Biblical Hebrew for Everyone

NEW COHORT NOW GATHERING! Classes begin April 26, 2022.

​A collaborative offering of Mekom Torah and
​The Mordecai M. Kaplan Center for Jewish Peoplehood

Meeting online via Zoom

• Two semesters of about 20 sessions each, over the course of about one calendar year, with breaks for holidays and summer vacation.
• All course materials are accessible online, with recordings available for missed classes.
• New cohort meets Tuesdays, from 7:30 - 9:00 pm Eastern time, beginning April 26, 2022.

Instructor: Rabbi Helen Plotkin taught Biblical Hebrew for 20 years at Swarthmore College, in the departments of Classics and Religion.  She currently teaches at Reconstructionist Rabbinical College.

What you can expect to accomplish

• Learn to read the Hebrew Bible in the original, using the tools available in reference books and online.
• Uncover the nuances and ambiguities in biblical language that commentators use as jumping off points for interpretation.
• Understand much of Jewish liturgy.
• Discover why different translations are so different.
• Rescue your powers of interpretation from the hands of translators.

Before you begin: You should have at least a basic knowledge of the Hebrew alphabet.  Please contact Rabbi Plotkin for help getting up to speed. As long as you’ve made a start, your reading will get smoother rapidly as you begin to understand the language!

How this is like a college course: There will be homework.  Consistent attendance is expected.  Commitment is paramount!

How this is different from a college course: It’s fun and welcoming, with no grades, just encouragement and pay-off for hard work.  Examples are drawn from familiar passages in the Bible, Jewish liturgy, holiday practice, and other famous Jewish texts.

Tuition: For more information please fill out the form below, or contact Rabbi Helen Plotkin (helen@mekomtorah.org). Tuition assistance is available.

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