For many, developing an understanding of a religion extends to learning its associated language. We spoke to those learning Arabic, Hebrew and classical Tibetan.
Does relying on a translations of a religious text get in the way of practising a faith? Photograph: Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images.
“Silence is the language of God, all else is poor translation,” Sufi mystic Rumi once said.
Words are, however, a way for the worldly to connect with the divine through prayer and worship. For many, developing a greater understanding of a religion extends not only to studying the theological and philosophical points but to learning another language. We spoke to three people studying Arabic, Hebrew and classical Tibetan about the role languages play in their relationship with religion.
Hebrew and Judaism
Retiree Anne Evans decided to learn Hebrew as a way to reconnect with her Jewish heritage after the death of her parents. Although not particularly religious, the Holocaust survivors from Lithuania proudly maintained their Jewish traditions. Wanting to do something that brought her closer to them she enrolled on a Hebrew course at the Spiro Ark school for Jewish education.
The language, she claims, is intimately involved in an understanding of the religion, with word stems allowing a whole philosophy to be found in a single term. Take the word barmitzvah, for example. The word literally means “son of the commandment” and is used to refer to a Jewish boy’s coming of age ceremony. However, the stem “mitzvah” on its own has deeper layers of meaning, referring to the 613 commandments given in the Torah at biblical Mount Sinai and the seven rabbinic commandments instituted later. It is also used to refer to a good deed.
Evans feels overwhelmed by the sense of history she feels when reciting the passover prayers in Hebrew which have been memorised and spoken by Jews from Russia to Afghanistan for thousands of years: “That has made me not devout but truly proud to be Jewish, truly gobsmacked by it all.”
Nitza Spiro, director of the Spiro Ark school, says she has seen a large increase in the number of people wishing to learn both biblical and modern Hebrew. Spiro agrues that language is central to Jewish identity and its resilience. “Books meant our spirit, our hope, our outlook on life, our morality, our ability to argue about issues which are higher than the daily mundane things,” says Spiro. “Without it [Hebrew] you don’t have the tools to understand what it is to be a Jew.”
Arabic and Islam
Just as Hebrew has helped preserve Jewish religion and culture for generations, the Islamic intellectual, legal and social heritage has been transmitted for centuries in Arabic. All Muslims are not only required to recite daily prayers in Arabic, but they must have a minimum amount of the Qur’an memorised for the purposes of prayer and worship.
London-based Imam, Shafiur Rahman, believes learning the language would help prevent any dangerous misinterpretations of the holy book. While there are parts of the Qur’an which are open to interpretation, Arabic scholars have developed sciences around grammar, syntax, and rhetoric which ensure followers don’t extrapolate meanings from the book which weren’t intended. The word “jihad”, for example, is often translated as “holy war” but actually means “struggling” or “surviving”.
Despite the importance placed by Islam on learning Arabic, Rahman claims there is a tremendous disconnect between the generation of today, especially in the west, and this heritage.
He says: “There would be a much better understanding of what Islam is, how the original community around the prophet Muhammad understood Islam and how subsequent generations developed their understanding according to context and situation, if more Muslims learned Arabic.”
Classical Tibetan and Buddhism
For Tibetan Buddhist Lydia Polzer, learning a foreign language has become an integral part of her religious practice. Polzer first became interested in the eastern tradition a decade ago after attending meditation courses at the Kagyu Samye Dzong Tibetan centre in London. What started as a curiosity about the benefits of mindfulness quickly developed into a greater involvement with some of the more complex Buddhist rituals.
Tibetan Buddhism first put down roots in the UK in the 60s, with the founding of Kagyu Samye Ling monastery in Scotland in 1967, and the tradition’s mother tongue is still preferred by both western monastic and lay practitioners for recitation of prayers during these practices.
Polzer explains that while a transliteration of the Tibetan script is provided, she yearned for the alien prose to trip effortlessly off her tongue and understand what she was chanting without having to keep one eye on the English translation. With a group of other eager practitioners, she started to learn the language through online Skype lessons for colloquial speaking and by attending workshops in classical Tibetan with a native speaker at the centre.
“For me it is about appreciating the culture and having respect for the Tibetan teachers who visit us,” she says. “I want to understand first-hand and not rely on translators.”
Whether it’s for better job prospects, travel or the desire to become closer to your significant other, there are a myriad of reasons why people learn a foreign language. For many, however, it is an opportunity to connect with their beliefs and culture on a deeper level, developing an understanding which they believe transcends words and speech.
lab4free 