The happiest holiday on the Jewish calendar ends with a cry for help. 🌿

It is the only festival where joy is commanded three separate times. And on its final day, people walk in circles holding palm branches, saying two words that mean save, please.

You probably know those words. Christians sing them every Palm Sunday.

Glad and desperate in the same week, and Hebrew sees no contradiction in that at all. Neither, if we are honest, does most of life.

I went deep into the four Hebrew words at the center of Sukkot. A hut defined by the holes in its roof. A holiday named for a circle. Joy you do rather than wait for. And that final cry.

Come find out what your translation left out 👇

https://hebrewbyinbal.substack.com/p/learn-the-hebrew-behind-sukkot-four?r=2at7n8&utm_medium=ios

#Sukkot #LearnHebrew #Hebrew #BibleStudy

The year is written on Rosh Hashanah.

This is what happens at the end of Yom Kippur.

#yomkippur #neilah #gmarchatimatova #hebrew #biblicalhebrew

The word Sukkot is named for first shows up in the Bible as a shed Jacob built for his cattle. 🌿

Not a sanctuary. Not a temple. A livestock shelter.

And that turns out to be the whole point of the holiday.

I went deep into four Hebrew words at the center of this festival. Why nearly every rule about the hut concerns the roof, and what it means that you are meant to see stars through it. Why the word for holiday is built from the word for circle. Why joy is commanded here three times, more than anywhere else. And the word Christians sing every Palm Sunday, which came from this exact week. 👇🏻

https://youtu.be/-6AZaVUIcVU?is=740MtAfzE_9L7oI_

Five days after being sealed on Yom Kippur, you are told to go sit under a roof full of holes. Hebrew has a reason for that.

Come find out what your translation left out 💙

#Sukkot #LearnHebrew #Hebrew #BibleStudy

When does it first show up in the Bible?

The word Moses used after the golden calf is the one Israelis use on a crowded bus.

#slicha #yomkippur #hebrew #forgiveness #exodus

There is a word Israelis say constantly that stops English speakers cold the first time they hear it.

It sounds exactly like a word you know. A dark one and the moment you hear it your brain does a small panic before the rest of the sentence catches up.

It means nothing of the kind. 🤗

In fact it is one of the most useful words in the language, and once you have it, you will hear it everywhere. Parents say it. Friends say it. Every Israeli within earshot of a sibling argument has said it.

This is my favorite category of Hebrew to teach, the words that trip you specifically because you already speak English. Your own language sets the trap. And the fix is always the same. Someone who actually speaks Hebrew tells you what is really going on, and it never confuses you again.

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #HebrewForBeginners #LanguageLearning

Two blessings, two meanings.

“Yom Kippur” is 25 hours without food or water. We wish each other gentleness in it.

The second is bigger. Tradition says the year is written on Rosh Hashanah and sealed on Yom Kippur. Ten days between the writing and the signature. “To be sealed in the Book of Life for good” is to wish someone a year that holds.

May your fast be easy, and may you be sealed for good. 💙

#YomKippur #LearnHebrew #Hebrew #JewishLife

“Coming Back to God”

How this modern expression you will hear in Israel goes all the way back to ancient Hebrew and connects everything together.

#Hebrew #Religion #Language #Faith

Loving this picture and message from Janet:

“Just arived!!!

Thanx so much and have a good fast!

Shabbat Shalom”

I can never say it enough, the blessing it is to teach Hebrew around the world. Entering wonderful homes of all faiths and cultures is such a gift. And sharing in their excitement fuels me to continue!

Thank you Janet and I love the table! 🧡

#Hebrew #Books #LanguageLearning #StudyTime

English has been translating this word wrong for centuries.

Here's what it actually asks of you.

#teshuva #yomkippur #hebrew #biblicalhebrew #repentance

ICYMI

The word Yom Kippur is named for first shows up in the Bible with Noah, covering the ark so everyone inside survives the flood. 🕊️

Not sin. Not guilt. Survival.

In my newest article I open the four Hebrew words at the center of this day. Why the word Israelis use to mean "I've got you" is the same root. Why tshuva was never about feeling terrible. And why the word Moses said after the golden calf is the word you use to squeeze past someone on a bus in Tel Aviv. Click to Read 👇🏻

https://hebrewbyinbal.substack.com/p/learn-the-hebrew-behind-yom-kippur?r=2at7n8&utm_medium=ios

Every one of them carries something your translation dropped.

