By the time I entered the elementary school I attended, it had been around for nearly 50 years and was already in decline. Despite the challenges, there were two things which left a lasting impression. The Jewish studies, which occupied the first half of the day, were all conducted in Hebrew, Ivrit beIvrit; some of the teachers were dedicated, die-hard Hebraists who provided me with a very solid foundation. The Hebrew that I learned gave me access to Israeli songs popularized after the Six-Day War and to classic Jewish texts—the siddur, Humash, and even to Gemara (yes, Aramaic and Hebrew are closely connected). The language enabled me to act as a translator when my father’s cousin came to visit from Israel, and even enabled me, years later, to attend a regular Israeli yeshiva—in Hebrew.

Aside from the Hebrew language, the school was suffused with Israeli culture. Music, current events, posters on the classroom walls, visitors, assemblies, Tu BiShevat (with the inedible dried fruits in brown paper bags), and more embraced us at every turn. So much so, that on my first trip to Israel in the mid-1970s, as different as Israel was from the US, I actually felt like I had been there before.

There was a downside to all this. I was one of a handful of students who actually got the Hebrew. That means that for me it was wonderful, but for most of my classmates, who never picked up the Hebrew, they were locked out of the Jewish learning and the Israeli culture.

Fast forward 50 years. There are many very fine Jewish day schools in North America. Many of those are well-funded, with beautiful buildings and campuses. Schools have nice gyms, music and art programs, a wide range of extra- and co-curricular offerings, full-time psychologists, learning specialists, professional teacher training programs, and so much more. And while it is fair to say that the overall Jewish day school experience is certainly more professional and richer than what I received, only a handful of day schools actually teach Ivrit beIvrit, and a mountain of anecdotal evidence supports the claim that a very significant number of day school graduates struggle with rudimentary Hebrew—whether for conversational or text-study purposes.

To be fair, there are significant factors impacting this. Here’s one. In the early-to-mid twentieth century, there was a communal thirst for Hebrew—in its revival phase as a reborn language and symbolizing the rebirth of a Jewish nation after an extended trauma—which created the environmental context supporting it. By contrast, Israeli culture and Hebrew are today increasingly Anglified, so that words, slang (including curses!), expressions from English, advertisements, business names, and so much more are becoming the new Hebrew.

That being said, amongst Jewish educators outside of Israel there is a renewal of interest and an increased professionalism in the teaching of Hebrew language and culture. This includes pockets of excellence in instruction, inclusion of Hebrew culture in daily school life, innovative ongoing programming, effective use of shelihim from Israel, introduction of standards for Hebrew proficiency, and more, and there is much to be learned from and with those experiencing success.

There is also an emerging growth of interest, on the grassroots student level, in Israel and Hebrew. A growing number of Jewish high school graduates are enlisting for the Israeli army or planning to make Aliyah. Rising antisemitism alongside internal drive is pushing some students to identify more strongly with Hebrew culture, and the number of schools participating in The Lookstein Center’s International Hebrew Exam and other external programs continues to grow from their inception just a few years ago. In addition, the growing community of Israeli expats living in North America has spawned communities of people looking to connect over Hebrew language and culture.

In light of the changes taking place in the field, the renewed interest in Hebrew language and culture, and the need to learn from each other’s successes and missteps, this issue of the journal is devoted to teaching Hebrew as a language and fostering it as a culture. The articles represent some of the most interesting and effective initiatives currently being implemented in Hebrew education and highlight how a team, or even a single driven individual in an institution, can bring about meaningful change. We invite you to read, to discuss, and to share.

BIVRAKHA,

RABBI ZVI GRUMET, ED.D.