notpashut, Yasher Koach.
rob (from the comfort of his home six thousand miles away, safely ensconced in the land that the gemoro calls “keilu oved avoidas chochovim”) likes to be an armchair critic of the Gedolim who have condemned the actions of the zionists, while these very Gedolim and their talmidim are being moiser nefesh to live in Eretz Yisroel despite the violence heaped upon these Bnei Torah by those very zionists.
Jothar,
Maran Hagoen Rav Elazar Shach told American educators that Yeshiva boys should be taught Chumash in Yiddish, even if the boys speak English amongst themselves. He furtermore said that both boys and girls should learn to be comfortable in Yiddish. He also said that Yiddish is spoken by “all jews” (that is his phrase). He referred parents to send their children to Yiddish teaching yeshivos. And there is good reason why Rebbes and Rabbonim give ma’amarim in Yiddish.
Modern Hebrew is not different than Turkish or Farsi – it is the language of a secular culture complete with all those things that we want to stay away from. The fact that some of those who speak Modern Hebrew are religious Jews is not different than the language of any country Jews are in where they speak the language of the land. The point is to stay away from the language of the land and only talk the language of the Jew.
The Radak (Sefer HaMichlol, introduction) writes that Loshon HaKodesh is all but forgotten to us, and all we have left is what is in Tanach.
The Chasam Sofer notes that while Chazal used many words and phrases borrowed from the Greeks and Romans, they never coined a new word, as has been done in modern hebrew, for in their holy opinion it was preferable to use other languages rather than create even a single new word that did not have its like, its example, in the Torah, since it could not be rooted in sanctity.
The Chasam Sofer EH 2:11 says that in ancient times Jews used to use a modified version of the non-Jewish languages for everyday (divrei chol) talk, similar to what Yiddish is.
The Rambam writes that even in the days of Ezra they had a translator to explain the Torah readings to the people – clearly, they did not speak Loshon Hakodesh, even before the Churban.
But listen Jothar, if you are going to be mechalek on Maran Hagoen Harav Shach ZT’L… perhaps we all need to re-evaluate Rav Shach’s position in light of your opposition, since we unfortunately dont have the zchus of having Rav Shach here to defend himself from you.