#YomKippur #LearnHebrew #Hebrew #BibleStudy

Israelis say the holiest word of the year to people they love.

Here's why.

#hebrew #israel #hebrewslang #yomkippur #modernhebrew

What to wish someone on Yom Kippur

#YomKippur #HighHolidays #Hebrew #LanguageLearning

I meant to share this at the start of the new year, and then the days got away from me.

Which turns out to be fitting, because the word I chose is not one that expires.

My word for this year is shalom. Peace and here is what most people do not know about it. Shalom does not only mean peace the way English means it, the absence of fighting. The root carries the idea of wholeness. Something complete, with nothing missing. That is why we use the same word to greet someone and to say goodbye. We are not just wishing quiet on them. We are wishing them whole.

I do not need to tell you why I chose it this year.

But I want to say clearly that I did not choose it as a wish for something far away and political. I chose it for the smaller version too. Peace in a home. Peace in a body that has been through things. Peace between two people who stopped speaking. The kind you can actually build.

So a few days late, and no less sincere: shalom. May this year bring you the whole version.

#Hebrew #Shalom

These days from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur.

Here's what's actually happening in them.

#yomkippur #tendaysofrepentance #jewishholidays #hebrew #gmarchatimatova

The word Yom Kippur is named for first shows up in the Bible with Noah, covering the ark so everyone inside survives the flood. 🕊️

Not sin. Not guilt. Survival.

In my newest article I open the four Hebrew words at the center of this day. Why the word Israelis use to mean "I've got you" is the same root. Why tshuva was never about feeling terrible. And why the word Moses said after the golden calf is the word you use to squeeze past someone on a bus in Tel Aviv. Click to Read 👇🏻

https://hebrewbyinbal.substack.com/p/learn-the-hebrew-behind-yom-kippur?r=2at7n8&utm_medium=ios

Every one of them carries something your translation dropped.

#YomKippur #LearnHebrew #Hebrew #BibleStudy

The holiest day of the year is named after something that happened before there was any sin to atone for. click 👇🏻
https://youtu.be/VYfZF6mtH9A?is=52Gg_y2McoQVBtsK

#yomkippur #hebrew #noahsark #genesis #dayofatonement

It’s Live!

My Video Lesson all about the deep meaning of Yom Kippur.

Click Here to Watch or COMMENT “YOM” to receive the link 👇🏻 https://youtu.be/VYfZF6mtH9A

#YomKippur #Jewish #HighHolidays #Hebrew

Going Live today at 12 noon!

My Video Lesson all about the deep meaning of Yom Kippur.

Subscribe now to be notified when it publishes! https://www.youtube.com/hebrewbyinbal to not miss it!

#YomKippur #Jewish #HighHolidays #Hebrew

There's a reason it's an apple and not any other sweet fruit.

#roshhashanah #applesandhoney #shanatova #hebrew #jewishnewyear

A student sent me this.

Hebrew 1 and Hebrew 2 open on the table. The alphabet chart beside them. Colored pencils and a small handwritten card, in Hebrew, in their own hand, that reads “Shabbat Shalom, Morah.”

“Shabbat Shalom, teacher.”

Not typed, they wrote it. Letters formed slowly by someone who is still learning to form them on the one day of the week made for stopping, in a language thousands of years older than both of us.

There is something I will never get used to about this work. A person somewhere I have never been, in a home I will never see, choosing to spend a piece of their Shabbat with letters I taught them. And then turning around to wish me peace in my own language.

Thank you. You have no idea what this means.

Shabbat Shalom to you too. 💙

#ShabbatShalom #LearnHebrew #Hebrew

Good morning and Shanah Tovah. 🍎🍯

The first day of a brand new Hebrew year, 5,787. Read my latest post all about Rosh Hashanah 👇🏻

https://hebrewbyinbal.substack.com/p/learn-the-hebrew-behind-rosh-hashanah?r=2at7n8&utm_medium=ios

#ShanahTova #RoshHashana #Jewish #Israel #hebrew

Truah

Your Bible says trumpets. That's not what the Hebrew says.

#roshhashanah #shofar #feastoftrumpets #hebrew #yomteruah

ICYMI 🍎🍯

Your English Bible does not call this holiday Rosh Hashanah. Neither does Leviticus. Neither does Numbers.

The phrase turns up in the entire Hebrew Bible exactly once, in Ezekiel, and there it is not the name of a holiday at all.

