Lesson Transcript

Shalom, ani Yana! Welcome to Hebrewpod101.com’s Alef-Beit be-kalei kalut.
The fastest, easiest, and most fun way to learn the Hebrew alphabet: the alef-beit!
We have finished the entire alef-beit and the full niqqud system in Hebrew!
Well done! Kol ha-kavod!!!!
In this lesson we will intrdocue a very famous Hebrew sentence -- including the full niqqud - so that you can easily read it!
We started this series with the letter alef- the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. So what better place to start our study of the Hebrew Bible than with its first statement?- בְּרֵאשִׁית
'Be-reshit bara elohim et ha-shamayim ve-et ha-arats'
"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."
Let's break it down;
'be-reshit'- in the beginning.
בְּרֵאשִׁית (handwriting)
בְּרֵאשִׁית (print)
'bara'- created.
בָּרָא (handwriting)
בָּרָא (print)
'Elohim'- God.
אֱלֹהים (handwriting)
אֱלֹהים (print)
את 'et ha-shamayim'- the sky/heaven.
אֵת הַשָמַיִים (handwriting)
את השמיים(print)
ve-et ha-arets'- and the earth.
וְאֵת הָאָרֵץ' (handwriting)
וְאֵת הָאָרֵץ' (print)
Can you believe it?! You’ve just read an ancient Biblical text in the original - without modification!
Well done!
Now it's time for Yana's insights;
In English, the first book of the Bible is often known as “Genesis.” But this is actually a Greek word.
In Hebrew, the first book of the bible is called “Be-reshit”. Does it sound familiar? Of course it should! It is the first word in our phrase in this lesson. In fact, in the five books of the Hebrew Torah, all books are named after the word that starts them off. After Be-reshit comes:
Can you read it? (Pause) that’s right! It’s Šhemot, which means “”Names”. This book is also called Exodus in English.
Next we have ___. Can you read it? Yes! it is Vayiqra, and in Hebrew it means something like “he calls”. In English, it is also called Leviticus.
Do you know what the next book is? (Pause) Yes, it’s Bamidbar. In English this is usually called the Book of Numbers, but in Hebrew it means “in the wilderness” or “desert”
What’s the last book of the Torah called? That’s right! Devarim or “words.” In English it is also called Deuteronomy.
Now you know all about how the Hebrew Bible starts! What’s your favorite proverb?
In the next lesson we will have an example of a Biblical phrase with great cultural relevance even in today’s society.
You will see how Israeli people bring even the oldest traditions and make them a part of contemporary life.
See you then!!!
Lehitraot!!!

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