42. The Preeminence of the Holy Tongue | Rabbi Zalman Baruch Melamed | Beit Midrash

Jewish Laws and Thoughts
Foundations of Faith

קטגוריה משנית

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Lea bat Miryam

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In this lesson we shall address the preeminence of the Holy Tongue – Hebrew, the language of the Torah. It is only natural that a nation which harbors such great, lofty, and divine ideas should have a special language, a profound, pure, and rich tongue which allows for complete and accurate expression of its exalted ideas. Not only is Israel's spiritual path a uniquely preeminent one, its language is as well.

The Rabbi tells the Khazar king not to judge the Hebrew tongue according to its present guise (i.e., its state 1,200 years ago, in the time of the Khazar king) for it has suffered a plight similar to that of the Jewish people as whole. The language has become weak and depleted due to the weakness and depletion which, because of the difficult exile, have taken hold of its speakers, the Jewish people. However, in all truth, the Hebrew language is inherently sacred and is the most noble of the languages.

The greatness of Hebrew is noted in our Festival prayers which read, "You chose us from all of the nations, You loved us, and desired us, and elevated us above all of the languages, and sanctified us through your commandments." Here, then, we assert that God "elevated us above all of the languages."

Foundations of Faith (51)

Rabbi Zalman Baruch Melamed

41 - 41. Torah and Secular Disciplines

42 - 42. The Preeminence of the Holy Tongue

43 - 43. Hebrew's Preeminence - Continued

Hebrew is the language in which the Prophets of Israel voice their prophecies – Isaiah's reproofs and consolations, Job's profound debate with his companions, the Psalms of King David – all these were expressed in the Holy Tongue, a language capable of expressing ideas which emanate from Divine inspiration.

Hebrew possesses two distinctive ingredients: cantillative punctuation (te'amim) and vowels (nikud).

After all, the spoken word has a natural advantage over the written. When a person speaks, he is able to pause between subjects, emphasizes certain words, change the tone of his speech. The speaker, in order to express query, wonder, or amazement employs an appropriate tone. There is likewise a special tone that is used when expressing fright. All of this is lacking in the writ.

Indeed, in Hebrew texts that have come down to us from the past, in sacred Hebrew, there are cantillation marks which accompany the words. We use these marks when reading from the Torah, and with their help we are able to grasp the intended meaning of the written word. They indicate a question or an answer, separate between subjects, differentiate between that which should be read quickly and that which should be read slowly, between a command and a request. Today, even the cantillation marks have not been preserved in their full sense, and therefore they do not fulfill their complete role. However, the true task of these marks, as noted, is to breathe life into the dry written language and to provide it with the tools to express its inner content in the fullest sense.

A second unique quality possessed by Hebrew is its vowel system. To a degree, this too was disrupted by the exile. The Hebrew vowels aid in the expression of ideas with astounding precision.

At this point the Rabbi expands upon the role of Hebrew vowels, addressing the fine points and advantages of this tool. He gives a lengthy and detailed dissertation to the King of the Khazars on the laws of Hebrew grammar and vowelization. We will not go into these matters here. However, of this we are certain, cantillation marks and vowels which accompany Hebrew words place the Hebrew tongue on a level above all other languages.

This concludes another chapter in our exploration of the foundations of the Jewish faith according to R' Yehuda HaLevi's classic work, "The Kuzai."