Growing up, I could never figure out how to speak any language besides English fluently. I had a rabbi stand with me to read my Torah portion during my bar mitzvah, and I learned only the barest minimum of French, to check off that high school requirement. The reason for my struggle, I’ve always believed, is that the adults in my life spoke multiple languages. There was Yiddish, French, Polish, Russian, and Spanish. It seemed as if the adults who spoke more than one or two languages knew when to change things up in order to throw off the children from knowing what they were saying, and now, here I am: an adult who has a hard time learning another language.
But I’ve always retained a good memory of how to say “cheers” in various languages. When I’m traveling to a country where another language is spoken, it’s the first thing I learn. Whether it’s Japanese, Farsi, or German, no matter where you come from or how you say it, I love your toast. Toasting, to me, is one of the most beautiful moments you can have with a group of people. Raising a glass is something that we can all do together. And now that we can actually do that again, toasting is more important than ever.
Comments
Post a Comment