TRADUTTORE TRADITTORE: The Translator is a Traitor – by Rabbi Michael Skobac – Jews for Judaism Director of Education and Counselling.
This famous saying might be somewhat overstated, but the point is that you can never really have a perfectly accurate translation from one language into another. Every translation is really a commentary – it is the translator’s attempt to render one language into another. But because language is complex, translation is never an exact science – it is really more of a spin. The richness of language can allow for quite a few different ways of expressing a thought into another tongue. Being forced to choose one of those possibilities excludes the others and is where the exercise of translation becomes problematic.
Biblical Hebrew is extremely rich, and under the best of circumstances, translations never fully capture the complex spectrum of the original. When the translator operates with an agenda, their lens becomes even more opaque and the resulting distortion even more problematic. This lecture explores a number of passages from the Hebrew scriptures whose meaning is mangled when Christian translators get their hands on them.
JEWS FOR JUDAISM is an international organization dedicated to countering the multi-million dollar efforts of Christian missionary groups that target Jews, the impact of cults and eastern religions, and the growing rate of intermarriage that is devastating the Jewish community. JEWS FOR JUDAISM achieves its goal through FREE educational programs, materials and counseling services that connect Jewish people to the spiritual depth, beauty and wisdom of Judaism and keeps Jews Jewish. Please contact us if we can help you. www.jewsforjudaism.ca
