Lesson 1 - Shalom - Basic Introduction

Shalom and welcome to Learn Hebrew Pod!  We are about to embark on an exciting journey together--the journey of learning modern conversational Hebrew.

In 1881, when Eliezer Ben-Yehudah and his wife began their journey--to what is now Israel--Hebrew hadn’t been spoken in almost 2,000 years.  Nevertheless, when they arrived in their new homeland, they pledged that they would speak rak be-Ivrit--only in Hebrew.  It is largely because of Ben-Yehudah’s work in reviving the language that we are able to learn Hebrew together today.  Of course, you don’t have to go quite as far as our friend Eliezer: You don’t need to pledge to speak ONLY in Hebrew!  (But you’ll be amazed at how quickly you’ll be able to engage in a Hebrew conversation!)

First things first: In Lesson 1, we will meet our instructors and guides.  And by the time Jonathan, Liat, and Eran have finished introducing themselves to us and to each other, we will have learned quite a bit about Hebrew.  We’ll know, for example, why it is sometimes important to learn full expressions instead of word-for-word translations.  We’ll get our first hint of how important gender is in the Hebrew language.  We’ll learn at least three different ways to tell someone to have a great day.  And we’ll get our first taste of the soon-to-be-famous “cheese cream rule.”

So join us at Learn Hebrew Pod from the very beginning, and you’ll never look at cheese cream on a bagel delicious quite the same way again!