That is where my newest article starts, and it only gets better from there. Why a beginning in Hebrew is a "head," and what that quietly asks of your year. Why the word for year also means both to repeat and to change. What the shofar blast actually is, and why it is not music. And why we dip apples in honey rather than any other sweet fruit on earth.

Four words. Four things your translation left out.

Read it here 👇
https://hebrewbyinbal.substack.com/p/learn-the-hebrew-behind-rosh-hashanah?r=2at7n8&utm_medium=ios

#RoshHashanah #LearnHebrew #Hebrew #BibleStudy #JewishNewYear

Something to print and put in someone's hands before Friday.

Free at hebrewbyinbal.com/greeting26

#roshhashanah #shanatova #jewishnewyear #hebrew #jewishholidays

Three generations.

I received this message and it touched my heart.

A grandmother, her daughter, and her granddaughter. All 3 learning Hebrew. All 3 in this same little corner of the internet at the same time.

When you teach a language you are never really teaching one person. You are handing something to whoever they hand it to next. That is how Hebrew survived thousands of years in the first place. Not through institutions or armies but through someone teaching it to someone they loved.

And now somehow that chain runs through my lessons.

I do not have adequate words for what an honor that is. To be a small part of something a family is building across 3 generations, something that will outlast all of us is more than I imagined when I started.

Thank you for letting me in. All 3 of you. 💙

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #Family #JewishLife #Generations

3,000 years of meaning sitting in a word nobody translates.

click https://youtu.be/cVF26p-Oq30?is=3Cyp-1Ej_mwy3CMC

#roshhashanah #hebrew #biblicalhebrew #shanatova #torah

Let’s break down the greeting “Shanah Tovah”

#ShanahTova #RoshHashanah #ShanaTova #Hebrew #Jewish

Some people think learning Hebrew has to be serious. Grammar charts. Drills. A teacher waiting for you to get it wrong.

Not here. 😎

I am about as far from uptight as a teacher gets. Mess up the word. Say it backwards. Ask me the same question four times. None of it bothers me because nobody has ever learned to speak a language by being nervous.

Here is the thing about Israelis: we are loud, we interrupt, we drop half the sentence, and we absolutely do not care if your accent is American. We care that you tried.

So take a breath. Loosen up. Say the word out loud even if it sounds ridiculous to you.

That is when it actually starts working.

Come learn this one with me. 💙

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #HebrewForBeginners #LanguageLearning #JewishLife

The name everyone says this week isn't the one in the text.

👇🏻 https://youtu.be/cVF26p-Oq30?is=3Cyp-1Ej_mwy3CMC

#roshhashanah #hebrew #biblicalhebrew #shanatova #learnhebrew

Hebrew has one word that means both “to repeat” and “to change.” 🍎🍯

It is the word for year.

Sit with that for a second. The thing that comes back around, unchanged, same date, same season, same you one year older, is called by the same word we use for becoming something different.

Nothing new is being handed to you. Same kitchen, same job, same people at the table. And that is not the disappointing part. That is the design. The repetition is the only material you have to change with.

That is one of four Hebrew words I open in my newest article, along with why a beginning in Hebrew is a “head,” what the shofar blast actually is, and why we dip apples in honey rather than any other sweet fruit.

Read it here 👇
https://hebrewbyinbal.substack.com/p/learn-the-hebrew-behind-rosh-hashanah?r=2at7n8&utm_medium=ios

#RoshHashanah #LearnHebrew #Hebrew #BibleStudy #JewishNewYear

Rosh Hashanah is not in the Bible. 🍎

At least, not by that name. Open Leviticus and you find a day of teruah. Open Numbers and you find the same. The words Rosh Hashanah appear in the entire Hebrew Bible exactly once, in Ezekiel, and there they are not the name of a holiday at all.

So where did the name come from, and what do these words actually mean?

In my new video I open the four Hebrew words at the center of this season. Why a beginning in Hebrew is a “head.” Why the word for year also means both to repeat and to change. What the shofar blast really is. And why we dip apples, specifically apples, in honey.

Come learn what your translation left out 👇 **OR COMMENT “ROSH” FOR THE LINK**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVF26p-Oq30

Shanah Tovah u’Metukah 💙

#RoshHashanah #LearnHebrew #Hebrew #BibleStudy #JewishNewYear

My word is?

#hebrew #language

ICYMI 🎒🇮🇱

Backpacks. New pencils. First day nerves. But have you ever wondered what back to school looks like in Israel?

The Israeli edition is up now. Why Israeli kids call first grade “aleph” instead of first. The one question every Israeli student asks before day one, and I promise it is not what you would guess. Plus all the classroom words, teacher, notebook, backpack, in Hebrew.

