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Looking for Hebrew help



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SplitPea




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Nov 26 2013, 5:37 am
I am trying to find someone who (as a chessed) will help me by phone once a week with reading and understanding Hebrew. Sephardi pronunciation. I am having a LOT of trouble and know I need practice. At this point I can't even do basic davining in Hebrew. I would love to be able to. Sadly we don't have the financial means to pay a tutor but I really dream of davining in Hebrew or going to a ladies tehillim meeting and taking a booklet myself
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greenfire




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Nov 26 2013, 6:15 am
there are tehillim booklets that are in hebrew & english and I've known many people to partake in groups praying in english ...

kudos to you for quest in reading hebrew ... don't give up ~ good luck !!!
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Sanguine




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Nov 26 2013, 7:09 am
I can help you with reading - we can Skype or call (I'm in Israel) - But Tehillim is not the place to start reading. That's two different things. Greenfire is right - get a tehillim with English translation and you'll understand.
It takes a long time to understand a language and Tehillim isn't easy words.

Do you read Hebrew at all? You will be able to read Tehillim but if you don't read Hebrew, you have to start by reading reading books. The way kids learn to read in school. Once you pick up reading from easier texts, you'll be able to read Tehillim and Daven in Hebrew but will need to read an English translation to understand.

I'm willing to try to help you with your reading, but you'll have to stick with English translations if you don't know Hebrew. Slowly you may start to actually understand the words. - Davening may be easier than Tehillim to understand

Explain how much you do know. Can you read, but slowly? Do you know the Alef Bet? can you read and just need practice?
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SplitPea




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Nov 26 2013, 7:19 am
I know the basics. I can read words (with a lot of mistakes) and VERY slowly. I am not sure if you are familiar with how English can be taught.

There was a school of thought my school went by called "whole language"
I learned English using sight words and context clues. As odd as it sounds I was NEVER taught phonics and sounding out in grade school. I am now having to pretty much learn a whole new skill of Hebrew along with a skill of how to be able to sound words out and blend sounds together.

I guess to say I learned that cat was "CAT" not "C - ahhh - T" if that makes sense. I know I need practice in learning to sound things out and how to understand. I have a working knowledge of the spoken language (basic words phrases etc)

For something like bentching or shema (I have memorized them) I can follow along with the words as I say them but if I get distracted or lost I can't find where I am at and I just continue from memory without following. For something like the megilla I don't follow at all because I feel its more if a distraction trying to follow than and keeps me from hearing every word because I keep getting lost and then spend 10 minutes looking for where we are)


I am not sure if that gives a picture of where I am. I know I just need practice and a little instruction. I typically pick up languages pretty fast (I speak French, understand Spanish and English) but all of those I had instruction and a little guidance with. Hebrew I was kindov thrown into and had to start leaning on my own at 20z
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Sanguine




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Nov 26 2013, 8:00 am
Do you know all the Hebrew letters and all the vowels (the dots)? I know they've started teaching Hebrew Globali (that's a Hebrew word - guess it's the same as whole language) - but I don't really get it. I guess I read by looking at letters and dots but like any language you don't actually read, you sort of memorize what words look like so you read word by word, not letter by letter. Past first grade here, the kids read without dots cause you're not sounding out letter by letter - you recognize the word and understand the context

Siddurim, chumashim and Tehillim always have the dots cause you have to make sure to read the word right and it's not always obvious like words in a story. You read it quicker with practice but you have to know how to read with dots

I'm not a teacher so I may not be right - But I do know how to read Hebrew (even helped my kids learn). I think you should learn to read letters and dots so you can always sound any word in a siddur. Then it just takes practice and as you daven the same thing everyday it's part memory.

Maybe someone who knows more about this can give advice - A Hebrew Teacher, Someone with a first grader...

I'm willing to read with you or help you with the vowels but I don't see starting from a Tehiilim as the answer

BTW - Hebrew is much easier than English. There are no tricks. If you know letters and vowels you can read anything
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