Was There Some Vanna Who Was Smarter Than Einstein ?

BY RABBI MARK D. FINKEL

   I probably watch too much television. I often start watching in the middle of a show, hoping that I can figure out the plot and appreciate the rest of the story. I like to turn on a TV wherever I go. I watch Israeli TV, which isn't bad since I can follow the Hebrew if it doesn't go too fast, but I also have watched Jordanian TV, enough to be able to hum the Jordanian national anthem.

A few times I watched Israel TV's "Galgal HaMazal." We know it as "Wheel of Fortune." I liked the show; I even solved a number of puzzles from the safety of my hotel room.

When someone asks me who was the smartest person who ever lived, I usually respond, "The person who invented written Hebrew vowels." And although I do not know the name of that individual (and I doubt that there was only one person involved) my answer is obviously influenced by observing individuals learning to read Hebrew and finding their way through a Hebrew text.

   What's the big deal ?

Think of the Torah. For a Hebrew reader who has ever seen the Torah close up, one notices that it is written without vowels, those dots and dashes above and below the letters which help us read Hebrew words. Often someone will ask me why the Torah is written without vowels. I explain that the unvocalized text of the Torah is an indication that the Torah is an old document. Were Ed MacMahon still Johnny Carson's sidekick, he would howl, "How old is it ?"

The precise age and origin of the Torah is a discussion for another time; however, the fact that traditional Torah scrolls are always written without vowels probably suggests that the writing of Torah scrolls predates a time before written Hebrew vowels were known. Although some may say that a Torah has no vowels to emulate the tradition of the first Torah scroll, my experience in the Jewish community where everything is questioned, leads me to believe that we continue the tradition of Torah scrolls without vowels because generations of Torah scrolls were written without vowels. It was a long-standing precedent that discouraged change.

   But at some point vowels were invented. Hebrew language historians believe that it was during the early Middle Ages. This had a two-part effect.

   First, it created a wider Hebrew readership. The point may be obvious to some, but let me explain. As a child, I rode the Boston subways with my parents. Of all the ads that sat high above the passengers, I remember one that said, "u cn bcm a stngrphr." Although I don't think I ever considered stenography as an alternate career, I was thrilled to know that I had some career potential. For those who are less familiar with Hebrew, think of reading English without vowels. "nw jrs" is recognizable; "msssspp" is even easier, but what about "ht." Is it "hat," "hot," "hut," "heat," "hate," or "haiti." (Remember: Hebrew has no capital letters.) Vowels allow us to better sound out the words we read, and the best part is that adding vowels to a Hebrew word doesn't change its spelling (although it does present unique challenges for a typesetter even in the computer age, contributing to one reason why Hebrew newspapers usually eschew vowels).

   Conversely, vocalized texts would become more widespread, more accessible, and better known because they had a wider audience. It was nothing short of a democratic revolution of the Hebrew language.

Meanwhile, Jewish communities sought other solutions to make the Torah more accessible, for how could the greatest of Hebrew works remain separated from the people who first received it at Mount Sinai. And so began the tradition of the Ba'al Koreh, the Torah reader. Up until that time only those who were capable of reading the Torah received an aliyah to the Torah. It was an elite group. If, however, one person could read the blessing and another could read the Torah for the same aliyah, the Torah would, at least symbolically, become more accessible: another democratic revolution. (Interestingly, the Yemenite Jewish community which, for centuries, was somewhat isolated from the rest of the Jewish world still is reluctant to institute the role of Ba'al Koreh.) Some might say that vowels were the transliteration of its day. I will leave that up to you.

Who knows ? Maybe it was one of Vanna's ancestors who changed Hebrew reading forever.

See you in schule.

Rabbi Finkel