Same season. Whole different world.

Go read it 👇
https://hebrewbyinbal.substack.com/p/learn-hebrew-for-the-back-to-school?r=2at7n8&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #BackToSchool #Israel #IsraeliCulture

Don't Ashkenazi and Sephardi sound different?

The answer surprises almost everyone who asks me this.

#hebrew #ashkenazi #sephardi #mizrahi #biblicalhebrew

This Rosh Hashanah be the one who brings real meaning to the table this year, or the one who sends the most inspiring greeting.

hebrewbyinbal.com/greeting26

#roshhashanah #biblicalhebrew #hebrew #scripture #jewishwisdom

Today, millions of kids walked out the door for the first day of school.

I still remember it. Shoes that had not softened yet. A schoolbag heavier than I was. That mix of nervous and excited that only a first day gives you.

Here is what I know now that I did not know then. That feeling does not belong only to children.

Every adult who sits down to learn something new gets it too. The blank page. The shaky start. The quiet voice asking whether you are too late for this.

You are not.

So to every kid today, and to every one of my students who decided this year is the year:
שנת לימודים מוצלחת
/sh-'nat lee-moo-'deem moots-'la-khat/
A good and successful year of learning.

I am proud of you for beginning again. 💙

#BackToSchool #School #Hebrew #Language #SchoolDays

This is what my husband sends me, a SNAKE in the yard where I walk every morning 🐍

Snake in Hebrew:
נָחָשׁ
(na-'khash)

Snake in my yard: YIKES!

#Snake #Reptiles #Language #Hebrew #CountryLiving

Backpacks. New pencils. First day nerves. But have you ever wondered what back to school looks like in Israel? 🎒🇮🇱

Tomorrow I am publishing the Israeli edition. Why Israeli kids call first grade "aleph" instead of first. The one question every Israeli student asks before day one. And all the classroom words, teacher, notebook, backpack, in Hebrew.

Same season. Whole different world.

Read it here 👇
https://hebrewbyinbal.substack.com/p/learn-hebrew-for-the-back-to-school?r=2at7n8&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #BackToSchool #Israel #IsraeliCulture

Watch it NOW:

“Can I actually read scripture in Hebrew myself?”

I get this question constantly, and today I am answering all of it.

Is biblical Hebrew a different language from the Hebrew spoken in Israel today? How much overlap is there really? If you learn one, do you understand the other? And what does it actually take to sit with the text in its original words, without waiting for someone else’s translation to tell you what it says?

Every translation is a choice someone made on your behalf. This is about reading it for yourself.

https://youtu.be/aYFLXLZYccc

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #BiblicalHebrew #BibleStudy #Scripture

“Can I actually read scripture in Hebrew myself?”

I get this question constantly and tomorrow I am answering all of it.

Is biblical Hebrew a different language from the Hebrew spoken in Israel today? How much overlap is there really? If you learn one, do you understand the other? And what does it actually take to sit with the text in its original words, without waiting for someone else’s translation to tell you what it says?

Every translation is a choice someone made on your behalf. This is about reading it for yourself.

Tomorrow, Sunday at 12 noon Eastern. Subscribe now so it lands the moment it goes live 👇

https://www.youtube.com/hebrewbyinbal

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #BiblicalHebrew #BibleStudy #Scripture

My husband gave me a radio built in 1956. Which means Israeli music is filling a room in South Carolina through speakers built when Israel was eight years old.

“Vintage Radio” in Hebrew is: רדיו וינטג׳ pronounced /‘rad-yo ‘veen-tej/

I keep thinking about the people who sat in front of this radio before me. Someone listened to their news through it. Their songs, their ordinary evenings, decades of them. It has almost certainly never played a word of Hebrew until now.

Objects get second lives. So do languages. Hebrew went quiet for centuries and came back singing, which is more or less what happened to this little orange box in our living room.

Thank you my love. I know exactly how much thought went into this. 💙

The color is called “Pumpkin Spice!” It matches our couch color perfectly 🧡

#VintageRadio #Hebrew #HebrewSongs #BirthdayGift #Love

ICYMI 🚌🇮🇱

Israel is small. Getting around it is not obvious.

My full guide is up now. Buses, trains, taxis, the shared taxis that work like nothing else you have ridden, the card you cannot travel without, and the Hebrew that makes all of it easier.

