Dear Friends,
A few weeks ago, I mentioned that some of my final Shabbat messages would include sources I turn to for Jewish learning and for staying informed. I want to share one that has recently captured my attention.
A bit of background first.
For the past two years, I’ve been taking an online Ulpan, an intensive Hebrew class, twice a week. When I lived in Israel for 15 months in college, my spoken Hebrew was strong. But after nearly 40 years of not using it consistently, it needed serious refreshing. Studying Hebrew in my 60s is a very different experience than it was in my 20s; new vocabulary doesn’t quite settle into my brain as quickly as it once did.
And yet, in many ways, this time around has been more meaningful. I find myself far more fascinated by the depth, breadth, and complexity of our ancient language than I was when I was younger.
I’ve come to see that learning Hebrew is not so different from excavating an ancient Israelite tel. Each layer reveals something new. A single word can carry one meaning in the biblical text, another in rabbinic literature, and yet a third in modern Hebrew. Tracing how a word evolves over centuries opens a window not only into our history, but sometimes into our present Jewish reality as well.
It was through this renewed fascination that I discovered Elon Gilad.
Gilad is a historian and language expert who focuses on Hebrew etymology and Jewish history. He has a remarkable ability to uncover the stories hidden inside words—stories that deepen our understanding of Jewish tradition and culture.
His short videos, many just a minute or two long, feel like opening a series of small treasure chests. Each one reveals a piece of Jewish knowledge that has been sitting in plain sight, waiting to be uncovered.
I’ve included a few links below so you can get a sense of his work—one on the origins of the prohibition against mixing meat and milk. (Gilad explains it is the result of a simple mistranslation of a single word.)
Another video offers a surprising take on the origin of charoset. (Believe it or not, it may have originated as a primitive form of Gas-X)
Here’s a link to his broader YouTube channel.
If you take a few minutes to explore, don’t be surprised if you find yourself going down a bit of a rabbit hole. I certainly did. One video leads to another, and before you know it, you’re seeing familiar words and traditions through an entirely new lens.
Jewish learning comes in many forms. Sometimes it happens in a beit midrash. And sometimes it happens in a two-minute video that opens up a deeper layer of meaning in something we thought we already understood.
Take a look. I think you’ll enjoy it.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Daniel Cohen
PS. Want to go even deeper? Here’s another fun resource for digging more deeply into our communal language.