankfully in the modern information age, and with the help of modern scholars like Rav Bar-Hayim, we can bring back what was once “lost” knowledge.  There are still communities of Sephardim and Taymanim (Yemenites) that do pronounce Hebrew correctly, and we can learn from them.  According to Rav Bar-Hayim, the Taymanim are actually the ones who have done the most faithful job of keeping proper pronunciation alive.

Rav Bar-Hayim is not alone in this thinking, and in his written works cites such scholarly heavy-weights as Avraham Yishaq Hakohen Kook and Rabbi R. Ya’aqov Emden.  As Rav Bar-Hayim points out, it was Emden that wrote in his Siddur that “Pronunciation must be complete and correct… Particularly one must not confuse alephs with ‘ayins and hehs”.  It is these details, and the attention to these details that set Rav Bar-Hayim apart from many of this peers.  As Hillel Greif, student of the Rav’s and webmaster of www.torahlight.com says “The first time I met him; I just knew there was something different.  I knew the very moment I met him that he was a special man, and I just had to learn from him.”  The Rav has often been seen as a controversial figure, but anyone who attempts to challenge the status quo is subject to be marginalized and called controversial.  During the time it took to write this article, the Wikipedia entry for the Rav changed as least twice, moving back and forth from a simply informational page, to  one filled with knocks on his character and political views.

Rav Bar- Hayim’s mission is more than just to correct our accents; the Rav uncovers discrepancies in modern Judaic practice, and seeks to correct them.  By going back to original sources such as the Mishna, and the Jerusalem Talmud (as opposed to the Babylonian Talmud), Rav Bar- Hayim is able to bring back what has been lost to the majority of practicing Jews for centuries.  By bringing Judaism back to its roots, back towards correct procedure, pronunciation and ritual law, we strengthen the world Jewish community, and revitalize the very concept of what it is to be a Jew.

According to Hillel Greif, “It should matter to you that you are fulfilling mitzvah correctly.  If you’re not, then what’s the point”?  Hillel later went on to add “that’s one of the greatest things about Rav Bar- Hayim, he wants you to think for yourself.  He says to you “you can believe what you want, and keep doing things the way you are doing them, but have you done your home work like I have?  Have you read all the right Talmud Passages?  The Mishna?  Rashi?”  I’ve done my research, if you think you can correct me, cite a better source.” You can follow what the Rav says, but he only wants you to do it after you’ve looked into it yourself, and taken it upon yourself to properly carry out Jewish law”.

For more information on some of Rav Bar Hayim’s work, you can visit www.torahlight.com, as well as www.machonshilo.org.  Both sites house extensive collections of the Rav’s work.