Unfortunately, my language learning did take a bit of a dip in the past few weeks, both for the sake of other classes and life circumstances. One of my senior capstones, a stage management independent study, reached tech / performance April 9 – 17th, and I was not able to dedicate the same amount of time that I normally do to learning Hebrew, as I was spending anywhere between 6-13 hours in a theatre each day. It was also the week of Passover where I had to prepare (and re-prepare, and re-prepare…) a kosher kitchen, while not having roommates keeping kosher. My uncle also passed away, which while not unexpected still took a toll.
That being said, all this did present me an opportunity for language learning that I didn’t expect; I spent a decent portion of this month working on prayers, both for Passover and the other circumstances I described above. I presented the kiddush (קידוש blessing over wine, text below) for my final in 105, which Maddie and I spent multiple sessions reviewing until I had every word and every pitch correct. I presented a short version (first paragraph) during the UR Hillel Passover seder, and I’ll also be leading the prayer at this week’s Shabbat Service. It’s especially important to me that I get it right in front of them, as many of my peers have been speaking Hebrew, and hearing this blessing, their entire lives.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה, יְיָ
אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ, מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם,
בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַגָּֽפֶן.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה, יְיָ
אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ, מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם,
אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָֽׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֺתָיו וְרָֽצָה בָֽנוּ,
וְשַׁבַּת קׇדְשׁוֹ
בְּאַהֲבָה וּבְרָצוֹן הִנְחִילָֽנוּ,
זִכָּרוֹן לְמַעֲשֵׂה בְרֵאשִׁית.
כִּי הוּא יוֹם תְּחִלָּה לְמִקְרָֽאֵי קֹֽדֶשׁ,
זֵֽכֶר לִיצִיאַת מִצְרָֽיִם.
כִּי בָֽנוּ בָחַֽרְתָּ, וְאוֹתָֽנוּ קִדַּֽשְׁתָּ
מִכׇּל הָעַמִּים.
וְשַׁבַּת קׇדְשְׁךָ
בְּאַהֲבָה וּבְרָצוֹן הִנְחַלְתָּֽנוּ.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה, יְיָ, מְקַדֵּשׁ הַשַּׁבָּת.
I also spent time reviewing the Mourner’s Kaddish. (Kiddush vs Kaddish – I told you vowels were important! Text below.) This one I don’t have down quite as well yet, but I’ve made a lot of progress on it. While this next bit is probably verging into “cultural post” territory – this prayer really helped me process the grief of passing. It’s not necessarily mourning for the dead or bemoaning that they’re gone; it’s much more focused on praise.
אבל: יִתְגַּדַּל וְיִתְקַדַּשׁ שְׁמֵהּ רַבָּא. [קהל: אמן]
בְּעָלְמָא דִּי בְרָא כִרְעוּתֵהּ וְיַמְלִיךְ מַלְכוּתֵהּ בְּחַיֵּיכון וּבְיומֵיכון וּבְחַיֵּי דְכָל בֵּית יִשרָאֵל בַּעֲגָלָא וּבִזְמַן קָרִיב, וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן: [קהל: אמן]
קהל ואבל: יְהֵא שְׁמֵהּ רַבָּא מְבָרַךְ לְעָלַם וּלְעָלְמֵי עָלְמַיָּא:
אבל: יִתְבָּרַךְ וְיִשְׁתַּבַּח וְיִתְפָּאַר וְיִתְרומַם וְיִתְנַשּא וְיִתְהַדָּר וְיִתְעַלֶּה וְיִתְהַלָּל שְׁמֵהּ דְּקֻדְשָׁא. בְּרִיךְ הוּא. [קהל: בריך הוא:]
לְעֵלָּא מִן כָּל בִּרְכָתָא בעשי”ת: לְעֵלָּא לְעֵלָּא מִכָּל וְשִׁירָתָא תֻּשְׁבְּחָתָא וְנֶחֱמָתָא דַּאֲמִירָן בְּעָלְמָא. וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן: [קהל: אמן]
יְהֵא שְׁלָמָא רַבָּא מִן שְׁמַיָּא וְחַיִּים עָלֵינוּ וְעַל כָּל יִשרָאֵל. וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן: [קהל:אמן]
עושה שָׁלום בעשי”ת: הַשָּׁלום בִּמְרומָיו הוּא יַעֲשה שָׁלום עָלֵינוּ וְעַל כָּל יִשרָאֵל וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן: [קהל: אמן
Last on the prayer list: I broke Passover by making challah. I did not do the prayers during the making of the challah, as they’re mainly associated with married women, and I did not have the opportunity to discuss it with someone more learned than myself first. This was one of the prayers that, while I’ve never presented it, I know from the repetition of it being presented. I said the blessing over bread (below) every time I ate the challah, and it was a reminder to stay grateful for what I had, and what I had learned.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה׳ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם הַמּוֹצִיא לֶחֶם מִן הָאָרֶץ
Moving forward with my language learning after UR, I look forward to growing in my vocabulary and grammatical skills. I plan on moving to a city with a larger Jewish population than the one I’m from, so I’ll hopefully be able to find more formal Hebrew language learning programs there, as well as keeping up the skills I have now with apps like Duolingo until then, as well as more immersion-type activities like listening to music in Hebrew.
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