Hebrew Ehe Eternal Language
HEBREW: THE ETERNAL LANGUAGE
WILLIAM CHOMSKY
HEBREW :
THE ETERNAL LANGUAGE
Varda Books
5761 / 2001
skokie, illinois, usa
Copyright © 2001 by Varda Books Original copyright © 1957 by
THE JEWISH PUBLICATION SOCIETY OF AMERICA All Rights Reserved Second Printing, 1958
New ISBN 1-59045-441-3 Library PDF
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage retrieval system, except for brief passages in connection with a critical review, without permission in writing from the publisher: Varda Books, 9001 Keating Avenue, Skokie, Illinois, USA Prepared as an ebook by Varda Graphics, Inc.
Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 578140
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
To My Children
>
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PREFACE
There has long been need for a book on the origin of the Hebrew language, its struggle for survival in the face of almost insurmountable obstacles, and its survival as a spoken vernacular in our own day. I confess to having for many years cherished the hope that it would some day be given me to write this story. At the same time, I shrank from undertaking a task so vast and important, so basic to the Jewish cultural heritage, and involving so many aspects of Jewish life and history. When, therefore, the Zionist Organization of America approached me several years ago with the request that I prepare a pamphlet on the subject, Hebrew, The Story of a Living Language, I allowed myself to be persuaded for the very reason that the discussion would be brief and tentative. Yet some of my friends at once began urging me to expand that pamphlet into a full-sized book, and this is the result. The account is far from exhaustive. It is designed primarily for the intelligent reader rather than for the scholar. In the process of popularization much had to be diluted, omitted or condensed. In many areas the
WILLIAM CHOMSKY
HEBREW :
THE ETERNAL LANGUAGE
Varda Books
5761 / 2001
skokie, illinois, usa
Copyright © 2001 by Varda Books Original copyright © 1957 by
THE JEWISH PUBLICATION SOCIETY OF AMERICA All Rights Reserved Second Printing, 1958
New ISBN 1-59045-441-3 Library PDF
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage retrieval system, except for brief passages in connection with a critical review, without permission in writing from the publisher: Varda Books, 9001 Keating Avenue, Skokie, Illinois, USA Prepared as an ebook by Varda Graphics, Inc.
Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 578140
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
To My Children
>
Home | TOC | Index
PREFACE
There has long been need for a book on the origin of the Hebrew language, its struggle for survival in the face of almost insurmountable obstacles, and its survival as a spoken vernacular in our own day. I confess to having for many years cherished the hope that it would some day be given me to write this story. At the same time, I shrank from undertaking a task so vast and important, so basic to the Jewish cultural heritage, and involving so many aspects of Jewish life and history. When, therefore, the Zionist Organization of America approached me several years ago with the request that I prepare a pamphlet on the subject, Hebrew, The Story of a Living Language, I allowed myself to be persuaded for the very reason that the discussion would be brief and tentative. Yet some of my friends at once began urging me to expand that pamphlet into a full-sized book, and this is the result. The account is far from exhaustive. It is designed primarily for the intelligent reader rather than for the scholar. In the process of popularization much had to be diluted, omitted or condensed. In many areas the