A light in dark times

Hello Everyone,

It’s been kind of a dark year in South Africa, in terms of news. The Protection of Information Bill, violent protests, racist rhetoric, horrific rape, corruption, and other negative issues have plagued the country’s media during 2013. I have found it quite depressing and have been becoming a little less optimistic about the country than I have in the past. But maybe I can learn something from Chanukah.

Chanukah is held, normally, during the darkest time of the year. It occurs during the winter solstice (in the Northern Hemisphere). It represents the victory of Jewish culture over the darkness that was anti-Jewish legislation (for the full story of Chanukah see HERE). The lights of the menorah symbolise a light that can overcome the darkness, a light that demonstrates that we can overcome negative, dark times.

So this Chanukah, when we light our candles (and perhaps eat our latkes), think of the light that we can create. We can be that light unto the nations, and create a bridge over the dark abyss of negativity, whether in the public domain of socio-political life, or the private domain of our hopelessness, depression and despair. 

My fiancé sometimes says I’m very positive, looking at the world through rose-coloured glasses. Maybe my glasses are becoming a bit less rose-coloured, and as I get older I’m becoming more cynical. Perhaps when I light my candles tonight, the light of the menorah can show the path towards the positivity that we so desperately need.  

Chanukah Sameach!

The importance of language

Hi everyone,

I’m currently researching for my masters thesis, and it’s going rather slowly (which may be why I’m taking a break to write a blogpost). I’m looking at the power that language has, although I’ve phrased my question in a much more convoluted way. My big qualm with South African society is the way it doesn’t grapple with the language issues at hand. So, a little Judaism will help me on my way to explain myself.

I remember one of my guests on ChaiFM speaking about the importance of Hebrew as the language of God, and the eternal language of the Torah. She mentioned that it was the first language, and that it’s very essence is holy. The Hebrew alphabet (or aleph-bet), as she described it, was the basis for life, almost the periodic table of elements and the foundation of our existence.

Judaism sees language as so important that a single letter missing renders a Torah scroll traif. My guest even mentioned that saying a prayer in Hebrew made it more likely to be heard by God (I disagree, but that’s my opinion).

So when it comes to my thesis, and my point of language in general, language is the basis of society, and the building blocks of life. In South Africa today, we take language for granted. We have 11 official languages, but we expect everyone to be able to be proficient in English. Why can’t we be proficient in Zulu, Xhosa, Sotho etc? I’m a bit of a hypocrite as I don’t practice what I preach, but I think that we should place as much emphasis on other languages as we do on English. If we don’t, the basis of many peoples’ cultural life and foundation will disintegrate, as will our multicultural, rich heritage.

Hopefully I’ll become more proficient in another language before I finish my thesis!

Ok, bye