Leshon Ima – Mother Tongue

With Dr. Rachel Zohar Dulin, Special To The Dayton Jewish Observer

Summertime conjures the word vacation. It’s hot and humid and the pace of life slows down. Kids enjoy their summer breaks and some of us take family trips.

As we enjoy the break, let us examine the Hebrew word for vacation, namely chofesh, a word which also means freedom and liberty.

The Hebrew root chpsh, meaning to be free or set at liberty, is related to the ancient Ugaritic word hps where it means free man or soldier.

Interestingly, this root appears only twice in the Bible as a verb in reference to a female slave who was redeemed or freed (Lev. 19:20), and only once as a noun with an unclear meaning (Ez. 27:20).

However as an adjective meaning freed or liberated, chofshi is used 17 times in the Bible and usually in reference to freed slaves (Ex. 21:2; Deut. 15:12 and more).

There are a few cases in which the adjective chofshi describes people who are not enslaved yet free (Is. 58:6), as well as animals that roam freely (Job 39:5).

An interesting case is the phrase chofshi beIsrael translated as free in Israel, and referring to a person exempt from royal levies (I Sam. 17:25).

It is only later, in the time of the Second Temple, that chofesh was used as a noun and meant freedom (Ben Sira 7:20). And in the Middle Ages the verb was more widely used to mean liberated or released.

Many phrases have been coined in Modern Hebrew in which the noun chofesh or the adjective chofshi are at the center.

We will mention but a few, starting with hachofesh hagadol, the big vacation, which refers to the break from school that children enjoy during the summer.

A commonly used phrase in Israel is chofesh hadibur, meaning free speech (the verb daber means speak). Yet another is chofesh p’ulah meaning freedom to act, carte blanche, (the verb paal means act).

As an adjective, we should mention the phrase chofshi mideahgah meaning free from worry, (deagah means worry) and also ahavah chofshit meaning free love (ahavah means love) and, last but not least, bechirah chofshit, meaning free choice (bachar means choose).

We conclude our short survey with the well-known line from the Israeli national hymn: Lihyot am chofshi beartzeynu, which literally expresses the hope to be a free people in our land.

I wish all our readers a lovely summer. I hope all will have the opportunity to enjoy a chofesh naim, a pleasant vacation. May you have the chofesh, the liberty, to spend the time in the company of those you love and may your break be chofshi mideahga, care free.

Dr. Rachel Zohar Dulin is a professor of biblical literature at Spertus College in Chicago and an adjunct professor of Bible and Hebrew at New College of Florida.

To read the complete July 2014 Dayton Jewish Observer, click here.