The Hebrew Honors Society ceremony took place this past Tuesday, honoring students who have achieved academic excellence in their Hebrew Language courses. It is a way to applaud students who have demonstrated excellence in this important language over the course of the year. Some of the student’s families came to support and celebrate them on this special day. Many students were grateful for the ceremony of appreciation for their hard work.
“I am not a Hebrew speaker, but after all my years of effort it was nice to have such a nice ceremony for all of us,” said Leora Bossewitch (10th).
The ceremony began with three alumni speaking about their experience out of high school and how the Hebrew language helped them succeed and feel connected. Rina Reich, class of 2018, talked about her time in the army and how she learned the language while in Israel. She explained the beauty, convenience, and importance of it. Raquel Zohar, class of 2019, spoke about being on the Jewish council in Cornell college and how through struggling against antisemitic speech she saw the importance of Hebrew as a uniting language amongst the Jewish people. She gave the teachers at Hebrew Academy credit for teaching and inspiring her during her time at Hebrew Academy. The last speaker was Abraham Corcia, class of 2018, a former paratrooper in the Israeli army. He reflected on his first couple of months in the army, and how he felt excluded from his unit because he did not know any Hebrew. He soon caught on to how to speak the language through jokes and started to feel like his team became his family. These three alumni invoked appreciation from students for their Hebrew education.
After the alumni spoke, Rabbi Guttenberg took the stage to talk about the importance of language as an identifier and connector to the Jewish nation. Students were reminded of the significance of the Hebrew language in everyday life, battling antisemitism, and the Jewish religion. Sophomore Eli Menaged shared, “I grew up speaking Hebrew. After today, and the recognition they gave us, such a usual part of my life feels much more significant.”
To close out the ceremony, each society member was called up to receive a certificate. A breakfast was put together for the students and their families in the high school cafeteria.
By: Talia Herssein (9th)
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