Begins, Monday, Oct. 31, 7 pm
Rabbi Sender Haber
A course designed to teach how to read Hebrew in five easy lessons is being offered by Norfolk’s B’nai Israel Congregation. The free Hebrew Reading Crash Course is available to all members of the Tidewater Jewish community.
The course is offered to inspire unaffiliated Jews to become more involved in Jewish life.
An estimated four million American Jews are not affiliated with any religious denomination or institution. For many such Jews, the inability to read Hebrew and understand synagogue services is an effective barrier to active participation in Jewish life. By teaching to read Hebrew and making people feel comfortable in synagogues, NJOP, sponsor of the Hebrew Reading Crash Course, hopes to open the door to Jewish growth and commitment for previously uninvolved or marginally affiliated Jews.
“The Hebrew Reading Crash Course opened a new dimension in my life,” says Larry Diamond, a Manhattan businessman. “Before the Crash Course, I rarely set foot inside a synagogue except for weddings and Bar Mitzvahs. I felt like a fish out of water because I couldn’t even read the writing over the ark. Thanks to NJOP, I now attend synagogue every Sabbath, and I am overjoyed that I can pray along with the rest of the congregation in the original Hebrew text.”
The five-week Hebrew Reading Crash Course is geared toward “Jewish beginners,” as well as those who feel left out during synagogue services, unable to follow or appreciate the liturgy. The course begins with learning the Hebrew alphabet and covers basic reading skills, preparing the participant for reading and understanding prayer books and other Jewish texts. Those who complete the course will be able to read Hebrew and gain a rudimentary understanding of the prayers in their original language.
For more information about the Hebrew Reading Crash Course, call B’nai Israel at 757-627-7358 or NJOP at 800-44-HEBRE(W).
B’nai Israel is located at 420 Spotswood Avenue in Ghent.
NJOP was established in 1987 by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald. NJOP offers free programs at more than 4,944 locations across North America and in 41 countries worldwide.