manifest itself. Leaders like Moses and Aaron, whose function it was to call upon the race-will to assert itself and to treat with the Egyptian government, appeared, ripe from their meditations, for action.
There were lesser leaders, active groups, manifold plottings and counter-plottings and, in short, there must have been all the accompanying elements of a general preparation for a great national crisis. The leaders of this movement must have appealed to pride or prejudice, attempted to purge the people of degrading habits of mind, brought out in clearer style the tenets around which Hebrews could rally, and helped to ferment those beliefs which were later to find such distinct expression. Thus, the call to abandon Egypt brought forth the recapitulation of such old Hebrew custome and ideale as were extant
and had honor among the people, and also, invoked the recognition and formulation of others generated by their new experiences.
When at last, after centuries of sojourn, the Hebrew Race rose, united in the will to leave Egypt, they became by this act, in a very profound sense, as unto a people self-emancipated, and the nature of their stay in the land of oppression became vindicated as that of a race of freemen. They had been oppressed but not crushed, had suffered but had learned. They had been in the midst of an alien civilization but had not been undermined or submerged thereby. And now they stood, as in after times in their history, on the threshhold of new ventures, new pains, new struggles and achievements.
Hebrew and Yiddish—Two Parallel Forces of Jewish Culture
The importance of Yiddish as a literature is growing from year to year. Instead of the uneducated public of thirty years ago, it has now for its readers the cultured classes as well. One generation ago Yiddish was regarded a jargon by the people who read it, and the very men who wrote it had the feeling that they were sacrificing their literary talents on the altar of utilitarianism. Those fond of figurative language called Yiddish the “maid-servant” of Hebrew. To-day, this maid-servant has become her own mistress; and though she cannot boast of an ancient lineage and a glorious past, she may yet point with pride to a numerous and_ robust progeny, holding forth the promise of a great future. In the short space of a quarter of .a century Yiddish literature has made such rapid strides that it bids fair to outstrip modern Hebrew—not of course in all branches—but at least in poetry and fiction.
This comparison between Yiddish and
*From the Jewish Quarterly Review.
Hebrew has not been made to excite the odium of the Hebraists, and is not intended as an argument in favor of those who wish to make Yiddish the national tongue of the Jews. To my mind there is no room for this dispute. The question which language shall have the ascendancy over the other has already been answered. For the past several centuries Yiddish has been the mother tongue of several million Jews; it has shown itself capable of coping with the languages of the nations among whom the Jews were dispersed, while Hebrew has failed. In Palestine, on the other hand, Hebrew has of late become the mother tongue of several thousand Jews, in spite of their Yiddish ancestry. The problem seems therefore to solve itself. As long as the Jews will remain in the dispersion Yiddish will have the. ascendancy over Hebrew; if they return to.an independent. national life on their ancient soil, Hebrew will most likely become the dominant language. The comparison I am trying to draw between Yiddish and Hebrew has therefore nothing to do with this contro-