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July 31, 2003
Dear Board Members:
I. The Role of Hebrew
in Jewish Culture
One of the highlights of the Foundation's Executive
Committee Meeting held in Jerusalem on July 7-8 was the Symposium,
"The Role of Hebrew in Jewish Culture," addressed by
Professor Menahem Brinker, Professor of Jewish Philosophy and
Hebrew Literature at Hebrew University and the University of Chicago;
and Professor Alan Mintz, Professor of Hebrew Literature at The
Jewish Theological Seminary.
Professor Menahem Brinker opened his remarks with the startling
observation that the revival of Hebrew was more miraculous than
the success of political Zionism. He further contended that the
revival of Hebrew in modern times was not created by Zionism,
but instead created the climate for Zionism. The first phase in
the revival of Hebrew was the modernization of Hebrew as a written
language, accomplished by the leaders of the Haskala. The second
phase, the resurrection of Hebrew as a spoken language, was the
result of the need for a common spoken language for the diverse
Jewish groups who immigrated to Israel after statehood. It was
from this point forward that Zionism pushed for the propagation
of the Hebrew language. He concluded that while Hebrew is the
language of Israelis today, Hebrew for Jews in the Diaspora, is
a guarantor for a healthier and continuous Jewish culture.
Prof. Alan Mintz, in his paper, dealt with Hebrew in America.
The earliest Hebraists in the United States saw the Hebrew language
as a guarantor of Jewish continuity in a modern world. In their
view, Hebrew was a portable homeland which made it possible for
them to live not only in Israel, but also in the United States.
The Hebraists in the United States had some limited impact on
literature, but were far more successful in the field of Jewish
education. Eventually they made some accommodation with the Jewish
religious groups, but their major problem was they could never
overcome the powerful influence of Americanization.
According to Prof. Mintz, Hebrew is no longer central for American
Jewish leadership. English for them has become the international
language of the Jews. Prof. Mintz felt that one of the criteria
for Jewish leadership in the United States today should be knowledge
of Hebrew. Hebrew, in his judgment, also holds out some hope for
connectiveness, not divisiveness, in Jewish life. He concluded
that more work needs to be done to develop a persuasive rationale
for Hebrew in the United States.
There was long and intensive discussions about the role of Hebrew
in Jewish Culture and Hebrew in America at the symposium by both
the Yakirei Yerushalayim who were present in addition to the members
of the Executive Committee, and at the meeting of the Executive
Committee the next day about a wide range of issues related to
these areas. The discussion at the Executive Committee also dealt
with the Consultation on Hebrew in America held in New York on
April 6, 2003 convened by our leadership, our esteemed President,
Prof. Anita Shapira, and the Chairman of our Executive Committee,
Prof. Ismar Schorsch.
II. Hebrew in America
The idea for a new program to support the propagation of Hebrew
in America was initially raised by Professor Anita Shapira at
the Nahum Goldmann Fellowship X in Glamsta, Sweden. The underlying
conceptual framework that has guided us in this area grew out
of the Convocation, "Culture, Community and Continuity,"
held at our Board Meeting in Jerusalem in 2002. Prof. Eliezer
Schweid in his keynote address, pointed out that Jewish peoplehood
is achieved by the transmission of our collective memory and culture,
rooted in our common language, literature and values. The more
shared memory that exists in our language, literature and values,
the deeper our attachment to our people and the recognition of
our responsibilities to it.
Prof. Schweid opined that the Jewish people today regrettably
no longer share our common language, Hebrew. Nor do we possess
a full commitment and understanding of our traditional canonical
texts, including the bible, as well as our classical national
literature.
The consensus at the convocation was that lacking a common language
and literature weakens the Jewish people; that there is an urgent
need to strengthen those agencies that can assure the transmission
of our collective memory and culture as K'lal Yisrael. While all
at the consultation held in New York recognized that it was a
Herculean task to organize a program for the propagation of the
Hebrew language in the United States, there was a consensus that
such an effort needed to be organized for national and ideological
reasons. It was also agreed that to be effective, the focus programmatically
should not be primarily on spoken fluency in Hebrew, but on Hebrew
as a portal to Jewish culture, literacy, and Jewish texts.
The group recommended a shopping list of programmatic
ideas that could be undertaken, like pre-school programs in Hebrew
in denominational schools and Jewish centers, programs in day
schools and in religious institutions which continue to maintain
cultural ties to Hebrew and Hebrew learning, and programs in summer
camps. The group warned about dispersing our resources over a
variety of multiple, discrete programs in diverse places. Instead,
it opted for integrating them in a model program in one carefully
selected community. The selection would be based on the active
presence of individuals and groups in that community who potentially
would be attracted to such activity, thereby substantially increasing
the chances for success of the model project.
The presence of these programs in one geographic area, it was
also contended, could produce a synergy between the discrete programs
that would amplify the cultural vitality of the program as a whole.
Thereby, it would also help achieve one of the major goals of
this endeavor, L'Hanif Degel Shel Ivrit, to add Hebrew to the
cultural agenda of the Jewish people in the United States, aside
from the substantial impact of the program in utilizing Hebrew
as a portal to Jewish texts and literature. This agenda building
function of the model program is one of the primary objectives
of our enterprise.
What must be emphasized is the ideological foundation of the program
recommended at the consultation. It was, as I stated earlier,
not simply acquisition of Hebrew as a language, but Hebrew as
a national value, aimed at achieving K'lal Yisrael objectives,
nourishing and sustaining a common language and vocabulary for
our people.
The program, about which a detailed report was given in Jerusalem
by Prof. David Berger, Chairman of the Committee for Hebrew in
America, was approved by the Executive Committee. Steps are currently
being taken to move this innovative pioneering program forward.
We will continue to keep you posted as it evolves.
III. Nachas Department
Rabbi Isak Haleva, a Nahum Goldmann Fellow in our first two seminars
held in Western Europe has been elected Chief Rabbi of Turkey.
His son, Rabbi Naftali Haleva, also a former Nahum Goldmann Fellow
at our seminars in Eastern Europe and a recipient of a number
of Community Service scholarships to study for ordination in the
United States and Israel, is now a leading educator in Turkey.
Both father and son are playing key roles in the intensification
of Jewish religious education and culture in Turkey.
The Association of Jewish Schools in the CIS, initiated by the
Foundation, organized the second In-Service Seminar in Moscow
from June 24 - July 10th. 114 teachers from 31 cities participated.
This in-service program covered the following subjects: Hebrew,
History and Tradition of the Jewish People, Jewish Literature,
English Language, Arts and Music. Seventy-seven of the participants
received certificates from the Moscow Institute of Open Education,
which will enhance their professional credentials and careers
as teachers of Jewish subjects and assist in the upgrading of
the quality of Jewish Education in the CIS.
Professor ChaeRan Freeze's book on "Jewish Marriage and Divorce
in Imperial Russia," whose publication was supported by the
Foundation and about which I reported in the previous Board Briefing,
has received the Salo W. Baron Award as the best first book in
Jewish Studies.
Annette Heilman's Ph.D thesis, "The Development of Civil
Society in Urban Culture in Tel-Aviv During the 1920s and 1930s,"
won the Yitzhak Rabin Prize for the outstanding doctoral thesis
in Israel in 2002.
Best wishes for a pleasant summer.
Sincerely yours,
Dr. Jerry Hochbaum
Executive Vice President
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