HEBREW

Hebrew.  He--freakin'--BREW!  Wait, that's not right.  Hebrew goes right to left…….so it should be: 

WERB-'nikaerf--eh

OK, try to pronounce that last phase and you will have some idea of the pronunciation issues I've encountered the past week.  Every VTS student is required to take at least one of the two Biblical languages:  Hebrew or Greek.  At the suggestion of a priest and (now former) friend, I chose Hebrew.  We are in August Term which means that we are taking a 16 weeks’ worth of Hebrew over three weeks.  We attend class each morning for two and a half hours.  The rest of the day, and much of the night, is spent memorizing the consonants and vowel signs and trying to determine how to pronounce bunches of these odd looking symbols that ostensibly represent Hebrew words.  Just as we begin to feel comfortable with a practice set of words, a new “rule” of the Hebrew language is unveiled.  Of course, each rule has several exceptions.  Trying to keep the rules straight while making unnatural sounds can be unnerving.

But the Hebrew immersion experience has a significant silver lining.  For perspective, remember that 38 years ago I was in law school--anything but a "nurturing environment." Hebrew has revealed a culture starkly different from law school.  In order to “get” Hebrew, study groups are crucial.  Without these groups, many (most?) of us would have thrown up our hands by now.  My study group meets one or two times a day for 1.5--2 hours per session...including Saturday and Sunday. There were study groups in law school, but unlike law school, everyone in the seminary study group is as interested in the progress of the others as with her or himself.  Words of encouragement and tips are passed back and forth constantly.  We are all pulling on the same rope and make a point that we don’t move forward until everyone is up to speed. 

So…one of the neat things about seminary is that we all want the others to succeed. 

During study group yesterday someone remarked how cool it is that we've gotten to the point that we can kinda say many of these words.  It was a very pleasant moment--until someone else pointed out that we had no idea what we were saying.  You see, we have not yet learned any vocabulary!

Well, now it's time to get back to this..........

Our Hebrew Grammar Book