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A journalist congratulates Shadi
Khalloul in Arabic on the birth of
his second son, Yaakov, with the
salutation, “Mabruk!”
“In Aramaic,” Khalloul says with a
smile. “You say ‘
Brihu.’”
A Maronite Christian from the
Galilee village of Jish, 37-year-old
Khalloul became hooked on reviving
the traditional Maronite language of
Aramaic after taking a three-month
course for adults offered by Father
Bishara Suleiman, the Saint Maroun
parish priest. Today the elderly
clergyman regularly teaches Aramaic
as part of religious classes for the
children of the parish, an option
that was not on offer when Khalloul
was growing up.
With 65 percent of its residents
belonging to the Maronite Church,
Jish is the only village in Israel
with a majority Maronite population.
Muslims constitute about 35 percent
of the residents, with a smattering
of Melkite Christians making up the
tiny remainder.
When Father Suleiman’s course ended,
a small group of students continued
learning the language on their own.
Soon they connected with
Aramaic-speaking communities in
Sweden and Holland, seeking guidance
and learning materials.
“This is our Maronite Aramaic
heritage,” Khalloul tells
The
Jerusalem Report. “A nation
without a language and without his
forefathers’ language has no future.”
Like Eliezer Ben Yehudah –
considered the father of modern
Hebrew for his efforts in the late
1800s to transform the ancient
language of Jewish prayers into a
modern spoken language – Khalloul
only talks to his 2-year-old son,
Aram, in Aramaic (Ben Yehudah
communicated with his son solely in
Hebrew). Khalloul is also quick to
point out that others, such as the
Welsh and the Catalans, have also
had varying degrees of success in
reviving their traditional languages.
