I've heard the claim that there are some words that do not exist in Hebrew. What the persons who make this claim are trying to say is that the concept does not exist in lashon hakodesh, the Holy Tongue. Since lashon hakodesh is assumed to be perfect, every word signifies a true reality. So if there is no word for that concept, then the idea is not authentic, but rather a deception of some sort.
I will tell you what they don't mean. They don't mean that you cannot look up these words in a dictionary of Modern Hebrew and find a translation.
I overheard this idea from a rabbi in the context of a mussar seder over the course of several days. I have also heard people say this kind of thing on the street, as it were, so it has some currency. But I have not been able to track down the original source.
The words include, to the best of my memory: fun, adventure, and romance. The list may also include doubt and humor.
I don't know if I believe this claim or not. I mean, I like it because it is thought provoking and makes for good discussion. I like the idea that lashon hakodesh was designed by HaShem and is integral and internally consistent. And it is obvious that innovative modern concepts could only find expression in modern words, like organic chemistry. Sure, I'd like to see that in Tanakh. But I am not going to lose my faith if it is not there.
This may be off-topic, but I do not like the claim that Hebrew was never a spoken language, only written. I have heard this claimed by a few bnei Torah, so it frightens me to think they may have seen it in a credible source somewhere. If they have seen that "inside", I have a hunch that the source said something different from what they think it said. I hate to bring out the cricket bat of "secular education", but... But there is no point in beating down a straw man, so I will wait until someone has show it to me inside to deal with it.
What I can tell you now is that I disagree that fun belongs on the list. "Fun" is, I claim, a true Torah concept and does exist in lashon hakodesh. That will be the topic of another posting. I am also prepared to give romance the full academic treatment. That's an interesting one, and I will probably end up coming to an agreement with the mussar rabbi. But it's the journey that counts.
Meantime, I would like to ask readers if they can give me a source for any of these claims, or if there are any other words that belong on this list.
From Jerusalem, the Centre of the Universe: Chronicles of an authentic Jewish Convert
2 comments:
Didn't Rambam assert that Hebrew was Lashon Hakodesh because it didn't have any words for sexual parts and/or acts - only euphemisms? [Googles] Here we go:
Rather, Rambam believed that Hebrew can be called לשון הקודש because
I have also a reason and cause for calling our language the holy language-do not think it is exaggeration or error on my part, it is perfectly correct-the Hebrew language has no special name for the organ of generation in females or in males, nor for the act of generation itself, nor for semen, nor for secretion.
[more details on the blog article references above]
I'll be looking into that blog. Thanks for the reference, Larry.
I'm a little bit confused by huge link. Did some of what you wrote in the comment get cut out?
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