Happiness is Learning Hebrew (11/15/02)
Dear Friends,
URSULA, THE STUDENT
As most of you already know, Ursula decided to study Hebrew while she is here. For a couple of weeks, we looked for the proper setting: ulpanim (intensive language programs) of various sorts, private tutoring, etc. I took her to the local YMHA (Jewish equivalent of the YMCA) but she said, "I feel as if I've been led by the hand to kindergarten" and she did NOT like the teacher. So that was that. Finally, we settled on the ulpan at the Hebrew University. This is great because it is on the same campus as my office, so we go together three mornings a week and Ursula studies Hebrew while I work in my office. It's like going to school together. The first day, she walked in, looked at the teacher, and said, "You must be the teacher." At that point, I realized Ursula needed no help from me in socializing (very funny, for those of you who know us), so I left her and she has been enthralled ever since. (see foto).
There are eight people in the class and the teacher is exceptional. I have met her only once but, when I heard that she kept them moving so fast they had no time to think, that she kept changing their seats, and that she never said a discouraging word, I knew she was a great teacher. It is amazing how much Ursula has learned in five weeks; just amazing. One of the good things about the class is that the others are all post-docs in physics, chemistry, math, and the biological and social sciences &endash; really smart but, because she is not in their league, Ursula does not feel at all threatened by them. On the contrary, in communication, Ursula is more aggressive than most of them &endash; she talks and invents sentences when the others are still struggling. She has also organized the class socially (as those of you who know her would expect) and now they go out for coffee after class, have been on their first tiyyul (trip), and have had their first luncheon (organized by Ursula of course).
The mathematicians (both with Erdösch number two) in the class were very impressed when they heard Ursula's maiden name: Noether, because Emmy Noether is the most famous woman mathematician of the 20th century. Every PhD in math knows the name. They are, however, having trouble with the way her mind works. Their notebooks are written in a small hand, in orderly pages and, when one of them looked at Ursula's notebook which is written in a very large hand and all over the page, they just stared. "What do you do with all the blank space on each page," Ursula asked? "I use it to find things," said the mathematician. When they compared notes on how one does the exercises which require connecting words in two columns, they were astounded to see Ursula's workbook which looks like a major highway junction. In addition, one of them couldn't bear to see the blunt pencils with which she works, so Ursula now has a professor of mathematics sharpening her pencils for her.
The class is oriented to oral Hebrew but there is a workbook. Ursula's workbook, like her notebook, is full of markings. "The blank spaces for fill-ins are just not big enough. The letters need air!" She is good at grammar because neither the teacher nor I ever try to explain (though working with her has brought up a series of very interesting questions which I discuss with Naftali Stern of Bar Ilan, a real expert in Hebrew grammar): "That's just the way it is; it just has to feel right" is all she needs.
One of the difficult things in learning a language, especially if you are moving very quickly, is remembering vocabulary. In Hebrew this is especially difficult because, being a semitic language, there are no cognates and no analogies to any of the Euro-American languages Ursula already knows. Ursula's mind generally is much more associative &endash; especially orally &endash; than linear, so it becomes a challenge for her (or me) to find an association that will make the new word stick. A few examples:
Once in a while, a real error in association creeps in: "Mispar" is a number so "mispara" should be an accountant's office. My accountant friends were much amused because "mispara" comes from "misparayim" (scissors) and is a beauty salon. "Marmeldukes" for "Mameluks" (Turkish rulers of the holy land before World War I).
It is also the case that Ursula stands very much in the center of the world and sees it from her own perspective. She, therefore, reads every "I" in the feminine &endash; "Well, I am doing the action!" And, when the sentence calls for the student to reconstruct the thought pattern of the person in the story, Ursula says, "I can barely keep track of my own thoughts in this language. How can I know what the other characters are going to say?" Fill-ins are really trying. So is conjugation which goes: I (feminine), you (masculine singular), we &endash; with an occasional you (masculine and feminine plural) thrown in.
