Hebrew in America: A Modest Proposal

By Gilead Morahg
Professor of Hebrew, University of Wisconsin at Madison
Executive Vice President, National Association of Professors of Hebrew

Not too long ago Rabbi Naftali Rothenberg published an article (HaDoar 1/29/93) titled THE HEBREW LANGUAGE AS GUARANTOR OF THE CONTINUITY OF AMERICAN JEWRY. Not surprisingly, this was a painful article. But we should not, however, permit the pain to detract from the acuity of the perceptions and the validity of the findings offered in this article. Rabbi Rothenberg is correct in regarding knowledge of Hebrew as an essential component of Jewish identity. He is also correct in observing that the overall decline in the knowledge of Hebrew is symptomatic of the fact that the religious Jewish experience in America today has become more American than Jewish and is increasingly indistinguishable from the general American culture. Rabbi Rothenberg yearns for a radical cultural change and asks whether there are among us revolutionaries who will bring about such change. It is probably safe to say that there are not. The forces that are shaping the contemporary Jewish experience in America are so powerful that it is unlikely that they can be diverted from their course. It may, therefore, be wiser to look for ways to utilize these forces, instead of trying to oppose them.

The growth of Hebrew language programs in American colleges is a good example of how it is possible to use the dynamics of the American way of life to the benefit of a more Jewish way of life. After graduating from high school, most young American Jews go on to college. There is ample evidence to show that when Hebrew is offered as an integral part of the college curriculum, many of these young people readily enroll in these classes. More than ninety colleges and universities throughout the United States have Hebrew programs that educate thousands of Jewish students every year. The number of such programs and the number of students in them has been increasing every year. This is a significant phenomenon both in and of itself and in that it seems possible to apply the lessons learned in the colleges to the younger group of high school students.

A vast network of secular high schools is spread across this nation, and in each and every one of them students are encouraged to study a foreign language. Since the vast majority of Jewish high school students attend such schools, it stands to reason that the most effective way of bringing about the desired change is to extend the effort to teach Hebrew beyond the Jewish Day School system and introduce it into the general public and private high schools. In the same way that dedicated faculty members succeeded in forming strong Hebrew programs in colleges that have a significant Jewish student population, local Jewish communities can succeed in adding Hebrew to all the other languages that are taught in public high schools with a significant number of Jewish students, if they were only willing to make the effort.

Several years ago I was asked by a group of parents and Jewish community leaders to help them convince one of the public high schools in Milwaukee to establish a Hebrew language program. It took some doing, but eventually the school agreed. The Hebrew program that started with one class, now has a complete four-year sequence of Hebrew courses. My contribution to this success was modest but the lesson that I learned from it is important. It turns out that in high school, just as in college, when given the opportunity to choose from among French, Spanish, Japanese, Latin, and Hebrew, many Jewish boys and girls opt for Hebrew. And there is every reason to believe that what was accomplished in one school in Milwaukee, can be done in many other schools as well.

A strong infrastructure is already in place and fully available. There is little in the American public school that would prevent the development of Hebrew language programs in hundreds of high schools all across the country. This would clearly breathe new life into the effort to sustain the culture and heritage of Judaism in America. But the big question is whether the Jewish leadership is prepared to embrace a program designed to use the opportunities offered by the general educational system in order to advance the cause of Hebrew learning and, in doing so, strengthen the foundations of Jewish identity. Clearly, the initiative for such a venture must come from the religious leadership. Is this leadership prepared to recognize the great benefits to be gained from such an undertaking? Can it be persuaded take the steps necessary to reap these benefits? Open questions, but ones worth addressing.