In Israel these days, there are battles on the ground and there are the battles between the state’s political and military echelons. In Hebrew, these domestic confrontations can be found in the root ‭ ‬ד‭-‬ר‭-‬ג (dalet, reish, gimel), meaning to rank, grade, step or arrange in levels. Hebrew lexicographers derive the noun‭ ‬דֶּרֶג‭ ‬(dereg), echelon, from a very old Semitic root meaning “to go step by step.” And when they look even further into the past, they recognize the root in דֵּרוּג (deirug), tiered terrace farming.

The root is found only twice in Scripture. The prophet Ezekiel foresees an apocalyptic earthquake in which נָפְלוּ‭ ‬הַמַּדְרֵגֹות (naflu ha-madreigot), “the sloping cliffs will collapse upon [Gog from the land of Magog],” whose invasion of Israel precedes the prophesied coming of the Messiah. In the Song of Songs, the lover entreats his beloved—when she is בְּסֵתֶר‭ ‬הַמַּדְרֵגָה‭ ‬(be-seiter ha-madreigah), hidden in a crevice—to allow him to behold her beauty.

These early derivations of our root were recalibrated during the Middle Ages in the writings of Moses Maimonides where he delves into the realm of prophecy. In Guide for the Perplexed, Maimonides calculates that there are 11 מַּדְרֵגֹות (madreigot), degrees, of prophecy, from two pre-prophetic steps to a top level occupied only by the biblical Moses.

Masters of modern Hebrew literature added a classical flavor by using older Aramaic forms of the root. S.Y. Agnon’s wandering protagonist, Reb Yudel, in his Nobel Prize-winning The Bridal Canopy, descends דַּרְגָּא אַחַר דַּרְגָּא (darga ahar darga), “step after step,” only to find himself returned, almost miraculously, to the door of his home. Zionist figure Hayim Nahman Bialik—called Israel’s national poet even though he passed away before the birth of the modern state—uses our root to salute his contemporaneous literary pioneers, who have given a דַּרְגָּא אָמָּנוּתִית (darga amanutit), artistic status, to the renaissance of Hebrew literature.

One hears the root all over in Israel today, from שִׁדְרוּג (shidrug), upgrade, to the department store’s דְּרַגְנוֹעַ (deragno’a), escalator. Bookshelves too high? Use a דְּרַגְרַג (deragrag), small stepladder. Diplomats מִמַּדְרֵגָה הָרִאשׁוֹנָה (mi-madreigah ha-rishonah), of the highest rank, conduct peace talks. In the synagogue, the Torah is chanted with a traditional system of musical notation in דָּרְגָּא‭-‬תְּבִיר (darga-tevir), a high note followed by a low note, a phrase also used as the equivalent Hebrew idiom to “what goes up must come down.”

And then there is the off-color army expression that Israeli soldiers take home into civilian life. Resigned to being דְּרוּגִּים (derugim), graded, throughout their service, they recognize that יֵשׁ‭ ‬דֶּרֶג‭ ‬וְיֵשׁ‭ ‬זֶרֶג‭ ‬(yesh dereg ve-yesh zereg), “There are privileged generals and then there are privates”—private parts, that is.

Joseph Lowin’s columns for Hadassah Magazine are collected in HebrewSpeak, Hebrew Talk and his most recent book, Hebrew Matters, available here.