In any case, we tootle off to school and the first adventure of the day is choosing a parking space in the empty parking lot (we get there at 7:50 a.m.). Ursula is in class for two hours, and then she spends a good part of the day going over everything, doing homework, writing out everything she has learned, and even preparing a little in advance of the class &endash; "so I won't lose my standing with the others." Her ideal day is class, some homework, several hours sightseeing, returning home and having me help her with her Hebrew &endash; which leaves me with 4:00 &endash; 7:00 a.m. to do my own work. Still, she has made a lot of progress. I am amazed: She goes to stores, stops people on the streets, negotiates with the help, etc. I've seen her talk her way into a theater, even though our friend with the tickets had not yet arrived! And I've seen her talk a disgruntled post office employee, who wanted to send us home to repack a package we were sending, into doing it for her! She is fearless, as you know.
TIYYULIM (trips)
On Nov. 4th, I gave my first seminar in Hebrew at Ben Gurion University in Beer Sheva. The lecture went well: short, clear, in good Hebrew, and I had no trouble with the questions -- I'm glad I still can do that &endash; though I will have to work on it to turn it into an article. Ursula came along and took a friend from class. Since she does not understand the Hebrew and, anyway, is not interested in Maimonides as a mystic, I urged the two of them out to see Beer Sheva. They went to the "tel," the mound which contains the ruins of ancient Beer Sheva, a city that goes back to Abraham (c. 1800 B.C.E.). They saw that, wandered the streets of Beer Sheva, and returned without any problem. Beer Sheva is in the middle of the desert and, as soon as you get outside of the town, the scenery is completely barren. On the way back, we stopped at a Bedouin museum.
The day after the lecture, I went around the gates of the Temple again. This time the group was very small because I went with the day group and not with the large evening group. I blew shofar again and, this time, there were other shofarot and even two trumpets. Again, security followed us most of the way. I was stunned that the children have no fear at all of being in the hostile territory of the Arab quarters of the Old City. Nor did the guides particularly watch out for them. Only one disturbing incident: We went into the Arab cemetery below the east wall and one of the tombs had a Palestinian flag on it. I had to work to persuade one of the leaders not to encourage the youngsters to deface the grave.
One Friday, Ursula organized a tour of David's royal city (Ir David) for her class. Philippe and I went along and, because Philippe has worked on the archaeological dig there (and because the guide was a sweet girl from Texas but didn't know too much), Philippe took over the tour and showed us the strategic view from the top of Ir David, the pit into which Jeremiah was thrown, Warren's Shaft, and the new discovery that proves that Warren's shaft was NOT the main water supply route for the city. Then, we went down to the Gihon spring, the main water supply for royal Jerusalem. There we saw where Solomon was probably crowned and, as we were leaving, several young men arrived to use the spring for ritual bathing in preparation for the Shabbat. One of our group remarked, "How can we be here in the most holy ritual bath in Jewish history and not use it?" So, he and I undressed and joined the youngsters. The spring is a natural spring but it runs in a tunnel that has no lighting. This meant groping our way around. Still, we did it, though we had to impose on the young men to use their towels. After the trip, the class came back to our apartment for lunch &endash; a very interesting group, really smart. Two of them returned for Shabbat dinner and another two will come next Shabbat. The second trip is to the Supreme Court building and the Knesset.
Ursula's class read a simplified short story by S. Y. Agnon, the Israeli Nobel Prize laureate in Hebrew literature. So, after class, she and I went to the Agnon house in Jerusalem. Very modest, very simple, but with a spectacular library. There are books in it that I've only read about but never seen. Then, we went to Kibbutz Ramat Rachel which used to be the southern border of Jerusalem. From the hill which was its southern point, one can see all the way to Bethlehem. That hill, since Israelite times, commanded the southern approach to Jerusalem and has had a fortress on it since 900 B.C.E. During the War of Independence in 1948, it was at Ramat Rachel that the Egyptian army was stopped in its attack on the new State of Israel &endash; practically at the gates to Jerusalem.
In Israel, almost all of the ultra-orthodox boys do not go into the army. This may protect them from that danger but, since employment is given by preference to those who have served, the anti-army policy of the ultra-orthodox almost guarantees poverty for its young men for a very long time. Some of these youngsters, however, are interested in serving in the armed forces even though their families are sometimes not supportive. There is an organization called, Nahal Haredi, which takes them in and, with the cooperation of the Israeli army, sees to it that they get the same intensive military education as other recruits but also an intensive Torah education. Philippe has connections to the Nahal Haredi and we were invited to an induction ceremony for the most recent class.
