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jail at least he'll be able to devote all his hours to completing his

work. There, the daily worries won't bother his work [craft].

The Hebrew Is Heard Again

The projects of Eliezer Ben Yehuda (EVI) were plenty: the

foundation of the first Hebrew home, renewing the words,

writing a dictionary, publishing a Hebrew news paper and

founding the Hebrew language committee. They were all
dedicated to the struggle of the inconceivable reviving of the

Hebrew language. The good ending is known to us all: the

Hebrew won.

The Hebrew speech spread around, news papers were published
in Hebrew, children pleayed in Hebrew, and people bought train

tickets - in Hebrew. The Hebrew language came back to life

swiftly, added words and took root.

What did the Hebrew Sound Like Then

The writer Yemima Avidar-Tschernovich tells her grandchildren

about the Hebrew of the beginning of the century.

"Our family was one of the few families that the spoken
language at home, in the Diaspora, was Hebrew. My father

wrote in Hebrew [in] articles and books, and as a Zionist he

educated his children to make Aliya to Erets Israel and he and

mom insisted that we speak Hebrew in the house. The Hebrew
language which we spoke was a little different than the Hebrew

spoken nowadays. We spoke with an Ashkenazi accent. That

way, for example, instead of: Matay bata (When did you come)?

We said: Mossay Bosso? Instead of Magevet (Towel) we said:

Alontis. The library we referred to in a Russian word: Bibliotko.
And another few words that sound funny to you. Imagine how

much the children of Bet-Gan laughed when they heard this type

of Hebrew. However, their language was funny, too. In the Galil
they spoke with a special dialect. They would emphasize the

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