The Tragic Consequence of Assimilation: When We Let the Nations Define Us
- WireNews
- 28 minutes ago
- 5 min read
by Ram ben Ze'ev
Assimilation has consequences. Not only in how we dress, eat, or celebrate—but in how we speak, and even more dangerously, in how we think. The Holy One, Blessed is He, commands us in ספר ויקרא (Sefer Vayikra – Leviticus) 19:2:
דבר אל כל עדת בני ישראל ואמרת אלהם קדשים תהיו כי קדוש אני ה אלקיכם
“Speak to all the congregation of the children of Yisrael, and say to them: You shall be holy, for I, the L-RD your G-D, am holy.”
The word קדש (Kodesh – Holy) means separate. Different. Distinct. Not better—but elevated. Not arrogant—but aware. And yet, how many of us, even those raised with Torah values, have surrendered the distinctiveness of Lashon HaKodesh (The Holy Tongue) for the language of the Nations?
This article is not merely about language. It is about identity. Because when you lose the words, you lose the meaning. And when you lose the meaning, you begin to lose the people.
But this truth is even deeper than that.
Words are not simply tools of expression—they are acts of creation. In ספר בראשית (Sefer Bereshit – Genesis), we learn that the entire universe was brought into existence through speech:
ויאמר אלקים יהי אור ויהי אור
“And G-D said: Let there be light—and there was light.” (בראשית א:3)
Hashem created everything through speech. Not through force. Not through violence. Through words. And since we are told in תהלים (Tehillim) 8:6:
ותחסרהו מעט מאלהים
“You made him only slightly less than Divine,”
—we must recognise the immense power of our own speech. Our words matter. What we say, and how we say it, creates realities. It shapes how we see ourselves, how we relate to G-D, and how we are seen by others.
The Nations understand this power. That is why they seek to rename us, reframe our traditions, and redefine our sacred concepts. They know that if they can change our words, they can change our understanding. If they change our understanding, they can change our behaviour. And if they change our behaviour, they can erase us entirely.
This is not a philosophical exercise. This is a spiritual war. And the front line is the tongue.
So let us guard it. Let us honour it. Let us speak in the language of our people, our prophets, and our G-D.
Holocaust? No—Shoah
Let us begin with one of the most grotesque distortions: the word Holocaust. It is not a Jewish word. It is not a Hebrew word. It is a Greek word meaning “burnt offering.” An offering. A sacrifice.
What could be more obscenely inappropriate to describe the murder of six million Jews—including my own great-grandparents in Hungary who were forced to wear the yellow “star” before being exterminated?
The proper word is שואה (Shoah – Catastrophe). It appears in ספר ישעיהו (Sefer Yeshayahu – Isaiah) 10:3:
ומה תעשו ליום פקדה ולשואה ממרחק תבא
“What will you do on the day of reckoning, and of the Shoah which comes from afar?”
This is the word rooted in our prophets, in our soul. It is not pagan. It is not foreign. It is Jewish. Let us honour the victims of the Shoah with the dignity of a name that is our own.
Star of David? No—Magen David
The Nations call it a “star,” but דוד המלך (David HaMelekh – King David) did not ride into battle with a star. He bore a מגן דוד (Magen David – Shield of David). A symbol of protection. A sign of G-D’s might.
To call it a “star” is not only a linguistic error—it is a psychological assault. A reminder of the stars our people were forced to wear, degraded and marked for death. The Magen David is not a curse. It is a crown.
Mazal Tov does not mean "Good Luck"
The misuse of Mazal Tov is another distortion we must no longer tolerate. To the Nations, it means “good luck.” But luck does not exist in Judaism. There is only G-D.
Mazal comes from the root נזל—"to flow." It refers to the divine Shefa, the spiritual energy that flows from the upper worlds into our lives. Mazal Tov means “may your flow from Hashem be good”—a blessing of continued divine influence. As it says in ספר נחמיה (Sefer Nechemyah) 9:6:
ואתה מחיה את כלם
“You give life to them all.”
Everything is from Hashem. Not from randomness. Not from fate. Not from “luck.”
Old Testament? No—Torah and Tanakh
The term “Old Testament” was invented by christianity to imply that their texts replaced ours. It is not only theologically false—it is a direct violation of the eternal nature of Torah. We have תורה (Torah – Instruction) and תנך (Tanakh – Torah, Neviim, Ketuvim). That is all. No “old,” no “new.”
Passover? No—Pesach
Pesach is not just about passing over. It is about redemption, sacrifice, and national rebirth. “Passover” strips the word of its depth. Let us honour the original: פסח (Pesach). As it says in ספר שמות (Sefer Shemot – Exodus) 12:27:
ואמרתם זבח פסח הוא לה אשר פסח על בתי בני ישראל במצרים
“You shall say: It is the Pesach offering to the L-RD, who passed over the houses of the children of Yisrael in Egypt.”
Day of Atonement? No—Yom HaKipurim
Yom HaKipurim is not just about atonement. It is about purification, elevation, return. To reduce it to “atonement” is to strip it of its cosmic significance. It is the holiest day in the calendar, a day of Teshuvah, Kaparah, and Achdut (Unity).
Ten Commandments? No—Aseret HaDibrot
They are not ten “commandments.” The Torah calls them דברות (Dibrot – Utterances). Two were heard directly from G-D. The rest were transmitted through Moshe. This is not semantics. This is Torah. As it says in ספר שמות (Sefer Shemot – Exodus) 34:28:
ויעל על הלחת דברי הברית עשרת הדברים
“He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Aseret HaDibrot.”
We Must Reclaim Our Tongue
The assimilation of Jewish terms into secular distortion is not an accident. It is the result of spiritual apathy and the loss of pride in our own language. But the Torah tells us (ספר דברים – Sefer Devarim 4:2):
לא תספו על הדבר אשר אנכי מצוה אתכם ולא תגרעו ממנו
“You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor diminish from it.”
Our words are Holy. Our meanings are Holy. Let the Nations speak for themselves—but not for us. We are עם סגלה (Am Segulah – a Treasured Nation). We are commanded to be different. So let us speak differently. Clearly. Courageously. Proudly.
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Bill White (Ram ben Ze'ev) is CEO of WireNews Limited, Mayside Partners Limited, MEADHANAN Agency, Kestrel Assets Limited, SpudsToGo Limited and Executive Director of Hebrew Synagogue.
