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The goal became even more important On February 3rd, 1984, Shlomo Mula and And then they saw a huge bird roaring in
after Azamaro, the friend who had his friends reached Gedarif. A Mossad the sky, splitting the clouds before landing
instigated the trip, died in jail. agent handed them some clothes. They nearby. “We were really scared. We’d never
were able to change their shirts and pants seen a plane before.”
One day they were suddenly transported for the first time in three years.
to a refugee camp, Um-Rakuba, along with The soldiers pushed them into these
thousands of other Africans who had tried “Follow me!” ordered the agent. Shlomo birds; it was dark, cool and very noisy
to escape their own corrupt or war-torn and his friends didn’t know what to expect. inside. They sat on the floor. And then the
countries. They had every reason to be suspicious . soldiers took off their masks and helmets
and starting singing “Heveinu Shalom
Although they didn’t know it at the time, But after yet another long walk, they finally Aleichem” in Hebrew.
there were Mossad agents in Um-Rakuba, came to a clearing occupied by a group of
charged with transferring the Jews to armed soldiers, faces covered and wearing “I had no idea what was happening until
another camp at Gedarif, run by the Red helmets. someone told us: This is a plane from Eretz
Cross. This too involved a night-time Yisrael. The white soldiers are Jews. We
getaway, another long walk, hiding and “This time we thought we were finished,” have come to take you to Jerusalem!”
bribing a local driver. said Shlomo.

Dr. Avshalom Kor

What’s הָדיִלְּג

in a
Word

f you come to Eretz Yisrael in the (for example in Tractate Mikvaot 7:1), ִּא ָדי ִל ְ גּ, because we are talking about א ָדי ִל ְ גּ,
summer, you are likely to find your- as one of the types of freezing cold water ice, as food! And the Torah even tells us its
I self eating ice cream – ה ָדי ִל ְ גּ. The permitted for immersion in a Mikveh, a taste: )םש ,אל( ”שׁ ַב ְ דּ ַבּ תי ִחי ִפּ ַצ ְ כּ וֹמ ֲע ַטְו“
creation of the word ה ָדי ִל ְ גּ is a fascinat- ritual bath: “דיִל ְג ִהְו רוֹפ ְ כּ ַהְו ד ָר ָבּ ַהְו גֶל ֶׁשּ ַה...““...דיִל ְג ִהְו רוֹפ ְ כּ ַהְו ד ָר ָבּ ַהְו גֶל ֶׁשּ ַה“.
ing story combining verses from Tanach, (The letter א at the end of a word is the Said Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, the man who
Onkelos’s translation of the Torah, and Aramaic equivalent of the ה ָעי ִדְיּ ַה ה [the revived the Hebrew language for day-to-day
even Italian. definite article] at the start of a word in life: If this is sweet ice, then the word א ָדי ִל ְ גּ
Hebrew.) is fitting for our summer food. And we’ll
140 years ago, a need arose to give a name write it with a ה at the end, giving it the
to this beloved summer treat. Anyone However, in both places, in Bereishit and in same form as another Biblical food: הַני ִב ְג,
who reads םוּגּ ְ ר ַתּ ד ָח ֶאְו א ָר ְ ק ִמ םיִיִּנ ְ שׁ – or the Mishna in Mikavot, the text is referring cheese.
anyone who just takes a look at Onkelos’s to plain ice, not to ice designated for
translation – is familiar with the word consumption. And the Italians can add that the Hebrew
א ָדי ִל ְ גּ, written with an א at the end, from word for ice cream, coined by Eliezer Ben-
Ya’akov’s words to his father-in-law Lavan: Therefore, we must return to the first Yehuda, sounds very much like its Italian
ב ֵר ֶח י ִנ ֵל ַכֹא םוֹיּ ַבּ ...ךְ ֵמּ ַע י ִכוֹנ ָא הָנ ָשׁ םי ִר ְ שׂ ֶע ה ֶז“ morning we came across manna in the counterpart, gelato!
)מ ,אל תישארב) ”ה ָלְי ַלּ ַבּ ח ַר ֶקְו Sinai Desert, after we had left Egypt:
ק ַדּ ר ָבּ ְ ד ִמּ ַה יֵנ ְ פּ ל ַע הֵנּ ִהְו ל ַטּ ַה ָתּ ְ ב ַכ ָשׁ ל ַע ָתָו ַדּ ר ָבּ ְ ד ִמּ ַה י ֵנ ְ פּ ל ַע ה ֵנּ ִה ְו ל ַטּ ַה ָתּ ְ ב ַכ ָשׁ ל ַע ָת ָו“
ק Dr. Avshalom Kor is an Israeli
Onkelos translates ְח ַר ֶק (ice) as א ָדי ִל ְ גּ. And ( די:,ט תומש( ”ץ ֶר ָא ָה ל ַע רוֹפ ְ כ ִכּ ק ַדּ ,ס ַפ ְ ס ֻח ֶמ די ,זט תומש( linguist and expert on Hebrew
the word דיִל ְג is also found in the Mishna Here, Onkelos translates the word רוֹפ ְ כ as grammar and semantics
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Photo of Dr. Kor: Roy Achiron
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