People of the Word: Fifty Words That Shaped Jewish Thinking

A growing body of research suggests that language does more than communicate our perception of reality; it creates it. The patterns, structures, and particular words used in each language not only offer a window into a culture's sensibilities, dispositions, and priorities, they help shape them, as well. In the words of Charlemagne: "To have a second language is to have a second soul."

Moreover, unlike other languages, Hebrew words and names are not arbitrary. They are definitive and expressi...