Hebrew not only is the language of the Torah; classic Hebrew, it is also the language of Israel, called modern Hebrew or 'Ivrit'. I sing in both languages. For many centuries Hebrew has been a 'dead' language that was only being used in the synagogue, but since the early 19th century Hebrew has been revived and was eventually chosen as the language of Israel. Hebrew is again alive and kicking and it has produced beautiful poetic songs like 'Eli Eli'.
Ladino is the language of the Sephardic Jews, originating in the rich Jewish culture of Spain and Portugal during Moorish rule. Ladino is a mixture of mostly Spanish and Hebrew. Many Ladino songs are about love, like 'La Rosa Enflorence'.
Yiddish originates in Eastern Europe and is a mix of German and Hebrew, with influences of Slavonic and Roman languages. It was the language of the, mostly poor, Ashkenazi Jews. When the state of Israel was founded, Yiddish was a serious candidate to be elected as the national tongue, but because of the image of poverty that this rich language carried, modern Hebrew was eventually chosen over Yiddish. Many Yiddish songs narrate about living in poverty and under oppression, like 'Wos iz geworn foen majn sjtettele'.
Design by Chaim Müller.
