Spain
צילום: גטי אימג' בנק ישראל
A Spanish ulpan
Hebrew lessons are not a common sight in Spain. At least they weren't until last July, when an ulpan opened in Uncastillo
In a country where the study of the Hebrew language is a rarity, Uncastillo, an Aragonese town, welcomed a summer ulpan class for all those that want to speak the language of the Israelis.
Running from 9 to 28 July, the Uncastillo Ulpan was a unique initiative in Spain. In these 20 days of learning and coexistence the students attempted to learn to speak, write and understand Hebrew in a record time.
The initiative was organized by Raices, the Spanish magazine of Jewish culture with the help of the Uncastillo Foundation Romanesque Center and the Embassy of Israel in Spain.
The project was also supported by the Network of Spanish Jewish Sites and the Aragon - Espacio Sefarad Association that belongs to the Delegation of Zaragoza.
Horacio Kohan, director of “Raices”, said the organizers were “very satisfied” with the great welcome that the project has had.
Varied age groups
The ulpan only offered the basic level of Hebrew study, with the course developed according to the model of the Goldberg School for Foreign Students of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, with the same texts, pedagogical techniques and materials.
The course organizers said they believe that students interested in the Hebrew language are going to continue deepening in it’s learning and that those who travel to Israel will know how to take a bus, to talk to people, to consult the menu of a restaurant.
“It’s very useful, as useful as the ulpan’s education structure itself. You begin learning the most useful phrases,” Horacio Kohan says. “An important number of the students are Hebrew Philology students in different Spanish universities. Usually they are experts in old Hebrew, not in the daily spoken in Israel”.
As well as language students, the ulpan also accepted people interested in the Hebrew language and Jewish culture. “We have young people from 18 years and ladies of more than 70,” Kohan said. “This makes it a unique course”.
Almost in the Aragonese Pyrenees, in the northwest of Zaragoza, Uncastillo is part of the “Altas Cinco Villas”, a monumental landmark that includes the most beautiful samples of the romantic architecture, magnificent castles and testimonies of Jewish life in the middle ages including Jewish quarters, synagogues and cemeteries.
As varied as Israel itself, Uncastillo’s Ulpan completed the learning with playful activities, lectures on Jewish modern culture and Jewish Spanish history, guided walks and an active social life.
Reprinted with permission of the European Jewish Press
