It’s Hebrew to Me
Did you ever have that dream where you showed up to school and you were the only one who forgot to put on clothes? Please forgive me if I’m evoking childhood trauma, but the nightmare analogy helps me make my point in this attempt at a persuasive essay.
Lately, in my spare time, I have been engaging in an activity all by myself—learning biblical Hebrew. Like an undressed person, I’ve made it starkly clear to the people around me what I’m doing. So far, everyone (except my enthusiastic 10 year-old) has just given me a figurative pat on the head, implying, “Good for you.”
It all started several years ago when a Jewish friend of mine gave me a parking lot bar mitzvah involving a little box, some leather, and a lot of Hebrew—none of which I understood. It would have been nice to know what he said.
Over the last few years, I’ve enjoyed The Bible Project, mentioned before on this blog. The Bible Project attempts to make the Bible more understandable, and a key component of that is understanding the language and culture in which the Bible was written, namely Hebrew and Greek.
I have learned many new and interesting things about the Bible from their teaching, leading me to search for a cheap and easy way to learn biblical Hebrew. Lo and behold, I found what I deem the most amazing thing on the internet, Aleph with Beth.
This high-quality, engaging resource is given freely through a ministry led by what appears to be a delightful young Christian couple. Bethany and Andrew Case state on their website that they “believe that the biblical languages can and should be the new normal for discipleship.” A bold statement, for certain, and one which I am beginning to embrace.
Back to the nightmare analogy. Many of you have taken biblical language courses and told me about your experiences. Sadly, it seems you would rather have experienced a naked day at school than another day in Hebrew 101.
I promise, Aleph with Beth is different. Watch the first video, and you’ll see:
I try to watch a video each day, repeating the videos until I feel comfortable. If you want to join me, let me know! I’m only on lesson 8, so it won’t take long to catch up. My goal is to be able to read the Old Testament in Hebrew, which might take several years. But it will be a fun adventure, and like any adventure, it’s good to have companions. Otherwise, it kind of feels like being the only boy at Hebrew school who forgot his tzitzit.
