Rebirth - The Story of Eliezer Ben Yehuda and the Modern Hebrew Language

by Devorah Omer

"Rebirth" ("Ha Bechor L'Beit Avi") tells the story of Ben-Tzion, the eldest son of Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, who revived the Hebrew language. Ben-Tzion was the first child in Jerusalem whose mother tongue was Hebrew and thus was later called "The first Hebrew child".

Life in Jerusalem at the end of the 19th century was difficult for "the first Hebrew child" because his family had to struggle against prejudice, poverty and illness.
His father, whose sole passion was to revive the Hebrew languge, was banned by the people of the old villege, some thinking he was crazy.
Nevertheless, his son was able to enjoy a few unique experiences, such as horse riding with the guards, sailing in the sea of Jaffa, and trips in a carriage and even in the "big train" of the old days.

This exciting and touching story of "the first Hebrew child"
was written by the author Devora Omer after extensive study and research that included conversations with Ben-Yehuda's family members. It was translated to English, Japanese and Russian.

The sequel to the story of Ben-Tzion (who later changed his name to Itamar Ben-Avi) is told in Omer's book "Ahavat Itamar" ("The Love of Itamar").

Genres: Classics, Historical Fiction, Historical

190 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1967

About the author

Devorah Omer is an Israeli children and young adults author.

Reviews

[Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's amazing how much a family was willing to sacrifice just to make sure that our people have a future...in our own language!
I am impressed and proud to have read this book in Hebrew!

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

nice book

[annettedena · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for my Hebrew class but I’m just logging it here to reach my goal :)

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm reading it in Hebrew....

Wow...I learned so much! An amazing life, it taught me a great deal about the time period as well. I had no idea what Ben Yehuda was up against. My one difficulty was that there wasn't much mention of ages or dates, so sometimes I had to guess when things were happening.

[Pirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.
read it very young, and couldn't remember much. I've recently decided I want to start reading more Hebrew so I reread this. it's nice - for a supposed Israeli classic, suprisingly accurate. don't hate it, don't love it. it took me a long time to read despite its small size because I've been very, very tired, all the time. this weekend was a pretty productive weekend reading wise however.

[Moshe · Rating 5 out of 5]

רציתי לכתוב מספר דברים על הספר, הדמויות, האבא, חידוש השפה, יחסם הבזוי
של היהודים כלפי המשפחה וכדומה. ובכל זאת, אמעיט במילים ואסתפק באמירה
אחת בלבד. שכן, זהו הדבר היחידי שעליו אחשוב במשך הרבה זמן...

לאף אחד, שיש לו טיפה אחת של רגש, לא יישארו עיניים יבשות במהלך קריאת
ספר זה.

אוי, כמה מכות יכולה משפחה אחת לספוג?!!
:-(

[Shelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fascinating look at the family of Eliezer Ben-Yehudah as he worked to create and revive modern Hebrew.

[Rita Yerukhimovich · Rating 5 out of 5]

קראתי אותו פעם ראשונה בכיתה ד , מאז קראתי אותו עוד המון פעמים , בכל פעם אני מתרגשת מחדש

[Yael🪽 · Rating 5 out of 5]

זה הספר שפתח לי את סיבולת הקריאה אז הוא מיוחד בשבילי 🤎

[Itay Goldy · Rating 5 out of 5]

ספר מדהים שמגביר אל ערך השפה העברית מומלץ מאוד . (אני לא רוצה לגלות יותר מדי).