I Have to Learn Hebrew

0001

I Have to Learn Hebrew

Written by Gary Thaller. Copyright 2011

Introduction

This course is for those who can truly say “I have to learn Hebrew!!” If this isn’t your level of desire, then this course isn’t for you.

Why am I writing it? Because “I have to.”

Course format: This course is especially designed for the small Kindle Reader. A portable reader is almost a necessity to take advantage of small pieces of time otherwise

0001

wasted during the day. Yes, it’s expensive, but you won’t have to buy any books. And there will be other uses later on.

I’m writing for those who have great difficulty learning. Everything will be at a very slow pace. I anticipate it will take about 8 years to learn Hebrew very well. However, each day’s learning will be easy.

Each day, you will receive a new file delivered right to your Kindle. It will erase the previous file. Yep, gone. For the first six days, each file will include the previous days. After that, the next day will delete the first and add another.

0001

 No files will be sent on Shabbat as that’s a day of rest.

Each day, read the entire file. At first there will be some written exercises. But that’s only

for the first 11 days or so. Complete these each day.

This is based on sound learning theory. Learn a small bit at a time and repeat it enough times to get it in long term memory. Six times followed by a day of rest works well.

Most books have a table of contents. This one doesn’t. I’ll take responsibility for the order of learning. I’ll make it as simple as I can. The

Week 1 - Day  1

0001

goal is to spend no more than 30 minutes a day learning. With the Kindle, this can be spread out throughout the day.

To make it clearer, you will be receiving six short lessons each day. Complete ALL SIX each day. The new lesson and the five previously done. This review is very important to the process. The total time for all six should be about 30 minutes.

There will be no “tests” as the process makes them unnecessary.

This course is primarily designed for those who want to learn to read ancient Hebrew. Without sound, it will be difficult to learn correct pronunciation. Along the way I’ll refer you to some websites that can help.

0001

The Learning Process

The learning process will be what I call “Top down.” First the information comes into the mind. This will come from the written text.

Then, in order to plant it firmly in our mind, we must emanate it in as many ways as possible.

First, there is some thought about what we just read. It may only be a few seconds. Then we will start emanating.

By reading aloud, we combine steps. By doing this, we involve our lungs, our trachea, our lips, our tongue, our teeth and whatever else it takes to speak. Prior to speech, we must also form the words in what is allegorically called

0001

our heart. And we must get the strength in our heart to speak the words.

Next, we will Speak and write whatever it is we just read. This brings the information “into our hands” which helps us to grasp it. Without speaking the information and writing it, we cannot learn it completely. It’s similar to learning the piano. Without humming a passage and then playing it, we can’t learn to play the piano.

Finally, we can get the process down to our feet. Allegorically, the feet involve taking an action someplace else. For instance, we read about giving charity, then we go someplace to give it. In learning, it means teaching someone else. With a study partner this is easy. Without

0001

one, maybe writing the information for someone else to study would work.

This process seems slow, but each day’s work is designed to allow one to complete the whole process.

0002

Learning the Aleph Bet.

This step will seem extremely slow. Many people take years to learn the Hebrew alphabet. By breaking it down into just two letters a day, it makes it manageable.

Each letter should be written seven times each day along with the name of the letter. Even though you think you know the letter, please Speak and write it seven times. At the end of about 15 days, you will know the aleph bet very well.

Only the consonants are written in Hebrew. However as an aid, vowel symbols are added near the letter. First, the consonants will be

0002

covered. Each consonant takes the sound of the consonant beginning the name of the letter or in a couple cases is silent.

0002

א

Aleph

The Aleph is silent.

Speak and write the letter seven times along with the name.

0003

בּ        ב

         Vet                                                          Bet

Speak and write each letter seven times along with the name.

This letter has two pronunciations. When it has the Dagesh (dot) in the middle, it’s a Bet. When it doesn’t have one, it’s a Vet.

0003

Other letters have a Dagesh, however, it’s only important in two other letters which will be covered when the time comes.

The Bet/Vet has a little toe on the right side. It looks a lot like a different letter, so think of the toe from the “t” from the end of the name of the letter.

Hebrew is read from right to left, so read the Bet before the Vet.

0003

Each day will have a review of the letters learned in the previous days. Speak and write the names of each letter in order from right to left, and then go to the next page.

		ב	בּ	א

0003

		ב	בּ	א
		Vet	Bet	Aleph

0003

ג

Gimmel

Speak and write this letter and the name seven times before going on to the next page.

The Gimmel looks a little bit like a person running from right to left.

0003

ד

Dalet

The Dalet has tuft on the head which distinguishes it from another letter.

Speak and write this letter and the name seven times .

0004

 

ד

ג

ב

בּ

א

    

Speak and write the name of each letter from right to left. .

0004

ד	ג	ב	בּ	א
Dalet	Gimmel	Vet	Bet	Aleph

 

0004

ה

Hei

The Hei has a hole in it. This will distinguish it from another similar letter.

Speak and write the Hei and the name seven  times.

0004

ו

Vav

Speak and write the Vav and the name seven times.

