Hebrew Literacy

The FJMC “Hebrew Literacy Program” makes the achievement of Hebrew literacy attainable. Rabbi Noah Golinkin z”ll in cooperation with the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs developed a Hebrew Literacy Campaign using two books that he wrote Shalom Aleichem (1978) followed by Ein Keloheinu (1981). These books and Hebrew Literacy classes taught over 200,000 adult Conservative and Reform Jews how to read the prayer book. The FJMC does not own the copyright to these books. Shalom Aleichem and Ein Keloheinu are out of print and we no longer have any stock in the FJMC Store.

Please find below links to other books on Hebrew Literacy available on Amazon and a link to find used copies of Shalom Aleichem.

The FJMC strongly encourages the pursuit of Hebrew Literacy but does not recommend or endorse a specific book or set of books at this time.

Words of the Week

And to see how an innovative ‘Hebrew Literacy’ program, which was developed by Temple Israel of Natick, Massachusetts, a member of the New England Region of the FJMC, can be added to your club’s programming (and your synagogue’s publications), check out the Words of the Week website [It won a Gold Torch Award at the 2011 FJMC Convention]. The purpose of the program is “To teach the novice Hebrew readers of our congregations the Hebrew words found in the Torah and Siddur a few words at a time so they will be more comfortable in our synagogues.” The program provides five Hebrew Words with their English translation and transliteration a week from the Torah portion for synagogues to insert into their paper Shabbat fliers and weekly emails. And it is published every week in the FJMC’s Unraveller.

A sample of the table of words, containing the transliteraiton and meaning (as well as where the verse appears in the Torah portion, in this case Noah), is shown below:

As the creator of the program, David Singer said: “Not long ago, I passed my 20 year mark at Temple Israel and I realized that if I had learned an average of just one Hebrew word a week during Shabbat services, I’d know over 1000 Hebrew words. Using the approach that, by learning a little bit at a time, we can acquire a substantial vocabulary, the Men’s Club and I have created the Divrei HaShavua – Words of the Week Initiative.”

“My feeling is that no one should leave the Shabbat morning service after reading the story of Noah without knowing the Hebrew word for flood (מבוּל), or the story of Joseph without knowing the word for dream (חלוֹם). Divrei Hashavua has the potential to stimulate interest for everyone in the parsha, including those that often don’t feel a connection with the Torah service. This program is one small step to help make our Conservative services more accessible to current and potential synagogue members. It might even inspire some people to participate in the Federation of Jewish Men’s Club’s Hebrew Literacy Program or to seek another Hebrew class.”

To check out the “Words of the Week website, either click on the link to the left (in the navigation pane on left), or click here.