לוֹם עֲלֵיכֶם! Oh, you don’t know Hebrew, you say? Well, it’s what Jesus (and Mary) used to pray.
Click here for five minutes (or less) of assorted wisdom from Father Joseph Fessio, S.J., founder of Ignatius Press in San Francisco.
Father Fessio studied with Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI), Hans Urs von Balthasar, and Henri De Lubac before returning to California where he began publishing these theologians and others – including Cardinal Pell, Cardinal Sarah, novelist Michael O’Brien.
Church liberal and popular writer Andrew Greeley, S.J. called Fessio “the most powerful man in the American Church.”
I thought Jesus spoke Aramaic. His family wasn’t elite enough to speak Hebrew, although He did speak at the temple.
It is certainly possible for even illiterates to speak more than one language. Hebrew was the language of worship, not only in the Temple, but in the synagogues. Memorizing the Scriptures (in Hebrew) was a strongly encouraged practice, and I believe still is among devout Jews. The Jews of Galilee would have an incentive to know some koine Greek as well, as it was a language of the Gentiles (and of many Romans serving in the East).
Mary was raised in the Temple. She could read Hebrew.
Joseph was an adult male of the line of David. He probably could read Hebrew, too.
They were also probably memorized.
oy vey!!! (I know, this is Yiddish) If you are mentally energetic, good at languages, and have the time, Hebrew is worth learning. However, I believe Jesus and the disciples spoke Aramaic, closely related to Hebrew. That said, Hebrew is difficult to learn in comparison to languages with which we are more familiar. At Fuller seminary (long ago), I took to New Testament Greek like a fish to water, but struggled my way through Hebrew. Greek is like Latin but Hebrew is unlike anything familiar to most people, unless you speak Arabic. If Fr. Fessio can make Hebrew fun and simple, he’s definitely the most powerful priest in the U.S.
The article begins with “lom alechem” which doesn’t mean anything at all in Hebrew, other than “_____ to/on you (all).” This was in turn copied straight the Ignatius Press website–obviously they don’t know much of anything about Hebrew either. But this isn’t that surprising really since Biblical Hebrew has no part in priestly formation, other than at maybe one or two seminaries in the U.S.
This error reminds me of the bishops being unable to properly translate “dominus vobiscum” from Latin into English–something any Latin student with one semester of the language (or less) should be able to do. It’s this sort of blatant ignorance and incompetence that’s killing the church.
Fr. Fessio makes a good point: we can pray like Jesus, Mary, the Apostles and others by praying the Psalms, even if in English translation. Christian Prayer, the Liturgy of the Hours (or Office or Breviary), consists primarily of the Psalms. And, it is for all (not just bishops, priests, deacons and Religious).
“I will praise You, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works. I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.” (Psalm 9:1-2)
Psalm 119: 147-148, 164
I rise before dawn and cry out;
I put my hope in your words.
My eyes greet the night watches
as I meditate on your promise…
Seven times a day I praise you
because your judgments are righteous.