The program began with an army musician in kippa (skullcap) and tsitsit (fringes) singing religious songs on a guitar with amplifier &endash; what a contrast in cultures. The boys were given their berets and, then, an army rabbi spoke. He invoked the Deuteronomic verse that, before battle, all those who were "afraid or of soft heart" were to be sent home. The commentators differ on what the meaning of "afraid or of soft heart is." Some say it is 'afraid of battle' and others say it is 'afraid of one's sins.' The rabbi went on to say that each of them had been well trained militarily and would surely withstand the test of battle but that they had also been well trained spiritually and would withstand that test too. He told the story of an earlier group of Nahal Haredi who had been up all night on duty but still came to religious services the following morning. He closed very poignantly by talking to the assembled families &endash; there were about 75 inductees and a stadium of relatives, grandparents to newborns. He told them that parents often complain that, when their soldier children come home, all they want to do is sleep and eat. "You must spoil your children when they come home from their military service. Let them sleep and give them plenty of food. They need the support to go back to perform the difficult task that lies ahead of them. Spoil them; it is a good thing to do." The unit commander, then, spoke and told us that this unit would serve in the Jordan valley where Palestinian terrorists are trying to frighten the local Jewish community. He, too, knew life would be difficult for them but reminded them that they had been well trained in the arts of war and police action, but also in the human values of the Israel Defence Forces and that it was precisely these human values that set us apart from our enemies. "Take care of yourselves, and of your friends. God bless you." Then, the audience stood while the unit sang "Hatikva," the national anthem. Not a dry eye … and they are all 18!
Yesterday, I went to a sefardi brit (circumcision) performed by Philippe's kabbalist rabbi, Rabbi Darzy. We knew the family and were well received. They began with songs of redemption (which we ashkenazim do not do). Rabbi Darzy, then, began Psalm 136 which is an antiphonal chant, each line ending with "for His goodness endures forever." Everyone sang along until he, following the old oriental tradition, began adlibbing: "Thank God for bringing defeat on our enemies, for His …." "for defeating the Iraqis with the Iranians,…" "for fratricidal warfare among the Palestinians,…" and so on. This may sound harsh to us westerners but, in the Middle East, we all thank God for the confusion and defeat God sows among our enemies and so the response was lively. Then, the ceremony itself began. The rabbi was very, very quick despite his age. After the incision was made, those who had shofarot blew them, including Philippe who is famous in that group for his blowing of the shofar. I had never heard this before and it was very moving. The reason for all this is that one never knows whether the boy who is being circumcized is the messiah; so every circumcision is an extraordinary moment. It is not just a family get-together with some ritual thrown in; or a party, with the child and rabbi as the excuse. Rather, a circumcision is a moment in Jewish history. At the end, the men came up to receive a blessing from the person who had held the child during the circumcision (again, a custom we do not follow). We know him and he gave Philippe and me very beautiful blessings.
MEANWHILE
Several good friends have died in the States: Elizabeth Cahn, who had knitted sweaters for the boys for many years and made crumb cake for us; Mrs. Uhry, one of the last of the old southern ladies in Atlanta; and Leonard Greenberg, an old friend of Ursula's. I say kaddish (prayer for the dead) for them, though none of them was particularly religious, and I expect we will plant trees in their names.
And I can't find a good European bakery. All baked goods are very heavy and/or very sweet. The croissant taste like bagels.
THE 'MATSAV'
Several of you have asked about the political situation here and I am reminded of the old East European story of the town whose Jewish population was threatened by complete destruction if they didn't teach the ruler's dog to speak in three days. All the wise men were at a loss what to do. The rabbis, too, only knew to pray. At last, the town fool volunteered and, for lack of anything better, the authorities let him go the to ruler. When he returned from the palace, the decree had been postponed for a year. "What did you tell him," the authorities demanded? "I told him that it was difficult to teach a dog to speak but that I would do it in a year; and he agreed." "But, what will happen in a year," they asked? "In a year &endash; well, in a year, the dog could die, the ruler could die, the ruler could change his mind. We'll see in a year."
