"I am very excited about the course. Mr. Jude is a wonderful teacher, knowledgeable and excited for us to learn this language. I am happy and know that I made the right decision by signing up! Thank you!"
יישר כחך -- The More Power to You
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Shlomit Erinne Acciaroli
Hamilton, Ontario
Biblical Hebrew
The answer is simple -- without living in Israel, we do not have the opportunity to practice. By making Aliya, daily interactions would be mostly in Hebrew. We would visit the חנות מכלת or the שוק or the בית המידרש, all the while speaking in Hebrew. So when will we make Aliya? ... ולי בשנה הבאה לירושלים
Meanwhile, back in Hamilton, Ontario at the Biblical Hebrew Class and the After-School Hour, where what I am learning is frequently born out at shul. I am really beginning to recognize words and expressions during Torah reading and in the Chumash. And I expect that it will not be long before my comprehension of Torah and Haftarot readings will be more and more solidified.
The themes and perspectives presented through books like Jonah appear to me not only interesting but elucidating as well. Merav Buch, our teacher opens up a world of opportunity to learn, ask questions and express our opinions. The Homework exercises that are provided for us in our school locker and in our manuals are excellent. The convenience we have in being able to check our answers in our School Locker allows expedience in learning. In class, we are invited to read the Hebrew portions online and Merav is patient as I plod along sometimes, allowing me to retain my dignity. Recently, my reading is smoother. She also uses professionally-framed syntactic and semantic explanations, which are impressive and helpful.
A few times, I was late to class and I felt missed and welcomed when I came back! I feel that I am in a class of friends! It is wonderful to be studying and speaking about Hebrew with students from all over the world -- South Africa, New Jersey, Arizona and Viet Nam.
Stefan Bosman, our moderator for the After-School Hour also answers our questions about Biblical Hebrew. And I found out that he and the other students are open to questions about other topics as well.
Since I am a linguist and language teacher, I had a burning question, almost like חרה! I asked people at home but was unable to get the explanation I was searching. My question was this: what is the syntactical relationship between ישר כח (the masculine form) and ישר כחך (the feminine form)?
When I happened to enter the After-School Hour, Stefan Bosman and I and the other students collaborated in formulating a wonderful explanation. Whereas I always thought that ישר כח is a shmichut, I found out that the first word is not a noun, as it is in English, that is, straight strength. It is instead a verb, to straighten or to be straightened. So, the verb is used in the future tense, probably, and the noun has a feminine and masculine form. They are יישר גחך יישר כחך, that is yiishar kochek and yiishar kochacha. (I hope I have all this right -- if not, somebody correct me please.)
The results of my burning curiosity and resultant investigation are positive in three ways: I practised a new verb in the future form, I got help from your technician to set up Hebrew font on my PC (I'm still working on the nikudot!) and I was taught a new translation for this expression instead of straight strength. I like this translation very much. It incorporates the future implication; It reads smoothly; And is people-friendly. It is "the more power to you". It is a fitting and respectful aspiration for all of you at eTeacher. תודה רבה ...
יישר כחך
The More Power to You