2020 is the year that marks four centuries from the landing of the Mayflower on the shores of the New World in 1620, which was the beginning of a strong and profound bond between the American nation and the Jewish People and the State of Israel.
In honor of this event, Yoram Ettinger, a retired Israeli ambassador and an expert on the U.S. and the Middle East, and "Boomerang – Fighting for Israel" have created a unique project titled: “1620-2020 The 400th Anniversary of the U.S - Israel Nexus"
This video is the third in a series of 9, displaying the unique bond between Israel and the U.S:
Chapter 3: The Hebrew Language embraced by the US intelligentsia
Any clue as to who wanted to make Hebrew an official American language?
Why does the official seal of Yale feature a Biblical term in Hebrew?
Which colleges in America made Hebrew a mandatory course for their students?
During the early years of colonial America, familiarity with the Hebrew language was common among the intelligentsia and the clergy. The first ten colleges founded in the colonies all offered courses in Hebrew, which was the preferred language for studying the Bible.
Valedictory addresses at Harvard, Yale and other institutions of higher learning were offered in Hebrew, and the official seal of Yale and Columbia universities, as well as Dartmouth College, feature Biblical terms in Hebrew.
Professors, intellectuals, clergy and elected officials took active roles in the Hebraist movement, which aimed to make Hebrew an official US language.
Increase Mather, who was President of Harvard from 1685-1701, and Samuel Langdon who was President of Harvard from 1774–1780, proposed to make Hebrew an official language in the new colonies.
At Yale, Ezra Stiles, the university’s seventh president, spoke, read and taught Hebrew. He corresponded with Hebron’s Rabbi, Hayyim Carregal, with the aim of basing the US law on the Ten Commandments. He noted that “Moses assembled three million people – the number of Americans in 1776,” urging graduate students to be able to recite Psalms in Hebrew.
Samuel Johnson, founder and first president of Kings’ College, which later became Columbia University, instigated Hebrew as a mandatory course. He claimed that “Hebrew is essential to a gentleman’s education,” and both of his sons were fluent in Hebrew.
Many Hebrew words have found their way into the English language. For example, the origin of “jubilee” is the Hebrew word Yovel (יובל), which means “liberty;” “amen” (אמן) means “faith” in Hebrew. “Hallelujah” is another Hebrew word, meaning “praise G-d;” “Chutzpah” (חוצפה) means “audacity,” and “kosher” (כשר) means “fit for use.” These are just a few of many examples.
The Hebrew roots in the history of the United States have produced a deep affinity, by most Americans, toward the revival of the Hebrew language and the reconstruction of the Jewish Commonwealth in the Land of Israel.