That is about the way people see things here. The real danger is from Iraqi or Syrian missles, not from Palestinian terrorism, terrible though the latter is and, so far, President Bush has not declared war on Iraq. Some think he will do so very soon; others think that, because of the change of regime in Turkey, the entrance of the inspectors into Iraq, the continuing Palestinian terror and lack of true reform, and the elections in Israel, Bush isn't likely to go to war before winter, maybe early spring, if at all. And, who knows, by then the dog may die.
Similar reasoning holds for Palestinian terrorism: As long as Arafat is alive, there will never be peace. He wants to die a martyr, not be president of a Palestinian state. He has just, for instance, appointed his two biggest terror mechanisms as the new Palestinian Authority police force (see article from Debkafile). He talks peace and reform to the Europeans who, because they want to believe him, do so but no one here, least of all the Palestinians, according to their own polls, believes him. He is shuffling people around, getting rid of the few voices of dissent, and surrounding himself with other terrorists. But, while there are sporadic attacks of horrifying dimension against completely innocent persons, the Israelis are slowly arresting or assassinating as much of the terrorist leadership as possible. This generates the moral dilemma of occupying and repressing the Palestinians, but there is no choice. Letting up on the seige of the Palestinians will increase the terror, not decrease it, American and Israeli liberal thinking to the contrary notwithstanding. So, the Israelis continue to occupy and repress, and they continue to suffer sporadic terror. One remains careful (e.g., the Israelis killed an important terrorist last night and Philippe called us to warn us to stay away from public places for a couple of days.) And who knows, if we wait long enough, maybe the dog will die.
Meanwhile, the Israeli government has fallen and there will be elections. Already Netanyahu has positioned himself to the right of Sharon, the left is fully split, and the religious parties are out only for what is in it for themselves. This, however, has become the norm here. No one knows what will happen. Almost everyone has already chosen sides and the vote could probably take place tomorrow with the same results as later on &endash; except for the fact that Arafat will probaby authorize more terror which will radicalize the Israelis toward the right. The one thing Arafat doesn't want is a serious peace proposal which will, as the previous one did, show him up for the fake that he really is. So, he prefers the right and will probably help them get elected and continue his terror campaign at the same time.
Meanwhile, too, there is no &endash; no &endash; voice of criticism on the Palestinian side. There is no Palestinian peace movement, anywhere. Antisemitism is on the rise in Arab countries generally and, as you should know, there is a big antisemitic series on Egyptian television now (see article by Friedman). Further, the Europeans, in their frustration, have turned antisemitic. The number of incidents is rising fast in Europe, especially in Belgium and France. All the centuries of antisemitism in European culture which flourished during the World War and which were repressed after it are now resurfacing. Europe is the cradle of medieval and modern antisemitism. As one of our acquaintances volunteered, "The Jews are looking to kill Palestinians in revenge for what happened during the Second World War" &endash; than which nothing could be more false. The Europeans won't even permit an audit of the hundreds of millions of dollars they have given Arafat, partly because such a procedure will prove that he is both a terrorist and a thief and partly because it suits their latent antisemitism to blame the Jews and not look at Arafata. Even in America, antisemitism is rearing its ugly head, though only among "intellectuals" for the moment (see article by Dershowitz).
All this does not bode for a very bright political future &endash; and the economic fallout is just as bad &endash; but maybe the dog will die. Meanwhile, we continue buying and selling, studying and sightseeing, paying the bills, attending concerts, and talking to one another…. life goes on … The Muslims walk around the Wall Plaza to get to the Dome of the Rock, and the Jews walk around the Arab shuk (market) in order to get to the Wall. Men, women, and children flow at 4:30 a.m. to the Haram al-Sharif mosques, and at 5:00 a.m. to the Western Wall, for prayers. The canon sounds each day at dusk to signal the end of Ramadan, and the siren sounds each Friday afternoon to signal the beginning of Shabbat.
Love from Jerusalem, U&D