When they ask about… learning Hebrew

The shapes are difficult, the sounds foreign and its relevance variable, depending on how and where one lives one’s Jewish life.

At the very same time, the shapes are imbued with significance, the sounds are that of lashon kodesh (the holy tongue) and its relevance is such that it serves as the gateway to a full expression of Jewish life, however one understands this – spiritually, culturally, intellectually and practically.

Learning a foreign language, any foreign language, is difficult. It requires years of application to develop ease and fluency, ideally begun from a young age. Knowing more than one language makes it easier to learn another and there are certainly people, polyglots, who demonstrate particular aptitude in the acquisition of languages.

For most of us, it’s a hard slog. And if your native tongue is English – the dominant lingua franca (common language) in an increasingly global world – the need and incentive to learn another language are minimal. It's little wonder that the number of students graduating from the Australian school system with a second language is woefully low.

Why then, when they ask if they have to learn Hebrew, should a parent answer with an unequivocal ‘yes’?

There are a myriad of reasons for this. The starting point is that Hebrew is the fundamental building block of a Jewish life and, interestingly, a parent’s obligation.