What do all Jewish languages share in common?

Описание: In the last video, we spoke about how Hebrew is different from most other languages. English, Russian, and Chinese — all started as spoken languages and were written down later. Hebrew, on the other hand, developed first as a written language. In Hebrew, the shapes of the letters are maybe even more important than their sounds.
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But Hebrew is not the only Jewish language. Over the course of history, Jews spoke many different languages. Most people know Yiddish, the language of Ashkenazim, which developed around the 9th century. It is still spoken in many communities today, and classic Chassidic texts are in Yiddish.
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Another Jewish language is Aramaic. Jews began using it during the Babylonian exile in the 5th century BCE, and kept it throughout the Second Temple period and beyond. Today, Aramaic is no longer used in everyday conversation, but anyone who studies the Talmud must learn it. I heard that Kurdish Jews still speak Aramaic at home, though I personally haven’t met any Kurdish Jews to verify it.
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And there are over a dozen more Jewish languages. Wherever Jews lived, they usually developed their own spoken language. It was different from the language of their non-Jewish hosts, but it wasn’t Hebrew either. These languages were a mix: Yiddish blended Hebrew and German, Aramaic blended Hebrew and Arabic, and so on.
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Here’s the interesting part: every one of these languages was written with Hebrew letters. Jews around the world spoke differently, but all wrote their words with the same alphabet.
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This wasn’t some organized international agreement – don’t start another Jewish global conspiracy theory! It happened naturally, based on shared values. Hebrew was not used for daily conversation because spoken languages change over time and get contaminated. Try reading the original Shakespeare… and he lived only 400 years ago. Imagine what would happen with Hebrew over 2,000 years! Jews felt that Hebrew should be protected from that kind of change and kept mainly for learning, prayer, and formal use.
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The letters, however, don’t change from use.
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On the other hand, Kabbalah explains the spiritual meaning of each letter and how it is expressed in its shape. Letters are the building blocks of words. Torah explains that they are also – literally – the basic building blocks of the world around us.
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So, Jewish history paints a fascinating picture. To preserve Hebrew, Jews created other spoken languages for daily life. The Holy Tongue was known by everyone, but reserved for study and prayer. The letters, however, traveled everywhere with the Jewish people — whether someone was studying Talmud in Aramaic or writing a grocery list in Yiddish. Kabbalah is telling us that it was possible because letters have the level of spiritual strength that cannot be contaminated.
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This is why, throughout history, we taught letters to every Jewish child. Even today, there are Jews who can’t really converse in Hebrew, but they still want to be able to read. You will ask: What’s the point of reading if you don’t understand the words? As we said in our previous video, historically, our transcription of the language was not only for the purposes of conveying the sounds.
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Let’s make sure we all know Hebrew letters.
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