Days of the Beer, January 7

The beer for today is He'Brew Rejewvenator.

On January 7, 1858, Eliezer Ben-Yehuda was born. He was a key figure in the revival of Hebrew as a spoken language. He was born in Luzhky, of the Russian Empire (currently Vitsebsk Voblast, Belarus). He studied Hebrew and the Bible from age 3. By 12, he had read large portions of the Torah, Mishna, and Talmud. He studied ancient Hebrew at a yeshiva, where he was studying to be a rabbi.

In 1881, he moved to Palestine, and found a job teaching. He raised his son, Ben-Zion Ben-Yehuda, entirely in Hebrew, making his son the first native speaker of modern Hebrew.

Ben-Yehuda was the driving force behind the establishment of the Committee of the Hebrew Language, currently the Academy of the Hebrew Language. He was the author of the first modern Hebrew dictionary.

He died December 16, 1922, of tuberculosis, and was buried on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.

As to the beer:

He'Brew is a branch of Shmaltz Brewing Company. They are based out of San Francisco California.

Jewish tradition celebrates 2 New years; The 1st calendar month in spring historically came after the barley harvest. The High Holidays in Fall mark the creation of the world. Harvest to harvest - the perfect bookends for deliciousness! Arise noble Rejewvenator, infused for '08 with the sacred succulent Fig. O the history, O the shtick: Gen 3:7: "And their eyes were opened, and they knew that they were naked; they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons." Time to get cooking! "Professed Wrestlers and Champions were in times past fed with figs." -Pliny, Roman naturalist. Romulus, mythic founder of Rome, and his twin Remus were nursed by a wild she-wolf under a fig tree. In 1857, Queen Victoria commissioned an 18 inch plaster fig leaf to adorn her cast of Michelangelo's David. "The statue that advertises its modesty with a fig leaf brings its modesty under suspicion." -Mark Twain. Buddha gained enlightenment meditating beneath a fig tree. Zechariah/Micah: "Nations shall beat their swords into plowshares...all will sit with his neighbor under his fig tree, with no one to be afraid." Fear not Shmaltzers - Grab your Newtons, rub your happy belly, strap on your fig leaf and your championship belt, abd prepare to blow your shofar... tis a new HE'BREW Beer season to rejoice. L'Chaim! Brewed for Schmalt Brewing Co.

So for the guy who rejuvinated the Hebrew language, have a He'Brew Rejewvenator.