HEBREW TEXTS  .  HEBREW LANGUAGE  .  JUDAISM

When I was a child I was lucky enough to learn Hebrew and Judaism in a way that I only understood when I became an adult. The Hebrew Language was so effective and imperceptible it was getting through the pores of my skin and reached my bones.

 

I always liked Hebrew and I always enjoyed singing. I had two Hebrew singing teachers and one Hebrew language teacher who were probably the reason I am here today in Utica as a Rabbi at Temple Beth El.

 

The Hebrew Language teacher was Moreh Aaron Schwartz Z”L. In each class he made sure there were jokes and funny situations. The expressions he taught in Hebrew were drawn in cartoons I still remember.

 

The second—perhaps she should be the first—is Morah Batia. She taught me when I was in first and second grades. I still remember the handwritten Hebrew copies she gave us. I really do. She took me along the roads of the Hebrew Language singing and explaining meanings and expressions that are instilled in me to this day.

 

The third teacher was Moreh Dudi Feuer. Coincidentally, Chazan recently retired from the Palm Beach Community after singing there for more than 30 years. He taught us songs with beautiful melodies that were really texts from the Tanakh (the Bible). Those texts are what we pray or study daily and I have them inside me indelibly.