Rachel Hebrew Lesson 3/24

Tuesday March 24th 2020

Dear Daled-ites,

I hope you are enjoying this adventure of online learning, and bizarre adult behavior, and I know that you are coming up with all kinds of new ways to keep yourselves entertained. Safely. Ahem.

Today’s Hebrew lesson, again, comes in two parts. Whether you want to do it all at once, or spread it out over the week, I hope you find it useful (and even fun!)

Part One: Please watch these two videos:

(The first video will review the next set of Hebrew letters, and the second video will review the vowels, which will help you with the second part of this lesson.)


  1. You will need five index cards or card-shaped pieces of paper

  2. On one side of each card, write the Hebrew letter. The letters for these five cards are: ו,ז,ח,ט,י

  3. On the other side of each card, write the name of the letter – Vav, Zayin, Chet, Tet, Yud.

  4. Now, add a picture to the card that will help you to remember the letter for that card, whether it’s a table for Chet, a winking eye Yud, sleeping lion for Zayin, use your imagination and make the pictures memorable for you.

  5. Send me a picture of your favorite Aleph Bet picture at rachelmank@earthlink.net

Part Two: Story time!

  1. First, read the two page story below. You will notice that some of the Hebrew words have escaped from their parentheses (eek!), but don’t be scared. Look back to a previous appearance of that word and you will see the English translation next to it. My hope is that repetition of some small words will give you a chance to test your memories, without causing too much anxiety.

  2. Second task, think about what is, or could be, your own version of Ellie’s magic carpet. Consider talking to random people, in your house, about how they’ve used magic carpets in their own lives to help them learn difficult subjects. You can also email me your answers for this question at rachelmank@earthlink.net

  3. Next, take a look at the word list and you’ll notice that the Hebrew words are standing there all by themselves, lonely and forlorn. Your mission, should you be willing to attempt it, is to find the English translations for each of the Hebrew words as you re-read the story. You may have noticed that, in a few cases, there are two or three Hebrew words within one set of parentheses. This is a chance for you to challenge yourself to try and figure out which Hebrew word matches with which English word.

  4. Don’t panic! Do as much as you can, and then let it go. As Samantha taught me, practice makes progress, not perfection. Do as many words as you can, and then take a break; take a few deep breaths, jump around the room, sing a song, and then get back to work. You can do it!

I hope you are learning so much that by the time I see you again your head is two times the size it was the last time I saw you!

Send me

Shalom (goodbye) and Shalom (peace),

Morah Rachel