COLLEGE TO DEBUT HEBREW PROGRAM.

Byline: LISA M. SODDERS Staff Writer

VALLEY GLEN -- Valley College will become the first community college in California to offer an associate's degree in Hebrew Studies under a program debuting this fall.

The Hebrew Studies program focuses more on language than the campus' Jewish Studies major, although both degrees share certain core courses.

``I see Hebrew to be the core of the whole Jewish culture,'' said Professor Zev Garber, 65, who has taught Hebrew since 1963 and founded the Jewish Studies Department at Valley College in 1971.

``Jews have spoken many languages -- Yiddish, there's a Jewish Farsi, the Ladino of the Sephardic. In almost every society, Jews have had a hidden language, words the general population would never be able to follow.''

But Hebrew is the glue that ties Jews of all nationalities together, said Garber, the author of numerous books, including one he edited that addresses Mel Gibson's film, ``The Passion of the Christ.''

``The Hebrew language is as overt as it can be. It's the language of literature, Jewish law and documents dealing with birth, marriage, divorce, and death certificates are all in Hebrew.

``What fascinates me about Hebrew is that it's one of the few languages that carries across millennia of time,'' Garber said.

Garber, who grew up speaking Yiddish in the Bronx, said Hebrew can be difficult to learn because it uses an unfamiliar alphabet and is read from right to left. The 22 letters are actually Aramaic characters.

There also are different pronounciations. Valley College teaches the Sephardic version, which also is the official pronounciation of Israel.

Students who complete the degree can transfer to a four-year university with upper division junior standing in Hebrew Studies and Jewish Studies.

Currently, about 150 students take Jewish studies classes each semester at Valley -- the college offers a total of 18 which rotate -- and many eventually transfer to Cal State Northridge or UCLA.

Some are studying to become rabbis and others are interested in working for Jewish community organizations. There also are students converting to Judaism and others interested in learning more about Jewish culture.

Mike Gelles, 21, of Sherman Oaks, who has taken several of Garber's classes, predicted other campuses will follow his lead in offering Hebrew studies.

``Zev's an awesome teacher, one of the best at the school, and he knows what he's doing,'' said Gelles, a film major who also works as a secretary at Temple B'nai Hayim in Sherman Oaks.

Rabbi Dan Moskovitz, of Temple Judea in Tarzana, also praised the new program, saying it would be an excellent resource for Jews - and non-Jews interested in reading the Bible in Hebrew - alike.

``This is a wonderful, rich community for the Hebrew language,'' Moskovitz said. ``We have so many religious schools in the Valley - for the people who teach in them or who aspire to teach in them, this is a terrific opportunity for them. We also have three rabbinical seminaries in Los Angeles - this just adds to the opportunities for Jewish studies in Los Angeles.''

David N. Myers, professor and director of UCLA's Center for Jewish Studies, said Valley's program is an important development.

``It reflects the recognition of Hebrew as a vibrant language and linguistic culture,'' Myers said. ``In that regard, it is important in recalling for us that not all of that which we associate with Israel needs to be focused on political and military conflict.

``There's a really vibrant, rich and extraordinary long linquistic tradition that we should be studying.''