LEARNING
HEBREW
The amateur scholar can make considerable progress without knowledge of Hebrew, using English-language translations and scholarly commentaries. However, because of the nature of the Torah and English-language scholarly discussion of it, the amateur Torah scholar will sooner or later need at least minimal ability to work with Biblical Hebrew. Be aware that Biblical Hebrew and Modern Hebrew are quite different and, if Torah study is your goal, Biblical Hebrew is what you want.
Classes
in Hebrew
Two fairly
common sources of Biblical Hebrew instructions are:
- Classes
at synagogues, colleges and universities (including associated Hillel
organizations), and Christian and other seminaries; and
- Private tutors recommended by the above.
If your rabbi does not teach a regular beginning Hebrew class, perhaps you can find five or ten others who are interested in learning and persuade him or her to do so.
Self-Instruction
Tools
There are many
good beginning Hebrew instruction aids. Three that we have found
particularly helpful for those learning alone are (in ascending order
of recommended use):
- Simon,
Ethelyn and Joseph Anderson, Teach yourself to read Hebrew, revised
edition, 1985, Lesson Book and audiotapes, Oakland, CA: EKS
Pub. Co., Learn the Aleph-Bet and vowels--make it all the way to syllables
and even a few real Hebrew words! EKS has many other publications and
learning tools. Send for their catalog.
- Simon,
Ethelyn and others, The first Hebrew primer; the adult beginner's
path to Biblical Hebrew, 3rd ed., Oakland, CA: EKS,
2000. 401 pp. This is our favorite book for beginners. "In thirty
lessons, you will be given enough information and practice to enable
you, with the aid of a Hebrew-English dictionary, to understand most
Biblical texts." Uses the Book of Ruth for guided reading.
- Hebrew Tutor for Windows. Hiawatha, Iowa: Parsons Technology, 1995. CD-ROM. $49.00. Graphics and audio make this appropriate for self-instruction. It is also a good complement to other texts and invaluable for review. Also has guided reading from the Book of Ruth.
Grammars
For those
who have achieved a reasonable level of comfort with beginning Biblical
Hebrew, perhaps completed at least one full year of classes or worked
their way through all our above recommended learning tools, a grammar
is an indispensable reference tool. Bluethread has never read any
of these books from cover to cover, but a week does not go by without
our turning to them to solve both simple and complex mysteries, as well
as to review grammatical rules.
- Weingreen,
J. A practical grammar for classical Hebrew, 2nd ed. N.Y., Oxford
Univ. Pr., 1959. 316 pp. Also useful as reference and review.
- Gesenius, Friedrich Heinrich Wilhelm. Gesenius' Hebrew grammar / E. Kautzsch, ed. 2nd English ed. rev. in accordance with the 28th German ed. / by A.E. Crowley. New York : Oxford University Press, 1980. 616 pp. The standard comprehensive text. Not a book for the faint-hearted, but can resolve complicated grammatical questions that may arise when translating texts.
4/16/00
© Rosemarie E. Falanga, Cy H. Silver