The Sleeping Language

ABOUT THE BOOK
FAMILY ACTIVITIES

Written by: Tami Shem-Tov Illustrated by: Aya Gordon Noy

If Hebrew has been sleeping for two thousand years, what of it?

Let us wake it up and invent the words yozma [initiative],

maghetz [iron], ptzatza [bomb], and rihut [furniture].

With the nib of a quill in fine penmanship

He wrote kruvit [cauliflower] and glida [ice cream],

He wrote the entire Ben Yehuda dictionary

[Yaron London, Eliezer Ben Yehuda]

Hebrew was never entirely dormant: Jews wrote in Hebrew, prayed in Hebrew, and studied in Hebrew. When he returned to the Land of Israel, Eliezer Ben Yehuda realized that Hebrew alone could unite the Jewish People, for the Jews who came back to their homeland had arrived from different countries and spoke various languages. Eliezer Ben Yehuda’s dream and hard work, as well as those of other revivers of the Hebrew language, were tremendously successful: We dream in Hebrew, argue in Hebrew, love in Hebrew, and read books – in Hebrew.

Family Activities

If Hebrew has been sleeping for two thousand years, what of it? Let us wake it up and invent the words yozma [initiative], maghetz [iron], ptzatza [bomb], and rihut [furniture]. With the nib of a quill in fine penmanship He wrote kruvit [cauliflower] and glida [ice cream], He wrote ...

Classroom Activities

Video

If Hebrew has been sleeping for two thousand years, what of it?

Let us wake it up and invent the words yozma [initiative],

maghetz [iron], ptzatza [bomb], and rihut [furniture].

With the nib of a quill in fine penmanship

He wrote kruvit [cauliflower] and glida [ice cream],

He wrote the entire Ben Yehuda dictionary

[Yaron London, Eliezer Ben Yehuda]

Hebrew was never entirely dormant: Jews wrote in Hebrew, prayed in Hebrew, and studied in Hebrew. When he returned to the Land of Israel, Eliezer Ben Yehuda realized that Hebrew alone could unite the Jewish People, for the Jews who came back to their homeland had arrived from different countries and spoke various languages. Eliezer Ben Yehuda's dream and hard work, as well as those of other revivers of the Hebrew language, were tremendously successful: We dream in Hebrew, argue in Hebrew, love in Hebrew, and read books – in Hebrew.

פעילות בחיק המשפחה

Discussion You may want to discuss your experience of acquiring Hebrew: What were the first words you said as toddlers? Did you invent any words? Do you, parents, know what the first words you said were? Did you acquire another language? If you learned to speak Hebrew at a later stage, you could discuss the experience of learning the language, and discover what language you speak when you dream at night.
A family dictionary Which word does your family like, and why? Are there any words that you have invented, and only your family members understand? Perhaps some of those words have a special story behind them? You may enjoy collecting stories from family members: a word of friendship, a special term of endearment, or secret family codeword.
Name, place, animal, thing (a game) In Hebrew the game is called Chai, Tzomeach, Domem (animal, vegetable, thing). Select a letter, and participants must name animals, vegetables and things starting with the letter selected.
Haftaa [surprise], boreg [screw], glida [ice cream] Rakevet [train], mapuhit [harmonica], and kruvit [cauliflower] are just some of the words that Eliezer Ben Yehuda invented. Others appear on the second to last page of this book. You could take turns to choose two words from this page and use them in a sentence: a sentence containing the words haftaa [surprise] and ganenet [kindergarten teacher], or ganenet [kindergarten teacher] and tizmoret [orchestra], or how about tizmoret [orchestra] and nazelet [nasal mucus]? Do you think you could put a small story together featuring all the words on this page?
The revivers of the Hebrew Language Rabbi Yechiel Michel Pines (1843–1913) was involved in the purchase of lands, setting up the Academy of the Hebrew Language with Eliezer Ben Yehuda. Rabbi Pines invented new Hebrew words, such as agvania [tomato] and shaon [clock/watch]. Nissim Behar (1848–1931) founded the Torah Umelacha School in Jerusalem where Hebrew was taught in Hebrew. Eliezer Ben Yehuda was a teacher at this school. Hayim Nahman Bialik (1873–1934) – the national poet was a key activist at the Academy of the Hebrew Language, inventing professional terms in fields such as music and the playing of musical instruments. Matos [airplane], matzlema [camera], and etzbeoni [thimble] are some of the words he invented. Many others actively contributed to the revival of the Hebrew language. You could learn more about them by visiting the Academy of the Hebrew Language website.