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Hanukkah lamp, western Ukraine, 19th century

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ok guys I’m gonna learn R for data science on my own! I might have a lot going on this year so we’ll see how well I can keep it up. Today I’m working on improving my math skills by brushing up on stats with Kahn academy. I’ll update this post later when I figure out how I’m going to progress with different math and CS courses. I’m using the medium post “Data Science and R: how do I start?” by Jesse Maegan to guide me.

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Blossom through the ruins.

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Hi, I wanted to thank you for your post about the distinction of Judeo-Aramaic and Aramaic. I wanted to share that I have ended up becoming friends with some Assyrians who feel a strong sense of kinship with Jews due to their modern situation and have had some really interesting conversations with them.

I also wanted to say, it's an important distinction because by misnaming Judeo-Aramaic "Aramaic" people may not realize there are separate but related languages still spoken and used by modern-day Arameans, Assyrians, and Chaldeans, usually written in the Syriac script, which are considered neo-Aramaic languages.

I hope you don't mind my asking, I have recently been interested in understanding the shift from the paleo-Hebrew alphabet to the Hebrew alphabet used now, do you have any good resources for the history of that change? It's also okay if you don't know or don't have time/energy to answer.

I'm glad you like my post! Yes, a lot of people don't realize that Aramaic variations are still spoken today, and that Aramaic is its own language distinct from Hebrew.

So the short answer for the shift from Paleo-Hebrew script (which is most similar to Pheonician script) to current Hebrew script (Ktav Arami) has a lot to do with the Babylonian colonization of ancient Israel and Judea.

Here is a diagram I found showing the evolution of Hebrew script:

If you notice, early Hebrew script is indistinguishable from Pheonician

While later Hebrew looks a lot more like Aramaic

And then the Hebrew alphabet evolves further into the alphabet we recognize today.

But the old Aramaic script is actually preserved in Hebrew script. While more modern Hebrew text is used in official printing, the handwriting native Hebrew speakers (including myself) looks a lot more like the Aramaic alphabet

Sephardic script, or "Rashi Script", another script of Hebrew used in the middle ages, also draws similarities with the Aramaic alphabet

Basically, alphabets change over time. The Pheonicians were longtime trade partners with the Ancient Israelites, so it makes sense that they'd have the same alphabet. Then, the Babylonians invaded many many years later. Aramaic turned to Judeo-Aramaic to become the language of the Jewish diaspora, which influenced the alphabet. The alphabet evolved further into a distinct alphabet, but the Aramaic influence remains in the handwriting.

Some articles I recommend for more reading:

About the evolution of Hebrew

About "Rashi Script"

About Jewish diasporic languages

About Aramaic in Jewish History

About the Hebrew Alphabet and its spiritual significance

About Judeo-Aramaic

About the importance of Hebrew

Enjoy!

[note: very very brief image descriptions in alt text]

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Stephen Crane’s IN THE DESERT (1895)

notes on self destruction

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Details: L'ala nera o Il tocco dell'angelo by Roberto Ferri.

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“You are embarrassed about your blood, its redness, the way it is just coming out of you with no concern for anyone’s feelings. You are (…) embarrassed to be alive.”

— In the Dream House, Carmen Maria Machado (via salemwitchtrials)

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Montgomery Clift in I Confess (1953) dir. Alfred Hitchcock

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“i don’t like writing about my day, but i want to keep a journal”:

quotes and copywork. when reading, if you find something you enjoy, just copy it into the notebook. you can copy a whole chapter if you wish, highlighting what caught your attention the most.

definitions. look up on a dictionary and copy it. you could write your own dictionary as well, making up definitions for words.

lists. a classic, write movies to watch, books to read, the playlist of the month or just the groceries you have to buy.

maps. when going somewhere, you could draw the route you took or just a map of the place itself. just look up the place on google maps and copy it. you can draw a little map of all the places you have lived or the schools you have attended as well.

photos

take “notes” as you watch movies / documentaries. write down phrases that caught your attention or doodle.

illustrations and clippings. if you see an image or piece of art that you liked, put it in your journal. if it’s from a book or from a magazine I would recommend scanning it, tho’. it will serve as a record of what kind of art you enjoy through the years.

newspaper clippings from the day.

tickets and pamphlets. from movies, museums, transportation.

postcards

records. you could record for a month what the temperature was when you woke up and when you went to sleep. if you do that for a year, it gives you a better notion of the passing of seasons. you could record rainfall and other seasonal changes as well. you could choose something (an animal, a plant, an item or object) and write down every time you see it.

rubbings of leaves, coins, landmarks.

count. there’s a scene in the movie Coraline (2009) where Coraline’s dad tells her to go count the windows. you could do the same type of counting game if you are bored and write down.

mindmaps/sketchnotes + timelines of books, movies, music albums.

collages

pressed leafs and flowers

your collections. if you collect anything you could write down an inventory or maybe try to draw the items.

recipes. write down recipes and give it a score every time you try it. you could do the same for drinks you try out.

stickers

comic strips. you can find a bunch of it online, glue your favorites in your notebook.

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21/2/3

I actually studied German today. I can’t wait until the Duolingo Yiddish course is in Beta, it’s SO CLOSEEEEE. The whole reason I started German was literally to get a head start on yiddish and now I’m 1/3 through the entire course (•__•) I learn Levantine arabic on YouTube because ngl duolingo arabic is not good and MSA and I don’t click. Besides, shami is probably the closest dialect to MSA so? Pretty versatile. Whatever. I didn’t get to arabic today but I’m going to tomorrow :)

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Butches wear this challenge

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Special lesbian cabaret inside Le Monocle, Montmartre, Paris, 1930. Photographed by Albert Harlingue.