Conference taveng::bagels

It sounds familiar, though I don't think it was serious about
being a Primary language.  Many learned people in those days
spoke Hebrew, since it was the language of what they quaintly
called "The Old Testament".  Protestants believed that many
people should read the bible; previously, the Church had kept
literacy limited to its own clergy.  Greek (source code for 
the New Testament) was also widely taught.  Prior to the King
James edition, there was no widely-distributed English edition
(unless it was supplanted so quickly that it's been forgotten).
That was not long before the Pilgrims.  And as we all know,
translations are no substitute for the original.  Especially
since the KJE was taken from the Septuagint (Greek translation).

I've heard this story too.  Supposedly, n% (some reasonable number) of
the population was Jewish.  Is this believable?  Were there a significant
number of Jews leaving Europe for the colonies at the time?

/Eric

I heard a story about this and would welcome any confirmation, particularly
one citing appropriate source material.  The story is that when a vote was
taken as to what the official language of the American Colonies should be,
English won out by only one vote over Hebrew.  Does anyone have historical
references?

David Ellis -- Secure Systems -- LTN2-2/C08 -- DTN 229-6784

Re: 42.2
My housemate (who is a grad student in Jewish history at Brandeis) informs
me that the very first Jews came to New Amsterdam in 1654 as refugees from
Brazil (Portugal having recaptured it and reestablished the inquisition).
Once there, Jews became involved in international trade, via already existing
networks among Sephardim in Amersterdam, Bordeaux, London, and the Ottoman
Empire.  Very few "Ashkenazim" came from England, France and Germany at this
time.  (Jews had been expelled from England in the 13th c. and France in
the 14th., those who returned were marranos who did not necessarily openly
profess Judaism.  They are not being thrown off land in these countries because
they did not own any. Central European Jewish immigration does not begin
until the 19th c.).  According to the first census, in 1790, there were 
approximately 2500 Jews in the United States.                 
              
Re note 42.3...She also says that Jews nurtured the study of Hebrew in the colonies,
and study thereof was an important part of the curriculum of Harvard.  However,
she has never heard anything about a vote re Hebrew vs. English, and she
ta's for a class in American Jewish history.

Well then, quite informative and final.

Thank you very much.

Michael

    Re. 42.3
    
    There was, I believe, a vote on the national language around 
    that time, and English won by one vote over German.  There 
    were a lot of German speakers in the Colonies in the 1770's
    in Pennsylvania (e.g. Amish) and in the Carolinas.  Strange
    if the vote had gone the other way...  FYI
    
    Kevin
    

    In regards to this entire note
    
    I wish I could recall the exact source but my understanding was
    that the Eastern American colonists in the latter 1700's only consi-
    dered the adoption of Hebrew as a national language for the newly
    emerging United States because of the anti-English feeling that
    had become prevalent as a result of the "Revolutionary" war.
    I had been led to understand that Hebrew naturally arose due to
    a deep respect among the early Protestant settlers for the Jews
    of the pre-Christian scriptures, to whom they interestingly felt
    a kinship.  
    
    I will see if I can find the source for this information.
    Additionally, it's interesting to note that some of the nation's
    founding fathers felt deeply indebted to the Jews then living in
    the United States for the financial and moral support they gave
    the colonies in their struggle for independence (Note the great
    seal of the United States--the thirteen stars over the eagle on
    the front are grouped into a Magen David; this was intentionally
    done as a tribute to this country's early mashpachanah).  
    
    Fillially,
    Ram�n Salas