This is a gripping story about one of the great figures of modern Jewish history.

For centuries the Hebrew language was the language of sacred books and prayers. It was never used in ordinary conversation for it was considered a holy tongue, a language that could be used only in synagogues and in matters pertaining to study.

Around the turn of the century a man by the name of Eliezer Ben-Yehudah tried to revive the Hebrew language and to make it the living language of the hoped-for Jewish nation that would one day be established in what was then Palestine. His was a long, lonely, and bitter struggle. It was a fight against overwhelming odds, against a narrow-mindedness and bigotry that on occasion turned cruel and vicious.

The story of this battle is told from the point of view of Ben-Zion, Eliezer Ben-Yehudah's son.

It is an account of a boy who has come to be known as "the first Hebrew child." Raised by his parents in Hebrew, mocked by his neighbors in the Jerusalem street where he lived, the target of bigoted stone-throwers and close-minded teachers, the boy led a strange bitter existence—until the day he came to realize what it was his father had achieved.

The book appeared originally in Hebrew and was published in Israel. It is an unforgettable story, and we are pleased to be able to offer it to our Covenant readers in this English translation.

From the dust jacket