KNOWING OUR Hebrew Roots: H-N-K

Ministry of Education in Jerusalem — *Misrad Ha Hinuch (The Ministry of Education) in Jerusalem*

There are several Hebrew words related to the ancient Hebrew root h~n~k, “to make narrow”. In Prov 22.6, “Hanoch a child in the way he should go... means to teach, instruct or train. (The Ministry of Education in Israel is the Misrad Ha Hinuch) But this proverb could be understood, “Narrow the way of a child...” The idea of training our children in that narrow way - a way that says “no” to the enticements of the world - is strikingly similar to Jesus’ saying in (Matt 7:13), “Wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

The name Enoch also shares this root and means dedicated. In GENESIS 5 we read, “Hanoch walked with God...” Here was a man who walked a path so pleasing to the Lord that “he was no more because God took him.”

Another related word in modern Hebrew is used after moving to a new home. A house-warming party is called han-ukat-bayit (house dedication).The most well known word sharing this root is Hanukah. The Feast of the Dedication (JOHN 10.22) celebrates the 2nd century B.C. victory of faithful Jews over the threat of assimilation into the then dominant Greek culture. But more importantly it celebrates the cleansing of the Jerusalem Temple from idols and pagan worship and its re-dedication to the Lord. Hanukah is a good reminder for us to re-dedicate ourselves to that narrow path so that we will “be not conformed to this world... but transformed.” (ROMANS 12)

The Rev. David Pileggi is the rector of Christ Church in the Old City of Jerusalem. He and his wife Carol have lived (and raised their three adult children) in Israel for 40 years where David has worked as a journalist/researcher and for 19 years was director of a study program dedicated to teaching Christians about the Jewish context of their faith. He has an M.A. from the Hebrew University in Jewish Studies and is a licensed tour guide. Fascinated by Eastern European Jewish life that existed before the Second World War, he has led countless trips to Poland, Austria, and the Czech Republic, designed to teach Christians about the Holocaust and Jewish life in the modern era. Ordained by Archbishop Henry Orombi of Uganda, he has been the rector of Christ Church Jerusalem since 2008. He also takes a keen interest in the Isaiah 19 Movement and the rights of the Christian minority in Israel.

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