The first part of learning any language is mastering the alphabet, and students interested in learning Hebrew will do just that.
The aleph-bet, otherwise known as the Hebrew alphabet, contains 22 letters and no vowels. Hebrew script is read and written from right to left.
Rabbi Danielle Leshaw, executive director of Hillel at Ohio University, will cover the aleph-bet and other basics of the Hebrew language, such as learning to read and write Hebrew phrases, during her second Hebrew Crash Course.
This year’s course will follow the exact outline as last year’s, Leshaw said.
“My ultimate vision is that students who take this class in the first semester will take a follow-up class second semester and make a commitment to finding a time to continue studying together,” Leshaw said.
Prior knowledge of the Hebrew language isn’t necessary, said Henry Kessler, a sophomore studying art history, who took the course last year.
“There were all different levels of students,” Kessler said. “There were some who had never seen Hebrew letters before and then some that were familiar.”
Kessler said he was familiar with the language because he went to a Jewish school from kindergarten to sixth grade where he took Hebrew classes.
“We broke off, and those who knew more would be chavrutas (study partners) with someone who knew less Hebrew,” he said.
Although the class was a bit difficult, it was manageable and interesting, said Danielle Fultz, a junior studying French and European history, who took the crash course last year.
“I’ve heard Hebrew throughout my life, but I never learned it,” Fultz said. “At first, it’s really weird because you are reading right and left, and the vowels aren’t by themselves. But it was a lot of fun.”
Students do not have to be Jewish to attend the class and learn Hebrew, Kessler said.
“There were a lot of non-Jewish students last year, and some even went on the study abroad trip,” he said. “If you are interested in visiting Israel, this can be the foundation for it.”
ao007510@ohiou.edu
