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• It is important to understand, however, that Hebrew never died out. Hebrew always was, and always will be, the first Holy Language of the Jewish people. While Aramaic became historically very important, Hebrew was even more important. Religious Jews will always revere Hebrew. The communities living around the Dead Sea area no doubt wanted to speak Hebrew rather than Aramaic, and Yigal Yadin (the Israeli archaeologist) has presented evidence that around the time of the Bar Kockba revolt in the second century, there was a revival of Hebrew at that time.
• But all these facts show that Aramaic had become an important language in its own right. It had become Judaism’s second Holy Language. May we treat it with the respect and reverence it is due.