Israel marked Hebrew Language Day earlier this week. The day, which few know about, falls on the date of the birthday of the man who resurrected the Hebrew language, Eliezer Ben-Yehuda.
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To refresh our poor memories and explain what exactly it is we are celebrating, we should recognize the importance of the Hebrew language. Zionist leader Ze'ev Jabotinsky was eight years old when he began to study Hebrew, but he stopped just five years into his studies because he believed that, like Latin, it was a dead language. When he returned to Hebrew in his early 20s, it was out of a Zionist awareness and as part of a mission he had taken upon himself. He understood that although the language was "dead" at the time, to return to the Land of Israel, a return to the language of the Jews was necessary. Those who want to return to Zion must know its people's language and culture.
It is only the Hebrew language that will resurrect the people of Israel in their land, he wrote in 1882. In a kind of reversal of the process of the Tower of Babel, in which God created multiple languages to divide people into separate groups, the revival of the Hebrew language succeeded in unifying immigrants to Israel from all countries around the world.
Hebrew had an integral role in the national revival, the likes of which Zionist visionary Theoder Herzl could never have dreamed of. In his book "The Jewish State," Herzl did not think Hebrew would be the language spoken in the country because he did not believe such widespread change could be implemented. "Who amongst us has a sufficient acquaintance with Hebrew to ask for a railway ticket in that language?" he asked. Instead, he concluded, Jews in the country would speak whatever language they felt most comfortable with.
The resurrection of the Hebrew language is the completion of the victory of the Zionist movement. The movement that established a Jewish state in the Land of Israel succeeded in accomplishing one more impossible thing: making the Hebrew language, which was dormant, and the language of texts and prayers, a language spoken by millions of Jews around the world.
The language took on a central role in Israel's melting pot. We build in Hebrew, write in Hebrew, sing in Hebrew, fight in Hebrew, celebrate in Hebrew, and cry in Hebrew.
It is not our generation's role to resurrect the Hebrew language once more. That has already been done for us. Our job is to take our language and enrich it without harming its beauty, preserve it without killing its roots. In an era of slang and social media, we must speak correctly, write correctly, and insist on choosing Hebrew in our cosmopolitan world. Have pride in Hebrew, love the language, and celebrate Hebrew Language Day.
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