Why Learn Hebrew?

People learn Hebrew for diverse reasons, perhaps more so than any other language. Here are some typical reasons people give...

Hebrew is:

• The original language of the Bible, which continues to influenced in direct and indirect ways much of the world's thought, literature and culture. Hebrew would be unusual if only for this - a steady stream of scholars, reformed prisoners, and armchair enthusiasts learn Hebrew.
• The official language of the modern State of Israel, which means:
  • You might like to get a job, live, study or invest there.
    • While a small country, Israel had in recent decades the highest level of venture capital funding outside the US. High Tech has replaced agriculture as the chief export, earning her the nickname "Silicon Wadi".
    • Israel is a world leader in medical technology.
    • Israel is home to some well regarded universities.
  • You might like to go there for a holiday.
    • Being the centre of three world religions, there is something of significance for everyone. Much of what is called Western Civilisation comes from Near Eastern influences.
• The language of the Jewish people. Master it and you have access to 4000 years of thought and history that spans much of the globe.
• Written on archeological relics in museums around the world. If you know modern Hebrew and the ancient alphabets you can (mostly) read Moabite, Canaanite, Old Negev, Phoenician, Akkadian and Aramaic.
• The language that first recorded the alphabet.
• The only ancient language still spoken today.
• The most recent language to be adopted as the official language of a state.

Maybe your reason doesn't appear here...