0005

ד	ג	ב	בּ	א
			ו	ה

Speak and write the name of each letter.  Be sure to read from right to left. 

0005

ד	ג	ב	בּ	א
Dalet	Gimmel	Vet	Bet	Aleph
			ו	ה
			Vav	Hei

0005

ז

Zayin

The Zayin looks like a small seedling.

Speak and write the letter and name seven times.

0005

ח

Chet

This looks a lot like the ה. Notice the  ה has a hole in it. The letter is pronounced by opening the mouth first, relaxing the tongue and letting it roll as you say it. It’s similar to gargling.

Speak and write the letter and the name seven times.

0005

 There will be no lesson on Shabbat.

0006

ד	ג	ב	בּ	א
	ח	ז	ו	ה

  

Speak and write the name of each letter.  Be sure to read from right to left. 

0006

ד	ג	ב	בּ	א
Dalet	Gimmel	Vet	Bet	Aleph
	ח	ז	ו	ה
	Chet	Zayin	Vav	Hei

0006

ט

Tet

Speak and write the letter and its name seven times.

0007

ד	ג	ב	בּ	א
ט	ח	ז	ו	ה

Speak and write the name of each letter.

0007

ד	ג	ב	בּ	א
Dalet	Gimmel	Vet	Bet	Aleph
ט	ח	ז	ו	ה
Tet	Chet	Zayin	Vav	Hei

0007

כּ   כ

Chaf                Kaf

With the Dagesh in the middle, the letter is Kaf.

Explaining the pronunciation of the Chaf is a little difficult. Open your mouth slightly and allow the back part of the tongue to rest against the roof of your mouth. Then exhale and end the letter in an “f.” Speak and write the letters seven times. .

0007

ךּ      ך

Chaf  Sofit                           Kaf Sofit

The Kaf and Chaf Sofit are only used at the end of a word. The Kaf Sofit has a hard sound like a K at the end of the word.

The Chaf Sofit has a sound similar to Bach.

Speak and write each letter seven times.

0008

ד	ג	ב	בּ	א
ט	ח	ז	ו	ה
ך	ךּ	כ	כּ	י

Speak and write the names of the letters.

0008

ד	ג	ב	בּ	א
Dalet	Gimmel	Vet	Bet	Aleph
ט	ח	ז	ו	ה
Tet	Chet	Zayin	Vav	Hei
ך	ךּ	כ	כּ	י
Chaf Sofit	Kaf Sofit	Chaf	Kaf	Yud

0008

ל

Lamed

Speak and write the letter and its name seven times.

0008

מ      ם

        Mem Sofit                               Mem

The Mem Sofit is only used at the end of a word.

Speak and write each letter and its name seven times.

0009

ד	ג	ב	בּ	א
ט	ח	ז	ו	ה
ך	ךּ	כ	כּ	י
		ם	מ	ל

Speak and write the names of the letters.

.

0009

ד	ג	ב	בּ	א
Dalet	Gimmel	Vet	Bet	Aleph
ט	ח	ז	ו	ה
Tet	Chet	Zayin	Vav	Hei
ך	ךּ	כ	כּ	י
Chaf Sofit	Kaf Sofit	Chaf	Kaf	Yud
		ם	מ	ל
		Mem Sofit	Mem

0009

ן	נ
Nun Sofit	Nun

Speak and write each letter and the name seven times.

0009

ס

Samech

Speak and write the letter and its name seven times.

 

0010

ד	ג	ב	בּ	א
ט	ח	ז	ו	ה
ך	ךּ	כ	כּ	י
ן	נ	ם	מ	ל
				ס

Speak and write down the names of the letters.

0010

ד	ג	ב	בּ	א
Dalet	Gimmel	Vet	Bet	Aleph
ט	ח	ז	ו	ה
Tet	Chet	Zayin	Vav	Hei
ך	ךּ	כ	כּ	י
Chaf Sofit	Kaf Sofit	Chaf	Kaf	Yud
ן	נ	ם	מ	ל
Nun Sofit	Nun	Mem Sofit	Mem	Lamed
				ס
				Samech

0010

ע

Ayin

This letter is silent.

Speak and write the letter and its name seven times.

0010

פ	פּ
Fey	Pey

Speak and write each letter seven times.

0011

ד	ג	ב	בּ	א
ט	ח	ז	ו	ה
ך	ךּ	כ	כּ	י
ן	נ	ם	מ	ל
	פ	פּ	ע	ס

Speak and write the name of each letter.

0011

ד	ג	ב	בּ	א
Dalet	Gimmel	Vet	Bet	Aleph
ט	ח	ז	ו	ה
Tet	Chet	Zayin	Vav	Hei
ך	ךּ	כ	כּ	י
Chaf Sofit	Kaf Sofit	Chaf	Kaf	Yud
ן	נ	ם	מ	ל
Nun Sofit	Nun	Mem Sofit	Mem	Lamed
	פ	פּ	ע	ס
	Fey	Pey	Ayin	Samech

0011

צ

Tzaddik

Speak and write the letter and its name seven times.

0011

ק

Kuf

Speak and write the letter and its name seven times.

