Old Testament Hebrew, A Lesson in Community
So this month I'm in an intensive class, Old Testament Hebrew, where we do a full semester of material in about 4 weeks. It is by far the most consuming class I have yet to take. On the first day our professor said that within a week we would be dreaming in Hebrew. I'm not quite there yet with this but I have been waking up with vocabulary lists running through my head. It is quite a consuming deal and you truly have to become totally emersed in this class to survive. So to get by a few of us students decided to start a little study group. Class is from 8:30 to 11:15, we then meet from 1 to about 6pm...head home for dinner and usually return until we are kicked out at the library at 11:00pm...sometimes then heading to someone's house.
Years from now I will probably not remember that the sheva is silent when following a long vowel or that vowel-less postvocalic nuns assimilate but I will remember our little study group, tucked away in a room on the top floor of the library. I'll remember how we ate leftover Christmas candy and boy scout carmel corn. I'll remember how we got snippy with eachother a few times under the stress. I'll remember how one friend shared some burdens of his heart with us and our prayer before we studeid. I'll remember the preposition "neged" which translated in English means "in front of" (get creative and guess at how we remembered this one). I'll remember how we spoke words of encouragement to one another at midnight. I'll remember how we solved the problems of the United Methodist Church. And I'll remember how we journeyed together and loved one another through a strenuous time. This group has made it all fun and somewhat tollerable...and I have TWO MORE WEEKS OF IT!!! Yikes. Maybe I'm remenissing too early.
That's it for now...Shalom.
Years from now I will probably not remember that the sheva is silent when following a long vowel or that vowel-less postvocalic nuns assimilate but I will remember our little study group, tucked away in a room on the top floor of the library. I'll remember how we ate leftover Christmas candy and boy scout carmel corn. I'll remember how we got snippy with eachother a few times under the stress. I'll remember how one friend shared some burdens of his heart with us and our prayer before we studeid. I'll remember the preposition "neged" which translated in English means "in front of" (get creative and guess at how we remembered this one). I'll remember how we spoke words of encouragement to one another at midnight. I'll remember how we solved the problems of the United Methodist Church. And I'll remember how we journeyed together and loved one another through a strenuous time. This group has made it all fun and somewhat tollerable...and I have TWO MORE WEEKS OF IT!!! Yikes. Maybe I'm remenissing too early.
That's it for now...Shalom.
5 Comments:
Josh,
I loved Hebrew, but I think you have touched on why I loved it. It was more about sharing life together than understanding that the hophal is causative. What was great is when it is all over, and seeing these people in different classes, it was like Sam and Frodo returning back to the Shire and the other hobbits had no idea what they had been through together. But Sam and Frodo quietly looked at one another and simply smiled, saying nothing, knowing that it cannot be explained.
That's it Brandon! Great imagery. Yes, it is a SHARED EXPERIENCE...a place where true friendship and "laying down one's life for another" kind of love happens.
Glad to be apart of it with you bro. I Love the ride to class every MTRF. That's better than a 10/10 on a vocab quiz...
this sounds so fun it makes me almost not dread taking the class
Josh- I know the most random of randomness. But I heard you and Leslie were living in Auburn (I guess this is years ago!) Chap, Clem (or 6month old son!) and I (Jana) are living in Germany right now and will be living in Auburn come this fall. I googled you guys and found your blog (kind of stalker like I know!) I am so pround and amazed by your life choices. A minister? minister's wife? What a tough job...but no one better than you 2! I will be praying for your journey. Hope to see you when you make a visit to the bamer in the fall. Give Leslie and your very cute clan a kiss from me. I would love to hear from your wife. I am putting my e-mail address on here for all your peeps to see i guess ~cnjwomack@hotmail.com
jana tuley womack
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