(a) You are asking a very good question. Isn't "Ivrit" just another name for Lashon ha'Kodesh? If so, why does our Gemara say that one can read the Megilah in "Ivrit" only to "Ivrim" (i.e. people who understand Ivrit), yet the Megilah can be read in "Lashon ha'Kodesh" even to people who don't understand it?

In addition, aren't Ashurit and Ivrit both scripts for writing Lashon ha'Kodesh (as the Gemara tells us in Sanhedrin 21b)? Where do we find Ashurit as a language ?

Your questions are asked by the Rashba (8a) and the Tosfos ha'Rosh (18a, see also Piskei Tosfos #23).

(b) Their answer to the first question, in short, is that there are two languages which are referred to as Ivrit:

1. Ivrit can mean Lashon ha'Kodesh. This is way the Rishonim commonly use the word Ivrit (see Rashi to Bereishis 42:23, 43:11). The Tosefta (Megilah 2:5, 3:13) and Midrashim use it that way as well. (It should be noted that the Chasam Sofer at the beginning of Vayigash draws a distinction between Lashon ha'Kodesh and Ivrit, but that is not pertinent to our discussion.)

2. Ivrit can also mean the language spoken in Ever ha'Nahar at the times of the Gemara, which was not Lashon ha'Kodesh. This must be the meaning of "Ivrit l'Ivrim" in our Gemara (Megilah 18a), as Rashi explains, since it cannot mean Lashon ha'Kodesh in this context. The Megilah may be read in Lashon ha'Kodesh even by those who do not understand it (as we mentioned above).

(c) Why is Lashon ha'Kodesh called Ivrit?

The Piskei Tosfos (ibid.) answers that it was given that name because it was the language that was spoken by Avraham ha'*Ivri*.

This would seem to contradict the Midrash (Bereishis Raba 42:8 - see also Rashi to Bereishis 14:13) which tells us that the opposite is true: Avraham was known as "ha'Ivri" because he spoke the language used (at the time) in Ever ha'Nahar, and not the other way around! Apparently, the Piskei Tosfos means that we call the language Ivrit today even though it is no longer spoken in Ever ha'Nahar, since it was spoken there in the days of Avraham. After "ha'Ivri" became part of Avraham Avinu's name ("Avraham ha'Ivri") due to the language he spoke, we continue to identify the language that he spoke as "Ivrit." Today Aramaic is spoken in Ever ha'Nahar, as you mentioned (which is, in fact, no more than a distortion of their original Lashon ha'Kodesh).

A further solution might be suggested based on our assumption that the language of Ever ha'Nahar is Aramaic (see Sanhedrin 21b; "the Kutim speak Aramaic and use the Ivrit script"). Perhaps Avraham actually spoke Ivrit, not the Aramaic which was spoken in the rest of Ever ha'Nahar (Avraham himself lived in Ever ha'Nahar, see Yehoshua 24:2). However, to the Canaanites and Egyptians, to whom both languages were unfamiliar, it sounded like a dialect of Aramaic (it is indeed closer to Aramaic than to any other language). They therefore they called him "ha'Ivri" based on the language he spoke, even though it wasn't exactly the same as the language of Ever ha'Nahar. Once again, today we call it Ivrit because it is the language of Avraham ha'Ivri .

(d) As for the second question, they write that not only is the script in which we write Lashon ha'Kodesh called "Ashurit," but the language is also known by that name (as is evident from our Mishnah). Why is Lashon ha'Kodesh called Lashon Ashurit?

The Rashba (ibid.) explains that Lashon ha'Kodesh is "Me'ushar" (proud, favored) among the other languages - just as the Gemara (Sanhedrin 22a) tells us that the Ashurit script was given that name because it is "Me'ushar" among the scripts.

The Piskei Tosfos explains that Lashon ha'Kodesh is called Ashurit because it is the language that was spoken in Ashur - just as the Gemara (Sanhedrin 22a) tells us (in its second explanation) that the Ashurit script was given that name since it was used in Ashur. Piskei Tosfos adds that Ashur merited to use the language and script of the Torah because they separated themselves from the rest of the generation and did not build the Tower of Babel (Bereishis 10:11).

The Sifsei Chachamim (in the introduction to his commentary on Megilah, 10:3) adds a beautiful insight to this last point. Before the building of the tower, the entire world spoke Lashon ha'Kodesh (Rashi Bereishis 11:1). When the nations sinned and built the tower, they lost Lashon ha'Kodesh. Since Ashur was not involved in the building, they retained Lashon ha'Kodesh as their national language!

I hope this makes things a little easier to "hear".

Best wishes and Purim Same'ach,

Mordecai Kornfeld

Kollel Iyun Hadaf