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<p style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0">One often hears the assertion that one of the things the kept the Jews from assimilating in Egypt is that they spoke Hebrew and not Egyptian. Indeed, this is one of the justifications given by those who want their children
to speak Yiddish rather than say English. (For the record, as far as I know, Yiddish is essentially Middle Deutsch, and hence to my mind has no inherent "Jewish" quality.)</p>
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<p style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0">However, there are opinions that say that the Jews spoke Egyptian while in Egypt. I have posted some selections from the Sefer Lashon HaKodesh, History, Holiness, & Hebrew by Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein at
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<p style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0"><a href="http://personal.stevens.edu/~llevine/jews_egypt_hebrew.pdf" class="OWAAutoLink" id="LPlnk784668" previewremoved="true">http://personal.stevens.edu/~llevine/jews_egypt_hebrew.pdf</a><br>
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<p style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0">While it is true that according to one Medrash the Jews did speak Hebrew while in Egypt, there is another Medrash that contradicts this.
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<p style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0">From the above reference:</p>
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<div>GOD SPEAKS TO THE JEWS IN EGYPTIAN<br>
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While the above sources point to the notion that the Jews in Egypt<br>
did not speak Egyptian, there is another Midrash that implies otherwise.<br>
<div>This Midrash likens the Jews in Egypt to a prince who was kidnapped<br>
for an extended period of time. Finally, his father the king decided to<br>
exact his revenge on the kidnappers and release his son. Upon saving his<br>
son, the king conversed with the child in the language spoken to him by<br>
the kidnappers. Similarly, explains the Midrash, after God redeemed the<br>
Jews from exile in Egypt, He spoke to them in Egyptian.221<br>
The Midrash explains that the Jews had been in Egypt for many<br>
years, where they had learned the Egyptian language.222 Therefore, when<br>
God wanted to give them the Torah, He began to speak with them in<br>
the Egyptian language with which they were already familiar. He began<br>
by proclaiming, "I (anochi, ) am Hashem, your God ... !"223 According<br>
to this Midrash, the word "anochi" in this context does not denote the<br>
Hebrew word for "I"; rather, it refers to the Egyptian224 word anoch (11:ix),<br>
which means "love" and "endearment."225 One Midrashic source even<br>
<div>explains that the Jews forgot Lashon HaKodesh, which is why God had to<br>
speak to them in Egyptian.</div>
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>From page 99<br>
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<div>THEY SPOKE LASHON HAKODESH, BUT TOOK ORDERS IN EGYPTIAN<br>
Similarly, we can posit that even when exiled to Egypt, the Jews indeed<br>
continued to speak Lashon HaKodesh. However, they were not accustomed<br>
to accepting orders in Lashon HaKodesh; their Egyptian taskmasters<br>
spoke to them only in Egyptian. Therefore, at Mount Sinai, when<br>
God was giving the Jews the Decalogue, He spoke to them in Egyptian,<br>
the language in which they were accustomed to "taking orders." <br>
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THEY MAINTAINED THE ESSENCE OF LASHON HAKODESH, IF NOT<br>
THE ACTUAL LANGUAGE<br>
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Even if we assume that the Jews completely forgot Lashon HaKodesh,<br>
we can still reconcile the contradiction based on a previously mentioned<br>
concept set forth by Rambam. Rambam, as we already mentioned, writes<br>
that Lashon HaKodesh is called so because it lacks the explicitness found in<br>
other languages, making it a chaste and holy language. Therefore, one can<br>
explain that although the Jews in Egypt spoke the Egyptian language, they<br>
did not deviate from the moral standards manifested by Lashon HaKodesh.<br>
God had to speak to them in Egyptian since that was the only language<br>
with which they were familiar. However, they did not change their manner<br>
of speaking; that is, they internalized the refined and moral linguistic style<br>
of Lashon HaKodesh, which they maintained even when speaking Egyptian.<br>
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And from the Chapter Summary<br>
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<div>After discussing Joseph's personal exile to Egypt, we segued into discussing<br>
the Jews' collective exile to Egypt. A well-known Midrash states<br>
that the Jews in Egypt did not change their language, meaning that they<br>
continued to speak Lashon HaKodesh. However, another Midrash states<br>
that God began presenting the Torah to them in Egyptian, because that<br>
was the language that they spoke in Egypt. While these two Midrashim<br>
seem at odds with each other, we presented several approaches to reconcile<br>
them and give a more concrete answer as to whether the Jews in<br>
Egypt spoke Lashon HaKodesh or Egyptian:</div>
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<div>• Radak explains that there were some Jews who were not enslaved,<br>
and they spoke Lashon HaKodesh exclusively. Their not-so-fortunate<br>
brethren spoke Lashon HaKodesh between themselves, and<br>
Egyptian with their Egyptian overlords.<br>
• Alternatively, it is possible that all the Jews spoke Lashon<br>
HaKodesh, yet God presented them the Torah in Egyptian<br>
because they were acclimated to accepting orders in that<br>
language.<br>
• A third possibility is that since the hallmark of Lashon HaKodesh<br>
is its embodiment of holiness and purity, even if the Jews forgot<br>
the literal language, they could still be said to speak Lashon<br>
HaKodesh- The Holy Language-if their manner of speech remained<br>
holy.<br>
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After the Jews exited Egypt and eventually arrived in the Land of<br>
Israel, establishing their own rule, it is clear that Lashon HaKodesh alone<br>
served as their spoken language. This arrangement lasted for several<br>
centuries until the language began receding under Babylonian influence,<br>
toward the end of the First Temple period.</div>
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Thus oft made assertion that the Jews spoke Hebrew while in Mitzraim may not be true.
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<p style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0"><a href="http://personal.stevens.edu/~llevine/jews_egypt_hebrew.pdf" class="OWAAutoLink" id="LPlnk931277" previewremoved="true"><br>
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