Spoken usage of Hebrew

Hebrew was, of course, still used religiously. All boys had to learn to read Biblical Hebrew so they would be able to read the Torah when they became a Bar Mitzvah. Study of the Mishna, Talmud, and Midrash was also very common. The focus was the ability to read the text, but Hebrew was used verbally for much instruction. Biblical Hebrew was also used during standard services and for prayers, so it was familiar and widespread. In Palestine and other places where Jews met without another common language, a reduced form of Hebrew was used for communication. Some analysis of this usage in Palestine is presented in the next section.