I don't want to forget this...

January was literally hell for me learning Hebrew...I initially did well (like the first three days), and then on the seventh day after starting, but then it was always an uphill and defeated battle. However, I'm currently in a Hebrew reading class, and I have to admit, I really love doing the translations. It's like one big puzzle to pick on until a beautiful picture emerges. Funny, in church today I read a paragraph of reflection that had the transliterated word, tikkun olam in it. I had to put it into the Hebrew with the Biblical Hebrew vowel markings before I could/want to pronounce it correctly, (taw, hireq yod, kof, shureq, final nun); (ayin, holem, lamed, qamets and final mem.) :-). I'll someday let you in how those are pronounced :-). One thing I don't want to forget is the nuances and the meanings behind the words in Hebrew....and the magical way it can chance how we look at scripture. My classmate and friend, Mari Lyn said it best in her blog documenting her seminary experience,

"It *is* hard, but there will be some reward when I am able to read scriptures in Hebrew and see the nuances in the language. Our professor read Genesis 1: 1 -3 to us this week and then began to translate--starting with "As God was creating" instead of "In the beginning". He said that reading/interpreting the text this way indicates that we are invited into relationship with God at the very moment God was creating--that's how much God loves us--very powerful to me. Today he talked about how the Hebrew people viewed this language as a gift from God. They understood that it was a hard language, but that made sense to them. If it was easy, it would be from humans. They felt gifted that God would allow them to try to understand God's language."

Amazing and powerful. On the first day of Hebrew, my friend Amber stopped Mari Lyn and I as we walked to class, and told us even though she did recognize it at the time, what I term, intense shock therapy into learning a language, learning Hebrew was really an extraordinary gift.....A gift, I do not want to forget....