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August 24, 2007
Falling in love with Hebrew
Language classes – biblical and modern – are offered
year-round.
FREEMAN PORITZ
Every evening, all over the Lower Mainland – at synagogues,
university campuses, the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver
and private residences – Hebrew is being taught and learned.
The language of the Jewish scriptures for more than 3,000 years
– and, of course, the spoken language of modern Israel –
is alive, vibrant and well. Classes are being offered in abundance
and people are coming out and signing up – Jews and non-Jews
alike.
"I have taught Hebrew for more than 20 years, with groups and
at synagogues and at the Vancouver School of Theology. I volunteered
at Talmud Torah and, of course, at the JCC," said Rahel Halabe,
senior Hebrew language instructor at the Jewish Community Centre
of Greater Vancouver. Halabe was born and raised in Israel, graduating
from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1973 with a degree in
modern Arabic language and literature. In 1984, she moved to Vancouver.
"Most of my students are people who are interested in travelling
to Israel," she observed. "They're interested in getting
to know the place or they have family there. Some are people who
come for religious reasons. Surprisingly, the age group is older
than you would expect. There are many retired people who come to
class."
Like Halabe, Fay Hassall is also a veteran Hebrew instructor at
the JCC. "I [love teaching Hebrew] and I also add [lessons]
about the Jewish holidays," she said. "I always add my
own information. I think people like a bit of extra stuff.
"In the beginner's classes, some are people who are not even
Jewish – learning Hebrew because they're converting. Quite
a few are actually going out with Israeli women or men. There are
also Jews who have never learned Hebrew or they've learned Hebrew
in the past and they want to refresh it. They haven't been involved
since their bar mitzvah. And there are some people who are, in fact,
interested in trying to read the Bible in its original [language]."
This past spring semester, Hassall had an average of 10 students
per class.
"Just going to services, I want to learn Hebrew and be able
to read and be able to talk to a lot of Israelis that are there
[at synagogue]. I would also like to make aliyah in the future as
well, so I'd like to get a head start on Hebrew before I make aliyah,"
said Richard Wallack, one of Hassall's recent students at the JCC.
Paul Mosca, an associate professor in the department of classical,
Near Eastern and religious studies at the University of British
Columbia, has taught biblical Hebrew at UBC since 1974.
"After my first year of university, I studied Hebrew, classical-biblical
Hebrew, and was fascinated by it, and was fascinated by the world
of the Bible and the ancient Near East," said Mosca. "There
are all sorts of backgrounds for the people coming into the department.
There are Jewish students who will take the course because they
feel they want to connect with their biblical roots or for want
of a modern Hebrew course, to have something to do with the Hebrew
language. There are Christian students who want to learn to read
the Bible. There all sorts of students from as diverse a background
as any course at UBC."
Naava Soudack has taught all levels of Hebrew at the JCC for the
past 15 years, as well as the Hebrew portion of the conversion class
at Temple Sholom synagogue.
"We usually have between four and 12 students in a class,"
she said. "Some of them visited Israel for a period of time
and want to keep it [their Hebrew] up. Some are going out with an
Israeli or a Jewish boyfriend or girlfriend. Some are converting.
"A lot of people start the classes with a lot of enthusiasm
and then they lose it. But some are very, very diligent. I have
a student that went to Israel, studied in the ulpan and came back
and kept working at it and it's absolutely remarkable – and
she's almost 60 years old! And that's her connection to Judaism.
She's Jewish, but she never had any contact with the tribe. She's
doing it through the Hebrew, and she's very motivated. Different
people come with different levels of motivation."
The beginner's Hebrew book Ivrit: Alphon can be purchased
at the reception desk at the JCC.
"It [learning Hebrew] is opening the doors for the students
to appreciate the text, listening and understanding, and seeing
the connection between things," said Halabe, "because
people sometimes have been going to the synagogue for years and
suddenly they see these unique connections. The language is only
a tool – a key. People come [to class] for different reasons
and they get different things out of it."
Freeman Poritz is a Vancouver freelance writer.
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