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In class on Tuesday, I discussed both my fondness and my dissatisfaction with my childhood Hebrew school experience. I remember how I enjoyed learning songs in Hebrew, and working on grammar in the workbooks. However, the main point of the classes was to learn just enough of the language to be able to read our torah portions and prayers at our Bar and Bat Mitzvahs. We learned the alphabet, and several significant words. We also studied the accompanying tunes to our individual torah portions and the general shabbat prayers. Although I cannot now recite my torah portion by heart, I can recite other shorter tunes in Hebrew because the melodies helped me remember the words. Unfortunately though, as students, we did not know what we were saying word for word in these recitations. Teachers explained the general meanings so that we could understand why they were relevant and what they might be praising, but each sentence, besides maybe a few words here and there, was a mystery to me. I do recognize that synogogues typically have neither the time nor the resources to teach students an entire language to achieve fluency in their Hebrew school days. 

I still appreciate my exposure to this second language at such an early age because it has made a lasting impression on me personally. I am now able to recite the Four Questions in Hebrew during my family's Passover Seder, which is meaningful as I am the youngest (the youngest in the family reads the Four Questions). I can also at least recognize different letters and symbols when I see Hebrew anywhere like the media, artwork, or during family holidays. In the end, I believe that my days at Hebrew school have proven worthwhile, and I would rather have some understanding of another language than no understanding at all.