Call it the reverse Tower of Babel story.

When a united humanity speaking the same language tried to build a tower to reach the heavens, God confounded their speech. But in the early days of modern Israel, a clash of tongues made life difficult — until Hebrew became “the glue that brought the people together,” said Rabbi Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, grandson of the “Father of Modern Hebrew” bearing the same name.

“Imagine if David Ben-Gurion had delivered the 1948 Declaration of Israeli Independence in Yiddish. Israel would not only be a different country, but Israelis would know a different existence,” Eliezer Ben-Yehuda said last month in New York City at the first event of a new initiative called “Hagigah Ivrit” — a cultural series and festival featuring educational lectures, film screenings, Israeli music, art and social activities for children and adults.

Families at last month’s “Hagigah Ivrit” in New York City photo/jns.org

A collaboration of the Israeli-American Council, the Steinhardt Foundation for Jewish Life and the Council for Hebrew Language and Culture, the Hagigah Ivrit provides a platform for individuals and families seeking to both learn the Hebrew language and deepen their connection with Israel.

Ben-Yehuda described how the life and times of his grandfather highlights the fundamental magic of Hebrew: The elder Ben-Yehuda insisted that his wife speak only Hebrew around their children. He spent his family’s meager savings on a startup newspaper in which he published articles in Hebrew and provided lists of newly invented words, eventually creating the first Hebrew dictionary.

Initially, Israelis were resentful of Ben-Yehuda’s efforts to modernize Hebrew, yet curious to learn each neologism he published. His grandson sang verses from an Israeli folk song that pokes fun at his grandfather’s legacy (“Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, an amusing man, words upon words he invented in his feverish mind”) and noted that it was never easy growing up a “Ben-Yehuda” in Israel, due to high expectations for his grandfather’s progeny.

“Of course Ben-Yehuda is going to write a good paper,” the rabbi recalled his jealous peers taunting him at school. His frustration hints at a larger controversy that originally surrounded his grandfather’s mission to establish Hebrew as the official language of Israel and the Jewish people.

“The controversy was that Ben-Yehuda had the audacity to think that people would take up a God-forsaken language,” said his grandson. For all practical purposes, Hebrew was obsolete until his grandfather revived and modernized the lexicon. The rabbi makes a distinction, however, elevating the historical significance and originality of Hebrew.

Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, the “Father of Modern Hebrew” photo/wikipedia

The book “is not a bible, it’s a tanakh,” he said. “People who read the New Testament think they understand the first words, ‘In the beginning,’ but, in fact, they are reading a translation.”

Thanks to Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, Jews today have unprecedented access to their shared heritage. Hebrew is “organic, growing and changing all the time,” but it is still the most enduring element of Jewish culture, the younger Ben-Yehuda said.

The Hagigah Ivrit event shed light on many current Hebrew language and literary achievements. Israeli author Assaf Gavron presented his new book, “The Hilltop,” a novel depicting the complicated reality of life in the West Bank. Later, Reuven “Ruby” Namdar, resident New Yorker and esteemed recipient of Israel’s Sapir Prize for Literature, spoke about the experience of writing in Hebrew while living in an English-speaking environment. The series also featured a Hebrew poetry contest involving students from 30 Jewish day schools across North America.

The Israeli American Council’s mission statement calls for initiatives that “build an engaged and united Israeli-American community that strengthens our next generations.” Participants who attended the IAC’s Shishi Israeli event, which ushered in a Shabbat during the culture series on March 27, could see that community taking shape.

Billed as an event in which “Israeli and Jewish Americans will create a shared experience around the Shabbat dinner table,” the event attracted families of all ages and backgrounds. Numerous arts activities kept young children happily engaged, while actor, singer and songwriter Shira Averbuch led a band, singing classic and popular Hebrew songs.  

The council “didn’t have to spend a lot on advertising” for the Hagigah Ivrit; word of mouth among the area’s Israeli American community was the primary marketing vehicle, said Yehudit Feinstein-Mentesh, the organization’s regional director in New York.

Shira Averbuch grew up in the U.S. but her parents are Israeli. photo/shira averbuch.com-shirin tinati

“It becomes like a family,” she said. “Everybody brings something and in this way we’re creating a community that takes care of itself.”

Sharon Eyny, the  director of programs and events for the council, said, “The idea, especially on [New York City’s] Upper West Side — where there is a big Israeli community— is to bridge Jewish American and Israeli communities. They don’t usually do things together.”

She said that second- and third-generation immigrants from Israel are nostalgic for elements of the culture they left behind, and that American Jews, likewise, are curious about Israeli customs and desire an authentic experience.

The IAC’s monthly Kabbalat Shabbat dinners are successful, Eyny suggested, because the structure is unimposing.

“There are no lectures, it’s not about giving money, or religion. It’s simply about enjoying being Jewish and Israeli culture.”

Averbuch, the singer, was born to Israeli parents but grew up in the U.S. She may best personify the IAC’s bridge between Jewish American and Israeli culture. Averbuch was center stage throughout the cultural series, entertaining audiences of more than 700 people when she narrated the story of “Peter and the Wolf” in Hebrew with orchestral accompaniment.

Averbuch, the singer, is influenced by the work of artists including Israeli singers Chava Albertstein, Arik Einstein and Yael Naim, as well as American singers Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson. Taking her music on the road, she served in the Israel Defense Forces band during the 2006 war with Lebanon.

“It’s a beautiful thing to see how music can completely change a situation,” Averbuch said, explaining how her troop would visit families confined to shelters and sing Hebrew songs to lift morale. At one stop, “a little girl held my leg,” she recalled, pleading “Please don’t go. The music makes me feel safe.”

Despite this somber moment, Averbuch laughed when she pictures her fellow soldiers wearing helmets and carrying guitars through the war zone. Likewise, she found the Israeli army’s ban on English songs amusing.

“That’s the patriotism they try to instill,” she joked.

Rabbi Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, however, likely would see this regulation as an element of his grandfather’s legacy. Establishing a Jewish state required stubbornness and pride in a common language.

As a result, at Israel’s 67th birthday, modern Hebrew is providing the necessary mechanism — a common language — for Jews around the world to connect with each other.