0012

ה	ד	ג	ב	בּ	א
כּ	י	ט	ח	ז	ו
ם	מ	ל	ך	ךּ	כ
פ	פּ	ע	ס	ן	נ
				ק	צ

Speak and write the name of each letter.

0012

ה	ד	ג	ב	בּ	א
Hei	Dalet	Gimmel	Vet	Bet	Aleph
כּ	י	ט	ח	ז	ו
Cof	Yud	Tet	Chet	Zayin	Vav
ם	מ	ל	ך	ךּ	כ
Mem Sofit	Mem	Lamed	Chof Sofit	Kof Sofit	Chof
פ	פּ	ע	ס	ן	נ
Fey	Pey	Ayin	Samech	Nun Sofit	Nun
				ק	צ
				Kuf	Tzaddik

0012

ר

Reish

Note the top right of the letter is rounded. This is easily confused with the Dalet. Here are the two together. The Dalet has the tuft.

ד     ר

Speak and write the letter and its name seven times.

0012

שׂ	שׁ
Sin	Shin

  The names rhyme with “Sheen.”

Note the dot over the right side and left side to give the different sound.

Speak and write each letter seven times.

0013

ה	ד	ג	ב	בּ	א
כּ	י	ט	ח	ז	ו
ם	מ	ל	ך	ךּ	כ
פ	פּ	ע	ס	ן	נ
	שׂ	שׁ	ר	ק	צ

Speak and write the name of each letter.

0013

ה	ד	ג	ב	בּ	א
Hei	Dalet	Gimmel	Vet	Bet	Aleph
כּ	י	ט	ח	ז	ו
Cof	Yud	Tet	Chet	Zayin	Vav
ם	מ	ל	ך	ךּ	כ
Mem Sofit	Mem	Lamed	Chof Sofit	Kof Sofit	Chof
פ	פּ	ע	ס	ן	נ
Fey	Pey	Ayin	Samech	Nun Sofit	Nun
	שׂ	שׁ	ר	ק	צ
	Sin	Shin	Reish	Kuf	Tzaddik

0013

ת

Tav

Note the “toe” on the bottom left.

Speak and write the letter seven times.

0013

Congratulations, you have learned the consonants in the Aleph Beyt. In the next few lessons, you will practice picking them out in Hebrew text. Then it will be on to the vowels and pronunciation.

I know it seems slow, but if you got this far, you have a great foundation to build on and in another week or so, there will be rapid progress.

0014

ה	ד	ג	ב	בּ	א
כּ	י	ט	ח	ז	ו
ם	מ	ל	ך	ךּ	כ
פ	פּ	ע	ס	ן	נ
ת	שׂ	שׁ	ר	ק	צ

Speak and write the name of each letter.

0014

ה	ד	ג	ב	בּ	א
Hei	Dalet	Gimmel	Vet	Bet	Aleph
כּ	י	ט	ח	ז	ו
Cof	Yud	Tet	Chet	Zayin	Vav
ם	מ	ל	ך	ךּ	כ
Mem Sofit	Mem	Lamed	Chof Sofit	Kof Sofit	Chof
פ	פּ	ע	ס	ן	נ
Fey	Pey	Ayin	Samech	Nun Sofit	Nun
ת	שׂ	שׁ	ר	ק	צ
Tav	Sin	Shin	Reish	Kuf	Tzaddik

0014

Now it’s time to pick out the letters from a line of Hebrew text from the Torah. Just say the name of the letter and use the reference table as often as needed. There will be a couple days of this before learning the Vowels.

Remember to read from right to left.

0014

ה	ד	ג	ב	בּ	א
Hei	Dalet	Gimmel	Vet	Bet	Aleph
כּ	י	ט	ח	ז	ו
Cof	Yud	Tet	Chet	Zayin	Vav
ם	מ	ל	ך	ךּ	כ
Mem Sofit	Mem	Lamed	Chof Sofit	Kof Sofit	Chof
פ	פּ	ע	ס	ן	נ
Fey	Pey	Ayin	Samech	Nun Sofit	Nun
ת	שׂ	שׁ	ר	ק	צ
Tav	Sin	Shin	Reish	Kuf	Tzaddik

בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָֽרֶץ׃
0014

ה	ד	ג	ב	בּ	א
Hei	Dalet	Gimmel	Vet	Bet	Aleph
כּ	י	ט	ח	ז	ו
Cof	Yud	Tet	Chet	Zayin	Vav
ם	מ	ל	ך	ךּ	כ
Mem Sofit	Mem	Lamed	Chof Sofit	Kof Sofit	Chof
פ	פּ	ע	ס	ן	נ
Fey	Pey	Ayin	Samech	Nun Sofit	Nun
ת	שׂ	שׁ	ר	ק	צ
Tav	Sin	Shin	Reish	Kuf	Tzaddik

וְהָאָרֶץ הָיְתָה תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ וְחֹשֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵי תְהֹום וְרוּחַ אֱלֹהִים מְרַחֶפֶת עַל־פְּנֵי הַמָּֽיִם׃

0015