As we approach Shavuot, the first thing that comes to mind is cheesecake and blintzes! After all, Shavuot is the festival where dairy is the primary food to eat, because it is also a harvest festival. But, there is indeed a more serious reason for celebrating Shavuot, and that it is z’man matan torateinoo, the […]
How to Read Hebrew
Easy Hebrew Reading
Reflecting on my last post, it seemed like I was complaining about being the daughter of a Rabbi. That wasn’t how I wanted it to come across; it was just a different upbringing to my friends. After all, which of my friends started to learn to how to read Hebrew from a young age? How […]
Learn To Read Hebrew Online
Life as a daughter of a Rabbi was anything but “normal” (well, at least in my opinion!) We weren’t allowed to watch television on Friday evenings or Saturdays, because it was the Jewish Sabbath (Shabbat). Every Friday evening I had to accompany my father to the Synagogue, where everything was read in Hebrew! I suppose […]
Learn To Read Hebrew
As I mentioned before, my Hebrew reading journey started from day 1! I mentioned that I was born on Sukkot, and once I came home from the hospital, I can only imagine that we would have had quite a few visitors to wish my parents well. It is very common amongst Jewish people to use […]
Pesach
Pesach is by far my favorite festival; the rituals, the beautifully set table, the songs and so much more. I’m lucky because my father taught me to read Hebrew. Having the Hebrew background makes the Seder so much more meaningful. The Hebrew readings in the Haggadah have a certain depth which isn’t found in English. […]
Learn To Read Hebrew
I really have no memory of my life as a baby and as a young child, but what I do know, with my father working as Rabbi, he didn’t leave his work at the office; it was brought home with him every night. Of course, being a rabbi, Hebrew was integral to his work. He […]
Learn To Read Hebrew
I made mention of God in my last post. It is interesting, because there is not a name for God in Hebrew. In fact, when one starts to read Hebrew, it is not obvious how to pronounce God’s name. Reading Hebrew is relatively straight forward (once you know the how to read Hebrew, consonants, vowels […]
The Festival Of Purim
Purim, one of my not-so-favourite festivals. Oy! The noise of the noisemakers (graggers in Yiddish) – after a while it gets under my skin! BUT, if I take a step back and think about it, it is actually an extraordinary festival. To think that the evil Haman drew “purim” – “lots” to decide which date […]
Learn To Read Hebrew
My Hebrew reading journey started approximately 45 years ago. My father is a rabbi, so one of the first phrases I must have heard would have been in Hebrew. He must have been reading Hebrew from a prayer book, as I was born on Sukkot (a Jewish festival), and Jewish people definitely read Hebrew during […]