DEBASED: Tracking How Jewish Vocabulary Became Neutral, Sanitized and Secular – Part 1

Certain Jewish terms and concepts have today been altered for the worse (Chazal already echo this in Shabbos 32a: על שקורין לארון הקודש ארנא). The other direction is impossible. Torah doesn’t recognize alternate legal frameworks. As the Nachash first said, אף כי־אמר אלהים…? With this in mind, the purpose of this preliminary catalogue is to fight back by restoring original, non-PC, direct language. (Dr. Block once wrote a similar article.)

Note: The Cursedians, too, have these sorts of lists, except that what they deem lamentable “secularization” we generally applaud as holy disenchantment with their false idols. Of course, anything of value was originally bastardized from the Torah (indeed, I copied from one of them).

To better convey what this list is, let us try and describe what it isn’t:

• This is not to counter rumored general cultural-Marxist influence or whitewashing (such as Mohamedan Terrorism>Man-caused disaster). Nor is this a list of terms evolved in innocence (without delving into the mechanics of cultural change). I tried to avoid examples of False Dichotomy or mere formalization (specificity versus reductionism). We only include words that were actively debased with what I attribute to malice aforethought. For example, calling mother or father “parent” appears to be a spiteful dismissal and erasure of Divinely-ordained identity. In each case, the substitute needlessly jettisons some or all of the original moral or religious gravity, in exchange for vainglory and heresy.
• This is not a list of simple translations from Yiddish\Hebrew. Calling Rosh Hashana “New Year” or Yom Kippur “The Day of Atonement” is literally accurate, and can actually bring the inherent messages home and make them real, as in Targum Onkelos. I left out words which merely sound heavier than their newer versions, or Yiddish misnomers like “Treif”.
• This is not a collection of Jewish words loaned to assimilated or non-Jews and thereby dumbed down or simplified. And this is not about mere “minced oaths” (to avoid profanation).

We also included a few examples of subversive substitutions whose evil is largely allayed by their sheer overtness, such as demeaning Shabbos observance as “Work-life balance” or a “Digital detox”.

Someone better-versed in modern Hebrew than I may wish to compile a simplified list for that language (e.g., Shabbat>Shevi’i). I’ll bet it’s already been done. One could also compile a list of words that no longer represent their original meaning, like “Daas Torah”, “Gadol Hador”, or “Medinah”.

Disclaimer:

This is not an objective list compiled after deep and careful research. I have no training in any relevant fields (and not sure what these are, either). This is obviously not a scientific account of linguistic trends; admittedly, the historical process is rarely “Word A became word B”.

We may choose the most casual or tendentiously reductive term, while ignoring more respectful alternatives also present in common usage. On the other hand, society is so run down by now, that new terms are legitimately required for many newfangled social functions properly distinguished from their twins.

Again, one can certainly differ with some entries. Some of this may be cultural grievance (shall I say “grieving”!). Yet even with all these limitations, it’s still quite a short list (“litany”?). If you find yourself vehemently disagreeing with almost everything here (e.g., my favorite: Holy Day>Holiday), it’s probably not for you.

Readers, please send us your own examples or corrections. Let’s reclaim the language together!

Part Two comes tomorrow…