“שני הדברים שבלעדיהם לא יהיו היהודים לעם: הארץ והלשון.”

“There are two things without which the Jews will not be a nation –
their land and their language.”
– Eliezer Ben Yehuda

When Eliezer Ben Yehuda made this statement, he was working as a part of the broader Jewish national project to bring about both a sovereign Jewish state and a revitalization of the Jewish language. These were two necessary elements to allow the Jewish people to “step back into history” as a people that would now once again be actors in history rather than have history “act upon them.” As we celebrate יום השפה העברית/Hebrew Language Day, held each year on Ben Yehuda’s birthday, an individual who played an oversized roll in making Modern Hebrew language return to its role as a living tongue, it is worth noting how this vision is no less true for us today, especially in light of the horrific tragedy of October 7th and its aftermath.

Ben Yehuda and his peers had personally experienced what happened when our people lacked the instruments of sovereignty: a land, an army, and a flag, as well as a language and culture that was recognized as equal to those of other people. They had witnessed both individual and state-sponsored antisemitism, anti-Judaism hatred, brutal pogroms, and more, not yet realizing the scale of what was to come in Europe in the mid-20th Century.

Thankfully their proposed remedy prepared our people to respond to October 7th in a manner fundamentally different than the experiences we endured in the 19th and 20th Century. The war is still unfolding in Israel and the possibility that it could expand is still not clear. Antisemitism and hatred of Israel continues to raise its evil head throughout North America and beyond. But unlike the period that birthed Eliezer Ben Yehuda and his generation and predecessors that revived the Hebrew language, our people are no longer powerless. Within Israel, our people have hard power in the form of a sovereign state with a powerful army filled with deeply dedicated and capable soldiers, including my own son who was called up that horrible October day and has been in and around Gaza since. Our people also have soft power – the power that comes from our people standing together as one throughout the globe and the power that comes from the critical work Hebrew educators undertake each day.

Ben Yehuda’s quote above places both land and language at the center of our nationhood. The IDF and the citizens of Israel, supported by global solidarity from the Jewish people, are doing the essential work to defend the land and the people and society within its borders. We salute Hebrew language educators around the globe who are playing an essential role in bringing about the difficult and still incomplete task of elevating the primacy of Hebrew in our communities and ensuring the next generation of Jews become equipped to build and maintain a common destiny with Hebrew speakers in Israel and beyond.

While I am personally and professionally profoundly angered by what our enemies are trying to do to us, I am equally inspired by how our field has responded. Hebrew educators in day schools, yeshivot, Jewish camps, congregations, and in other settings, along with the amazing team at Hebrew at the Center and our colleagues in the Hebrew language space, are all committed to advancing Hebrew language education to strengthen student outcomes, ensure teacher self-efficacy and success, and fulfill the promise educational institutions make to their parents, their community, and the Jewish future. We are particularly pleased to play a role as field leaders to cultivate and advance new ideas and approaches that will further contribute to this sacred mission. This is work that is reinvigorating our shared purpose and destiny as a people.

I also call on those who believe in the cause to become more active in demanding excellence and accountability to those working in the trenches, and to contribute their time, reputational assets, and financial resources to making this mission a reality. We at Hebrew at the Center hope that this important day in the Jewish calendar will continue to rise in prominence and that by working together, we can ensure a more Hebraically literate community. In the same way that we all benefit from the gift Ben Yehuda and his peers brought to the table, we hope you will contribute your gifts to this sacred task.

I thank our team and colleagues, school leaders, and our supporters for enabling us to build yet another brick in the foundation for an even stronger future that unleashes the potency of Hebrew.

In gratitude,
Rabbi Andrew Ergas, EdD, CEO
Hebrew at the Center