Hebrew Revival Trivia Quiz

Answer: Aramaic

Like Hebrew, Aramaic is a Semitic language. It was the language used in Mesopotamia, and spread as a result of Assyrian conquests until it became the "lingua franca" of the Middle East. In this fashion it replaced Hebrew as the spoken language of the Land of Israel during the Second Temple period, which coincides with the life of Jesus. Two of the books of the Old Testament, Daniel and Ezra, are written in Aramaic. Aramaic is preserved in Jewish tradition since it is the language of the Talmud, and important documents, such as marriage contracts, are still written in Aramaic until the present time. Aramaic is still spoken by some isolated Jewish communities, and by Christian communities from Syria and Iraq.

Yiddish is the language of Eastern European Jewry, and combines elements of Old German and Hebrew, as well as other languages. Ladino is the language of the Spanish Jewish community, and combines Spanish and Hebrew. Gallici is a sub-dialect of Judeo-Persian, and is spoken by the Gool family of Herat, Afghanistan.

Answer: All of these

While Hebrew was not used as a spoken language for close to two thousand years, it was preserved as a result of its importance in Jewish tradition, and because it is the language of the Bible. Throughout the centuries, and in every Jewish community in the vast Jewish Diaspora, Jewish men (and sometimes women!) continued to learn Hebrew in order to pray and study Torah, or the Books of Moses. Jewish communities addressed questions to Jewish sages in Hebrew throughout the Medieval period.

Hebrew was often part of the curriculum for Catholic monks, and gained importance after the Protestant Reformation. Cambridge University required Masters students to study Hebrew from 1549, and Hebrew was a mandatory part of the curriculum of early American universities, including Harvard and William and Mary. (Some of the information for this question can be found in Robert Pfeiffer's book, "Teaching Hebrew in Colonial America".)

Answer: His work was greeted with enthusiasm by the rabbis in the Land of Israel.

Eliezer Ben Yehuda (né Perlman) was born in Lithuania in 1856, and arrived in Palestine in 1881. Ben Yehuda was a pioneer in establishing Hebrew as the spoken language of Jews in the Land of Israel, and insisted that only Hebrew be spoken in his home.

His son, Ittamar Ben Avi, became known as the first Hebrew-speaking child. Ben Yehuda was extremely energetic and found many ways to advance the use of Hebrew, including teaching classes in Hebrew at an Alliance school in Jerusalem, publishing a weekly Hebrew newspaper, and writing a dictionary.

He invented words as they were required. However, Eliezer Ben Yehuda's activities were not universally accepted. Local rabbis were offended by the use of the Holy language for every-day use, and thought it should be reserved for prayer and study. Until this day, there are ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel who prefer not to speak Hebrew.

Answer: True

UNESCO, the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization, honored Eliezer Ben Yehuda on the 150th anniversary of his birth in November, 2007. Ben Yehuda was cited as a person who influenced modern culture, joining a list of remarkable people including Darwin, Gogol and Hadyn. Ben Yehuda's efforts revived a "dead" language, and served to unite the Jewish community in the Land of Israel, who did not have a common language prior to that time. Ben Yehuda is a role model for all communities seeking to preserve endangered languages.

Answer: False

When the Hebrew University and the Technion opened in 1914, there was considerable debate within the Jewish community in Israel regarding the language of instruction. The Hebrew language still lacked many technical and scientific terms. Nevertheless, Eliezer Ben Yehuda and his associates persevered, and instruction was offered in Hebrew.

This was a considerable victory for the use of Hebrew in the Land of Israel. Of course, the fact that courses were being taught in Hebrew served as an incentive for the creation of new words, and thus expanded Hebrew vocabulary.

Answer: Telephone

The Hebrew word for "camera" is "matzlema", which comes from the word "tzelem", meaning "image". This is the word used in Genesis 1:26 (In His image He created them).
The word "chashmal" means "electricity", and it can be found in Ezekiel 1:27, where the prophet Ezekiel describes his celestial vision. The word is usually translated as "fire".
The Hebrew word for "passport" is "darchon", and comes from the word "derech", which can be translated as "way", or even "road". The word for "tread" comes from the same Hebrew root - "to tread" is to put your foot in the "road". This usage can be found in Joshua 1:3 - "Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, as I promised to Moses".
While the Academy of the Hebrew Language attempted to introduce a Hebrew word for "telephone", it never caught on, and the English word "telephone" is used. However, Hebrew speakers treat it as a Hebrew word, and thus may say "etelfen", meaning "I will telephone" or "telfanta", meaning "you (m,s) telephoned".

Answer: Medical textbooks

The rate of computer literacy is very high in Israel, and popular sites like Google and Wikipedia are available in Hebrew. National Geographic and other popular magazines are translated regularly into Hebrew, as are classic and popular novels. However, specialized books with a small audience, such as medical or other professional textbooks, are not generally translated, and students in these fields are expected to be able to read in English.

Answer: All of these

The Israeli Ministry of Absorption established intensive language schools called "ulpanim" in order to assist new immigrants to learn the Hebrew language. These schools could be located either in towns, or on kibbutzim in rural areas. A newspaper written in easy Hebrew and provided with vowels (unlike regular Hebrew newspapers) is published weekly and is called "Sha'ar Lematchil", or "Gate for the Beginner".

The electronic media also participate in Hebrew instruction. Radio stations broadcast news in easy Hebrew, and there are radio "spots" that explain the origin of Hebrew words or difficult areas of Hebrew grammar. Dr. Avshalom Kor, an authority on the Hebrew language, is a well-known radio and television personality, and uses music and clips from historic speeches to illustrate interesting aspects of Hebrew.

Answer: False

Like any living language, Hebrew can be spoken in a variety of ways. There is the formal, almost pompous Hebrew of the theatre and public ceremonies, ordinary grammatical Hebrew, and slang. Slang words in Hebrew come from a variety of foreign languages, including Arabic, Yiddish, Russian and English.

The army, of course, contributes a lot of slang to the Hebrew language. And like many places on the globe, teenagers have their own slang, often incomprehensible to their parents!

Answer: False

Television programs and movies intended for young children, who do not yet know how to read, are dubbed into Hebrew. However, programs and movies for older youth and adults are not dubbed, but subtitled. Hebrew-speaking Israelis are so accustomed to reading subtitles while viewing television or movies, that even when the program is spoken in Hebrew, there are Hebrew subtitles!