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Various Topics Discussed
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No doubt I have many failings, but perhaps the most egregious of all is a lack of patience with stupid people. I have no trouble having patience with ignorant people. An ignorant person does not know something, but they are teachable. A stupid person is quite different. A stupid person declares their knowledge as they spout nonsense and do so arrogantly. I have no patience at all with such fools. So what brought on this diatribe? A comment to me from a person on Facebook. This one wrote that Hebrew had been dead for at least 500 years and that anyone who disagreed was obviously brain damaged. The renewal of modern Hebrew, stated this one, created a new language on the ashes of the old -- bearing little in common. See? Stupid. This claim, based on ignorance and stupidity, is right up there with the comment a week ago from an idiot who said there are no longer any Jewish priests! I suggested this person visit any Synagogue on a Shabbat to meet at least one and perhaps many (Jewish priests are given the first blessing over the Torah reading)... But how can anyone think that Hebrew died 500 years ago? Or 1000? Or 2000? The famous commentary of Rashi (1040 CE to 1105 CE) was written is in pure Hebrew - and, what is more, Rashi's commentary is written for common Jews rather than scholars. Maybe this person can explain how a commentary written nearly a thousand years ago, and intended to be read by laymen, can possibly be in Hebrew if the language had "died"??? Rashi's commentary is studied and has been since the day he wrote it -- yet this stupid person says "Hebrew died out 500 years ago." While many Jews (not all) spoke either the language of their country of exile or a Jewish language (such as Yiddish or Landino) in every day speech not all did. There were always Jews living in Israel even after the exile and most of them spoke in Hebrew. I have a diary written by such a relative in the 18th century which is written in Hebrew cursive and was many, many volumes in length (most of his adult life he kept it). Jews have always spoken Hebrew. Prayers are recited in Hebrew many times a day. The Torah is read out loud in Hebrew in our Synagogues. Torah scrolls are written by hand in Hebrew and have been for millennia. But this person stated emphatically that Hebrew had been dead prior to the arrival of Eliezer Ben Yehuda in the later half of the 19th century. This was the reemergence of Hebrew as an every day language -- and it is now the language of the modern State of Israel. If he "invented" modern Hebrew then explain to me why Jews from European descent have some different pronunciations than do Jews of Spanish descent? They speak the same language -- but there are differences in pronunciation of some words. If Hebrew was "invented" a mere 100 years ago wouldn't they all speak it identically? See. Stupidity. Ignorance, too -- but rather than try to learn the facts the stupid one insists on reveling in their stupidity! These are the same fools who would tell you that Jews couldn't read the Hebrew Bible until the Masoretes invented vowel notations between the 6th and 10th centuries CE. How do Jews read Hebrew in Israel today without vowel notations (most Hebrew is written without them)... if the Masoretes invented "modern" Hebrew over a thousand years ago? Simple. The Masoretes were Jewish scribe-scholars who invented a method to note pronunciation of Hebrew since written Hebrew is (primarily) without vowels. The word Masorete gets its name from the word “masorah” which means “tradition;” and their purpose in doing this was to maintain tradition Jewish meaning -- NOT to change it! So the Masoretes didn't change or invent Hebrew. Hebrew was not dead 500 years ago (or 1000 or "fill in the blank")...It has never been "dead." So how did Jews read Hebrew before the 6th century CE? How do Jews read Hebrew in Israel today without vowel notations (most Hebrew is written without them)... A former moderator at the Virtual Yeshiva (Netanel) once wrote: "Using "dead" to describe the language which has been taught from generation to generation, from parent to child, for millennia is fallacious, sensational, and hyperbolic. The teaching of Hebrew to our children has been one of the main factors in keeping Jews - whether rich, poor, healthy, ailing, young, or old - literate no matter our standing, while the Christians and Muslims save the upper echelon more mostly illiterate. "For three and a half millennia we have taught and been taught to read and understand Hebrew and Torah, it is one of the supreme commandments, and one which has never died. "That it was not spoken as the main language in many a diaspora community does not negate the fact that it is and always has been central to every Jewish community up until and perhaps thus excluding some of those who tried to sweep their Jewishness under the rug during enlightenment and reformation. I pity the ignorance of those who regard Hebrew as ever having been dead, as they apparently don't understand the history of the usage of and regard for Hebrew, nor do they seem to understand the meaning of the word dead. Such claims are extremely insulting." I have no patience at all for these stupid oafs. Perhaps I should work on this aspect of my personality. I probably won't bother!
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