By Elizabeth Lawler
With no Hebrew-speaking friends or former classmates to be found in her Tampa, Fla., community, Rhoda Hurwich Kane
P'44, might easily have given up her hopes of organizing a local
Chug Ivri. Instead, she placed an ad in the local Jewish Press last fall—Wanted: fluent Hebrew speakers!—and discovered among the respondents an eager few who shared her longing to use the language. Meeting for the first time on January 11 at Kane's home, members of the Tampa
Chug began their conversational session by reading President Gordis's remarks, published in the fall issue of the new
Hadoar Quarterly.
"We agreed that the purpose of the
Chug would be not only to speak the language but also to broaden our knowledge of it," says Kane, the daughter of Hebrew College founder Louis Hurwich,
z'l, and a Hebrew College Online student.
When she started, Kane had no previous experience in leading or even attending a
Chug meeting, but was inspired by her conversations with Hebrew College alumni who participate in the Boston and New York-based
Chugim. As she notes, the Tampa
Chug, which grew to seven members by February, has quickly taken off on its own momentum. "It's amazing," says Kane. "I plan an agenda and it gets away from me because everyone wants to speak in Hebrew about something or give an opinion. This is fun!"
Such enthusiasm is equally characteristic of the Boston and New York
Chugim, where the majority are Hebrew College alumni and the talk is often fueled by current events in the United States and Israel. The Boston club draws 20–30 members each month, including a close circle of graduates from the 1930s and 1940s who are highly fluent and known to rarely miss a meeting. "It's our love for the language," explains Helen Dennis
P'37, HC'41, a retired Hebrew teacher and Boston
Chug member.
"We go to not forget [Hebrew]. Otherwise, you don't hear it. You don't see it." Founded by Celia Goldman Lyons
P'37, BJEd'41, in the fall of 2001, and led by Rose Bronstein
P'41, BJEd'45, MHL'70, the Boston
Chug convenes at Hebrew College on the first Monday of every month.
Members of the New York
Chug, many of whom are redeveloping their Hebrew skills after years of disuse, chose to employ an Israeli group leader, Allon Pratt, to prepare materials and guide their monthly discussions. The group, 10–12 members strong, was formed in 2002, through the efforts of the New York Alumni Steering Committee and its chair, Susan Fish-Richardson
P'60, BJEd'64. "For me, the
Chug is about keeping Hebrew alive," says Fish-Richardson. "We all worked so hard to learn the language when we were in school, and it's a beautiful language. I don't want to lose it."
For more information about the
Chugim, contact Ariela Lipton at 617-559-8724,
alipton@hebrewcollege.edu.
Photograph by Ben Harmon
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