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Hebrew for Dummies

Hebrew for Dummies

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Author: Jill Suzanne Jacobs
Publisher: For Dummies
Category: Book

List Price: $24.99
Buy New: $1.91
You Save: $23.08 (92%)

Qty 2 In Stock


New (44) Used (18) from $1.91

Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars 20 reviews
Sales Rank: 19559

Media: Paperback
Edition: 1st
Pages: 384
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 7.3 x 1.1

ISBN: 0764554891
Dewey Decimal Number: 492.482421
EAN: 9780764554896
ASIN: 0764554891

Publication Date: April 3, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
One of the most amazing things about Hebrew is that, in less than a century, it has gone from an ancient language of prayer and ritual spoken by a few holy men to a modern language of sunbathing, dining, going to the movies, and countless other everyday activities, spoken by millions. Modern Hebrew is a beautiful language, but for a native English speaker it can be tough wrapping your tongue around exotic expressions like “Ha’im Ayn Oogiyot?” (“What, no cookies?”). As with any language, the quickest way to master Hebrew basics is to immerse yourself in its sounds and rhythms. The next best thing to six months in Haifa, Hebrew For Dummies lets you do just that!

Whether you want to communicate with your Israeli cousins, understand Jewish prayers and sacred literature, impress your Jewish in-laws, or you’re planning a trip to Israel, this book/audio package can help. In no time, you’ll:

  • Master Hebrew sounds and rhythms
  • Understand basic grammar and usage
  • Get a handle on the Hebrew alphabet
  • Make small-talk, and most everyday transactions
  • Discover the basics of Hebrew blessings and prayer
  • Gain insights into Hebrew culture and traditions

Each chapter of Hebrew For Dummies is organized around a specific set of activities—such as eating, traveling, shopping, and asking directions—and gives you the lowdown on all the Hebrew you’ll need to get by. Topics covered include:

  • Eating, going shopping, having fun, sports, hobbies, talking on the phone, communicating around the office, and other everyday activities
  • Hebrew for travelers, including transportation, hotels, money changing, asking directions, and handling emergencies
  • Sacred Hebrew, including reading the Bible and prayer books, blessing formulas, sacred rites and services, and more

The enclosed audio CD let’s you pick up Hebrew the easy way—through actual conversations. It features:

  • Dialogues by native Hebrew speakers
  • Answers to the Fun & Games activities in the book

The fun, easy way to master basic Hebrew, this book will quickly get you on track with the language skills you need to speak and read Hebrew like a native.


Customer Reviews:   Read 10 more reviews...

1 out of 5 stars Silly, trivial and unhelpful   September 19, 2008
lexo1941 (Dublin, Ireland)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

I am perhaps unusual in that I'm interested in learning Hebrew although I'm not studying the Bible, nor am I planning to travel to Israel, nor am I Jewish, nor am I marrying into a Jewish family. I am interested in learning Hebrew for the sake of learning a rich and difficult language which will open up a huge amount of literature to me. In this respect, "Hebrew for Dummies" sucks. It assumes that the reader is a.) American, b.) Jewish (or at least closely related to someone Jewish) and c.) learning-impaired. I suppose the last one is kind of the point of the "For Dummies" series, which as a series I've never found very helpful.

Nevertheless, after struggling with this book's relentlessly silly approach I ended up selling it to a secondhand bookshop and acquiring a couple of books on Biblical Hebrew (by J. Weingreen and John Dobson), both of which were far more packed with information than this gee-whiz compendium of empty chit-chat. I noticed, too, that the conversations on the accompanying CD of my edition did not always correspond to the transcripts in the book; I am enough of a linguist to be able to tell when what I'm hearing is not what I'm reading. Perhaps this has been fixed in subsequent editions.

The final problem is that Jacobs does not solve the huge problem of teaching the student to read the Hebrew alphabet. The student of Hebrew who is not put to work straight away at deciphering the alphabet is, to put it bluntly, screwed. This book may teach you how to order a coffee in Jerusalem, but you will probably not learn how to read the menu in the coffee shop. I don't think that that's worth the money.

I am still keen to learn Modern Hebrew, but the only people I can recommend this book to are those who have never been exposed to any language other than American English. Even then, I think they would be better off taking lessons.



1 out of 5 stars A heavy book with travel style topics   July 31, 2008
Geraldo XEXEO (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

I really like the "for Dummies" series, however, this volume does not fulfill my expectations. The chapters focus on practical sentences in Hebrew, however they are not so practical that you can use as a traveller guide and not so good that you can learn some hebrew.
Also, but for the first chapter, it does not deal with hebrew characters. Just with english transliteration.
I think it was a loss of money.



1 out of 5 stars A terrible place to start   May 28, 2008
Visa (Tucson, AZ)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

I got this since I know the basics of Hebrew but this book doesn't use a single Hebrew letter. Everything is Latinized and that is a terrible way to learn Hebrew and it is forbidden in an actual classroom.

Do yourself a favor. If there is a synagogue in your town, call them up and see if they offer Hebrew classes. Then check with your local community college or university.

Not using the Hebrew alphabet is the worst way to learn Hebrew. You WILL say some words wrong and anyone who knows Hebrew will have to correct you so much that you soon realize that you've been ripped off by buying this book.



2 out of 5 stars Conversational Only   November 22, 2007
Charles G. King III (Edmonds, WA USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Don't expect to learn anything about the written language. There are also inconsistencies in the romanized spelling of certain terms. These are easy to identify, but annoying nonetheless.


1 out of 5 stars can't believe it doesn't use Hebrew script   September 28, 2007
Ronald Good (Berkeley, CA USA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

When i learn a language, i want to learn to write it at the same time i learn to speak it. It makes little sense to just learn to talk and not to read or write. One re-enforces the other. This book is completely based on phonetic spelling of Hebrew. Absolutely useless.



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