At its height in the 16th century it was a vast multiconfessional empire, stretching to the Black Sea, with no fewer than six legal languages, including Hebrew and Armenian.

ECONOMIST: Vilnius

He added systematically to his store of languages, among them Hebrew, which he learnt at 70 to help his studies of the Bible.

ECONOMIST: Enoch Powell

The Rishon player, now preparing to enter military service, enjoyed a recent face-off in Metula, clanking on pads and skates in a locker room buzzing with Hebrew, Russian, Ukrainian and other languages from the former Soviet Union.

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