- Reading, writing and speaking modern Hebrew is a wonderful asset when travelling in the Middle East, especially while touring, working, and studying in Israel.
- The study of Hebrew enables students who want to spend a year overseas in Israel on the Study Elsewhere Program to do so, thus earning credits toward their undergraduate or graduate degrees.
- Students who intend to pursue graduate studies in Israel will find it necessary to have a working knowledge of Hebrew.
- Students specializing in the archaeology of ancient Israel/Palestine will be able to read the requisite journal articles in these areas.
- Students who want to enter the rabbinate, pursue graduate degrees in Israeli or Jewish studies or enter the diplomatic service overseas will find that the knowledge of Hebrew will enhance further studies in these areas as well as offer better employment opportunities.
- Acquisition of foreign languages, especially modern Hebrew, enables students to find job opportunities in Israel.
- Students who want to learn Arabic will find that knowledge of modern Hebrew is a valuable asset. Students who study the structure of modern Hebrew can also, in other years, study biblical, rabbinic, medieval and modern literature.
- Students interested in studying the period of the Shoah/Holocaust will find the knowledge of Hebrew invaluable in reading documents.
- The poetry of Hayyim Nahman Bialik and the contemporary poetry of Israel Prize winner, Dahlia Ravikovitch, the stories of the Nobel Prize winner for Literature (1970) Shmuel Yosef Agnon, can be studied in the original Hebrew.
- Modern Hebrew also offers students, as they advance in their studies, the opportunity to read novels and short stories of world-famous authors such as David Grossman, Amoz Oz, A.B. Yehoshua, Orly Kastel-Bloom, Savyon Liebrecht and others, in the original.
- Modern Hebrew, as well as other areas of Jewish Studies, prepares the student to enter programs which lead to teaching degrees in those areas.
- The study of modern Hebrew leads to the preparation of future leaders in education and other aspects of public service in their communities.
- The study of Hebrew enables students to interview Hebrew-speakers for living, oral testimonies.
- The knowledge of Hebrew enables students to read and study the history and literatures of Israelis and Palestinians in their search for peace.
- Visit the Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations website for more information.
- Consult the A&S calendar for specific course offerings.
- How difficult is it for a student to learn a strange alphabet, like Hebrew, which, in addition to its strange alphabet, reads from right to left?
The instructor in Introductory Modern Hebrew spends the necessary time in class to teach the new alphabet and is available during office hours to offer extra help. Students who devote time to the study of Hebrew, both in and out of class, will be rewarded with a very good knowledge of Hebrew in first year: reading, writing, speaking and listening - How much time will I have to devote to the study of a new language, such as Hebrew?
The student should spend at least twice as many hours outside the classroom preparing vocabulary, exercises and reading aloud, in order to derive maximum benefit during class time, thus enabling him/her in reading and speaking . - Why do I have to spend a lot of time learning grammar when all I want to do is speak Hebrew?
In order to speak Hebrew properly, in past, present and future, there must be sufficient learning of grammar, its rules, verb and noun patterns and syntax. Therefore, all aspects of grammar are taught and drilled in class and emphasized through speaking, listening, reading and writing, As the student advances through the different levels of Hebrew study s/he will discover the advantages of learning Hebrew systematically.
