Article Discussion: Jewish Greetings Cheat Sheet

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Click here to read the article:Jewish Greetings Cheat Sheet

[Rabbi Larry Seidman]

1) Beginners should know about the chet vs the hay.  Nobody will say "tithadesh, may it renew you. "  hey should at least try to say "titchadesh, may it renew you."
2)  Beginners must understand that Hebrew is a gendered language.  Cn we teach them to say "yasher co chah" and similar for other verbs.  All phrase books for tourists recognize gender changes.

[Sam]

There's an Anglo-Jewish tradition of saying "I wish you a long life." to mourners.

[Debbie B.]

Comments on reply #1:

1) I struggled with the sound of the Hebrew "chet" for over a decade and it was only after figuring out how to say it that my husband pointed out that I had no trouble with the Spanish "j" which is nearly identical. People often describe it as a guttural or as being made in the back of the throat, both of which are not accurate. Unfortunately, most English speakers will have difficulty with the sound. If you substitute an "h" sound, it will not be correct, but most people will understand what you are trying to say. I once heard a Jewish convert who substituted a "k" sound (pronouncing "chai" = life as "kai"), but that actually confused me until I figured out what he was doing.

2) Almost everyone uses "yasher koach" for both male and female, so I see no reason to teach people who don't speak Hebrew about anything other than the most commonly used phrase. The rabbi with whom I studied for conversion and who was on the faculty of the JTS rabbinical school uses that phrase for women and men alike. It's not like say "Ma shlomcha" ("How are you?") which really does have to be "Ma shlomech" when addressed to a female.

[Brooks Susman]

This needs to be expanded regarding a funeral, when the deceased is Jewish but the majority of the surviving family is of another faith. They need to be included in the "Jewish" liturgy and philosophy. The language of "afterlife" needs to be inclusive and equivocal.

[Ruth Abrams]

Hi Brooks! We actually have better targeted resources for people in interfaith families around death and mourning--this is just a brief cheat sheet. Take a look at our resource guide:

http://www.interfaithfamily.com/life_cycle/death_and_mourning/Guide_to_Death_and_Mourning_for_Interfaith_Families.shtml

We don't take a single position on afterlife there, but discuss how many different Jewish views there are. There's so much to say about how non-Jewish relatives can mourn for Jews or Jews for non-Jewish relatives. One very sad yet potentially helpful article is here:

http://www.interfaithfamily.com/life_cycle/death_and_mourning/A_Young_Christian_Widow_Mourns_for_Her_Jewish_Husband.shtml

I hope this isn't an active issue for you, but if it is, I'm sorry and I hope you are getting lots of support and comfort.