Photo: Rabbi Joshua Soudakoff (Photo: Claire Cassidy)
Kobe Nahshoni | Posted 12:23, 27/05/2020
Ynet
[EDITOR’S NOTE: Google Translate this story from Hebrew to English]
How does “bread” translate into sign language, which has at least five signs per word? This is just one of the challenges that Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff, a Chabad rabbi of the hearing-impaired and self-deaf, has taken to translating the entire Bible – in the first project of its kind in the world. A few weeks ago, the Book of Ruth came out.
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(Video Credit: Sensory Ben Dan Association)
Initially, the status of the deaf in Judaism was inferior, and they were regarded as non-minded and therefore exempt from the commandments. But since then, medicine, technology and law have evolved, making them equal in society, community and synagogue. Now, for Shavuot, the Chabad movement is launching a new project that will allow them to receive the Torah as well, and publishes a first book of the Bible – the Book of Ruth – in translation into the Israeli Sign Language.
Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff is the CEO of Hushim Ben Dan and a Chabad envoy for the deaf and hard of hearing. In the last two years, since he took office, he has been an address for Jewish affairs to this population, among other things, teaching Torah lessons, conducting wedding ceremonies and wedding ceremonies and helping those in need. Now he took on what seemed to be his life’s mission – translating the entire “book of books” for them. As far as is known, this is the first project of its kind in the world.
“Listen” to sign language words
The Rabbi did the pilot on the Ruth Scroll, which consists of a total of four chapters, and having been declared a success, the translation is now being distributed to the public for the holiday it is named. At the same time, work began on the rest of the Bible books, in order, and these are currently being translated into Genesis. Soudakoff estimates that it will last for many years, maybe even 20 – and he has patience.
“So far, no translation of the Israeli sign language has been done on a professional level and based on the language of the verse,” explains the Chabad emissary, softly himself, of the great novelty. It’s like giving Torah lessons to Americans without giving them access to the Pentateuch or the Bible in English. ”
But what’s the problem with simply reading from the book?
“Most Israeli deaf people can read Hebrew,” explains Soudakoff, “but in most cases it is at a second language level (because babies learn to sign before they can speak), or even a third language (or a fourth for immigrants born in a foreign country). It is very diluted and does not conform to the perception of the deaf. ”
“In addition, Judaism emphasizes listening to the words of the Bible aloud, and not just their reading in writing. That is why we read from the Torah every Monday and Thursday and of course on Shabbat, and in the year of the audience (after the Shemitah) the king reads from a Torah scroll to the eyes of the whole community. Obviously there is value and importance in hearing the word of God out loud, and in general, nothing like getting the message from another person, and not from a book, and we do that in sign language, through our videos. ”
How do you translate “bread”?
The rabbi says that the translation of the Bible is “a complete production,” and illustrates the complex work: “There are concepts that are said in one spoken language, and that takes on another form in sign language. For example: In verse number Genesis and Rehiv, between Meekna-Abram, and Mein, Meekna-Lot, both groups should be placed (Roy McKenna Abraham and Roy McKenna Lot) and only at the end of the sayings.
“We do not think linearly but visually – first prepare the stage, and then the actors act on it. So it is a grammar of the sign language. The word ‘between’ is also unnecessary, because it is obvious when they say that they are multiple (with two hands) Represents one group in a fight). ”
Another example is the verse, “Saying to the goat for the sake of eating, my supplication, and my supplication,” which appears in the Book of Ruth. Rabbi Soudakoff explains the challenge: “How to mark bread? There are at least five signs of bread, and each one depends on the shape of the bread. There is a sign for a slice of bread, a pita, a baguette, a loaf, a loaf of bread and more. As we translate, we have to take into account the story context, and what Would submit then. ”
“If we were to translate it into English, we would say Bread and that’s it, but not in the sign language where it is impossible to be neutral about the appearance of the object, because naturally its appearance must be considered. For that reason, by the way, it is very difficult to work with verses written in verbal language, because Sign language should always refer to the act of action. ”
“Soon – in the special education system”
“We have linguistic consultants who give comments on the translation, and we do tests with people in the community to check on the translation,” the rabbi describes the elementary work – and says the effort is already bearing fruit: Want to use it in all their classrooms with deaf and hard of hearing children as a tool in Bible study. ”
The launch of the project, with the release of the first videos on the Ruth scroll, is being carried out as part of the Shavuot holiday of Chabad youths, culminating in the reading of the Ten Commandments, by about 500 Chassidic emissaries in Israel to thousands of children, as commanded by the Lubavitcher Rebbe. From the spread of the Corona, special prayer tents were set up in open areas in all cities of Israel.
Rabbi Yosef Aharonov, the head of the Chabad mission in Israel, said: “This year is the 3,333 consecutive time the nation of Israel reads the Ten Commandments. The Rebbe sharpened the importance of bringing children and even babies to the exciting class, and our emissary is doing everything
