So, this is what it is like to be illiterate…

One the things that I take for granted in my life is the ability to read. I am a chronic reader. I read cereal boxes, bulletin boards, informational brochures and even my husband’s civil engineering magazines. I was a French Literature major in college and read in French, German, Polish (sometimes) and English. I also read very fast. I don’t savor every letter, I speed through reading whole groups of sentences at one time…

Meet The Hebrew Horror

A group of friends from my synagogue and my daughter’s preschool has decided to do an adult bat mitzvah together. I was sort of planning to “lay low” and just get used to being Jewish, but I can’t resist the opportunity to learn with five of my favorite people in the whole world…and I can’t stand not being able to read the Hebrew during the services. And, yes, I know that I am not the only one there using transliteration but still it is vexing.

So, I’m practicing. I found some fun online flash cards with awesome phrases such as “if you will it, it is not a dream”. Yes, I see myself using that one often. The animals were fun because there are many Hebrew animal names that are the same as the English. I also bought the At Home With Hebrew digital tutorial which isn’t bad even though the technology is 10 years old. They even have the blessings in rap. Somehow I doubt that is an option for us — even though I can’t sing very well.

Slow Down, Speed Reader…

The thing that gets me the most is that unlike on most of my language learning adventures, I’m not very good at Hebrew “decoding” because I don’t pay close enough attention to what the letters are. I’m used to buzzing through not going slow. I suppose that this learning experience will be good for me Looking forward to actually starting with the tutor in June.