The Washington herald., 1913-07-19
SPEAK INHEbREW
INPALESTINE NOW
Ancient Tongue, Adapted to
Present. Day Needs, IN
Revived Use.
DUE TO AN ENTHUSIAST
His Plan Was Received with Desisioa
at First, but He Tiunphed
in de End.

nacular tongue In Palestine and its
adaptation to at present-day needs and
conditions of life is described In an IN
terview with Aaron Aaronsohn, director
Of the Jewish Agricultural Experiment
Station in Palestine and the discoverer
- so-called wild wheat" in q current
issue of the American Hebrew.
THE man who revived the use Of
Hebrew" said DR.. Aaronsohn, was
probably a Russian. Polish, or German
Jew, who spelled his name with a ski.
WITCH or a 'sohn.' but in Palestine
is known as Eleazar ben Jehuda- He
turned up in Jerusalem about 1855 or 1883.
with an obsession to the effect that
the Jews should revive their ancient
language to Mt the land and the ma
ton of their hearts desire. Like most
other obsessions, II was received with de-
rision. The conservatives would have
none Of 1t, because Hebrew was consid-
cred a sacred language-'kosher'-w
would be defled by use for the bread
and-butter needs Of man. To the radicals,
progressives and liberals. Hebrew was a
dead thing, impossible of revival In the
days of steam railroads and telephones.
The protest was reactionary. and they
would have none Of II.
Printed In Hebrew.
EicdLdT Den Jenuud. nOWcNcT. was not
so easily put by. He went aside for the
moment and presently returned with a
newspaper printed in classic Hebrew.
DIR. Aaronsohn says he does not remem-
Der what IL was called: II had several
reincarnations, and its lineal descend
ant today is "Ha-Or," THE Light" read
the world over by nationalistic Jews.
In that paper was printed the news of
the world, so far as its editor could get
hold OF 1t. 1t was not altogether an
easy business, because the printing OF
Of the Sultan of Turkey involves a man
In perils- The news that trickled past
the Turkish censor was pretty Jfhor-
oughly sterilized. One had to refer to
the King of the Kingdom of the
United States" for example. When the
Empress Elizabeth was stabbed by the
assassin at Geneva. the Turkish news
papers. in whatever language they
might be printed. had to say lin fact.
they knew no better that she died of
heart disease while walking in the street.
You see.'' explains DR.. Aaronsohn.
IAN Empress is not made to be stabbed.
In Turkey such thing could not be
thought about. much less printed.
yet type and printers ink are queer
things. Guard them as you will. intimi-
date editors as you will, they do some
how awaken the minds of those who
read. With all its limitations. Ha-Or
awakened the minds of the Jews in
Palestine who read II. They had to
read II, conservative and liberal alike.
because in no other way could they get
the telegraphic news of the world. At
worst. il was better than the pitiful
things in Arabic that had cratic circu-
lation among those who could afford to
get hold of them at all
Had to Learn Tongue.
so everybody who wanted to keep in
touch with the world had to learn to
read Hebrew. Even the old orthodox
Jews who never would have touched a
newspaper printed in a European Ian
guage-partly because they could not
read 1t ANYWAY, but chiefly because II
might contain missionary ideas which
were not 'kosher'-began to get some
notion of the world outside Of the Holy
Land"
But the conservatives soon began to
realize that this newspaper. the Light.
was insidiously progressive. and was
making subtle inroads with ideas which,
however diluted to get them past the
censor, were not to their orthodox
taste. The only remedy. obviously. was
another newspapers stand-pat organ.
So they started another. Havaleth. The
could be nothing more significant of the
contrast between the two points OF view
than that between the names of the
stand-pat and the progressive Hebrew
of Jerusalem.
Meanwhile education was a "hurrah's
nest" There were schools in French,
Germany. Russian, and English. Men,
bers Of the same family went to Diff
ferent schools and learned to speak and
read in different languages.
1T did not take US long" says DR..
ito discover that We were
building a Tower Of Babel. When the
French school. to which the eldest son
or daughter was admitted. was full. they
had to go to the English OF German
school. And SO on. Soon in the evening
around the hearth in the Jewish home
you could see Germany and France
fighting each other. while placid Albion
sat watching the result. We were onl
the wrong track.
Then along came Ben Jehuda. the
dreamer. and he said: We have Ian
guage of our own, an old language.
worked out and grown out and lived out
to express the Jewish SOUL
He declared that henceforth he would
speak to Jews only in Hebrew: he would
marry only the girl whom he could court
In Hebrew, and who would accept him
in Hebrew. Men used to 30 . long way
to look at this crazy man who would
speak only Hebrew to Jews, although he
could talk all the other languages per-
fectly.
C0urted in Hebrew.
And do you know, there came pres
emily to ben Jehuda that crazy girl he |
was looking for; he courted her and she |
accepted him, in Hebrew; they married J
and built up a Jewish home, and the
grew up in Hebrew!
And we began to have Hebrew schools. |
That is a good while ago now: genera
lion Nof speakers OF Hebrew has grown |
up. II is no longer a queer thing to talk |
Hebrew; It is a queerer thing not to talk
L. You have to know II to get along. |
In the fields Of Palestine there are work.
ng together Jews from Russia, Poland.
kurdestan, Portugal. England, and so
On, and the only tongue in which they
IAN understand each other Is Hebrew.
DR.. Aaronsonn tells Of an incident IL
Illustrative of how through the medium
IF the use Of Hebrew as a vernacular
he synagogues in Palestine have once
again become social and educational
,enters for the people. He was to de-
liver several lectures with lantern slides
,n agricultural subjects In one village,
but he was not admitted to the syna-
ypgue when he tried to speak there. on
he ground that the house OF worship
could not be used for secular purposes
md speeches In the unsanctified fid-
1ish yernacrAar. When It was learned,
however. that he purposed to speak In
classic Hebrew. the holy tongue Of
T. xha a1>. mast fhe avua