[ARCHIVE] Why are you learning Hebrew?

[Corinnebelle]

SonyDash1 wrote:

As an Israeli, I've wondered why would a man (or woman, of course) decide one day to learn Hebrew. The only place where you can really use it is Israel, which is really not such of a worth. Besides that, Hebrew itself is a mess and not as easy to learn or useful than most other languages. So, why?

Archive of comments

Archived for nostalgic reasons.

[Tikvah_18]

It's a challenge.

[Corinnebelle]

Indeed!

Are you Jewish?

[Deleted User 7169]

I’m learning Hebrew because I’m Jewish and want to be more connected to my culture and spirituality seeing as Hebrew in our holy language. Being able to understand Hebrew helps me to say Hebrew prayers, communicate with fellow Jews more effectively and it basically makes me feel like a real Jew in general being able to speak, think and read the holy tongue.

[Deleted User 5745]

I simply love the letters! They're so clear and easy to read unlike one of my other languages - Chinese.
I just think it's a most beautiful script it feels so ancient and draws me into a peaceful state, even just doing my beginners lessons on Duolingo.

[Corinnebelle]

I simply love the letters! They're so clear and easy to read unlike one of my other languages - Chinese.
I just think it's a most beautiful script it feels so ancient and draws me into a peaceful state, even just doing my beginners lessons on Duolingo.

It's good to have a new Hebrew learner here!

[Deleted User 5745]

@Corinnebelle Thank you. I'm really excited to learn!

[caughttoast]

I originally wanted to learn so that I could read the old testament in its original form and glean some of the meanings that were lost in the English translation but after I learned a little bit I just like the language and want to be able to speak it. Also now that I'm learning it I might as well visit Israel so your language brought me in as a tourist.

[Corinnebelle]

I originally wanted to learn so that I could read the old testament in its original form and glean some of the meanings that were lost in the English translation but after I learned a little bit I just like the language and want to be able to speak it.

Me too! I just reposted the article, but yes I'm enamored with Hebrew too!

[Corinnebelle]

Not sure if this is from the same topic or one named the same.

Dimitrij_ wrote on Why are you learning Hebrew?:
Corinne, to reply to your post, starting with Okay. I know it's confusing: I would propose that any identify stands on 4 legs: (1) Heritage, (2) Self-identification, (3) Affiliations, practices and behavior, and (4) Recognition by others. I believe it can stand on 3 legs out of 4 indefinitely. To illustrate: thousands of years ago, before there were formal beit dins, Hok haShvut, the Taglit, 23andme and the vast ocean of relevant rabbinic literature - who was an Israelite? I would say anyone who lived in-, and adhered to the religious, cultural and ethical practices of the Israelite communities. Succinctly summarized by Ruth, speaking to Naomi: "עמך עמי ואלוהך אלוהי". From this angle, it's very interesting to examine the implications of excommunication and self-conversion, which were quite common in the years past.

Dimitrij_ wrote on Why are you learning Hebrew?:
Hebrew is the only language I can think of that has been successfully revived as a fully functional and official language of a nation state. Celtic languages have never quite been in a dormant state, only that their use has declined as more and more speakers in Ireland, Scotland and Wales adopted English as their main language - and it's a mystery to me why this happened.

Dimitrij_ wrote on Why are you learning Hebrew?:
I took my first Hebrew class as soon as doing so had become "legal" in the Land of Mature Socialism; it's interesting to note that Yiddish had always been allowed, and if you knew where to look, you could lay your hands on Yiddish books and periodicals - a good place to learn the alefbet and the right-to-left direction of the text https://yivoencyclopedia.org/article.as ... h_Heymland https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birobidzhaner_Shtern And after a few decades I decided to give Hebrew a go, and I am glad I did. Here is a useless factoid for you: did you know that the Russian word for Hebrew sounds pretty much like the Hebrew word for Hebrew, ivrit, even the stress is on the last syllable ... иврит ... I can't think of any other European language that does the same.

https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/32255768