Save it before your next trip 👇

https://hebrewbyinbal.substack.com/p/learn-the-hebrew-used-in-public-transportation

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #Israel #IsraelTravel #TravelTips

My husband took this picture of the “Chapel of the Holy Cross”. Built right into the red rock cliffs in Sedona, AZ.

In Hebrew we would call it:

Kapela קַפֶּלָּה /ka-’pe-lah/

Here is what I love about this one. It is not an ancient Hebrew word at all. Modern Hebrew borrowed it from Latin, and it arrived through European languages, which is why it sounds so familiar to an English ear the moment you hear it. Hebrew has been quietly collecting words like this for a very long time.

But if you want the older, fully Hebrew way to say it, there is one:

House of prayer בֵּית תְּפִלָּה /’be-(y)-t t-fee-’lah/

Two words for one small building. One that traveled across a continent to get here, and one that was already home. Both are correct. That is usually how it goes with living languages. 💙

Looking at it reminds me of Israel. The rock, faith, and beauty. I also love sharing in and respecting my Christian husband’s beliefs 💙🙏🏻

#Chapel #Sedona #Faith #Christianity #Hebrew

We went for a walk and got caught in a pop up lightning show!

Amazing raw power of nature and a little scary.

“Lightning Storm” in Hebrew is:

סוּפַת בְּרָקִים

/soo-'fat b-ra-'keem/

#lightningstorm #lightningphotography #Hebrew #Language #Nature

Israel is small. Getting around it is not obvious. 🇮🇱🚌

I just published a full guide. Buses, trains, taxis, the shared taxis that work like nothing else you have ridden, the card you cannot travel without, and the Hebrew words that make all of it easier.

Grab your ticket here 👇

https://hebrewbyinbal.substack.com/p/learn-the-hebrew-used-in-public-transportation?r=2at7n8&utm_medium=ios

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #Israel #IsraelTravel #TravelTips

Israel is small. Getting around it is not obvious. 🇮🇱🚌

Tomorrow at 8am I am publishing the full guide. Buses, trains, taxis, the shared taxis that work like nothing else you have ridden, the card you cannot travel without, and the Hebrew words that make all of it easier.

Plus what happens to public transportation on Shabbat, which surprises almost every visitor.

Subscribe now so you never miss one of these 👇
https://substack.com/@hebrewbyinbal

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #Israel #IsraelTravel #TravelTips

Phillip Medhurst presents 109/402 James Tissot Bible c 1899 Moses and Aaron Speak to the People Exodus 4:29 https://phillipmedhurst.com/2017/07/07/phillip-medhurst-presents-109788-james-tissot-bible-c-1899-moses-and-aaron-speak-to-the-people-exodus-429/ #Aaron, #Bible, #BookOfExodus, #Egypt, #Exodus, #Hebrew, #JamesTissot, #Moses, #OldTestament, #Slave, #Tanakh, #Tissot, #Torah

Alt...

By (James) Jacques-Joseph Tissot, French, 1836-1902. Gouache on board.

Phillip Medhurst presents 103/402 James Tissot Bible c 1899 Moses slays an Egyptian Exodus 2:12 Jewish Museum New York https://phillipmedhurst.com/2017/07/04/phillip-medhurst-presents-103788-james-tissot-bible-c-1899-moses-slays-an-egyptian-exodus-212-jewish-museum-new-york/ #Bible, #BookOfExodus, #Egypt, #Exodus, #Hebrew, #Moses, #Murder, #OldTestament, #Overseer, #Slave

Alt...

By (James) Jacques-Joseph Tissot, French, 1836-1902. Gouache on board.

There is the standard way to learn Hebrew, and there is the simplified way.

The simplified way is the method I have developed over the years, and the result is messages like this one, which I receive daily.

Thank you, Pam, for sharing just how much my programs have helped you learn and love Hebrew. 💙

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #HebrewForBeginners #LanguageLearning #JewishLife

This is what learning Hebrew actually looks like. 📖

A student sent me this page from her workbook and I can’t help smiling.

Row after row of letters, written and rewritten. Little notes squeezed into the margins. Some letters standing tall and confident, others still figuring out who they want to be. This page is not neat and that is exactly why I love it.

Nobody ever learned to read Hebrew from a perfect page. They learned from a page like this one. The messy one. The practice one. The proof.

Every person who reads Hebrew today has one of these somewhere in their past.

If you have been waiting for the right moment to start reading and writing Hebrew, let this be it. Grab Hebrew 1-2-3 and make your own beautiful mess. 💙

https://hebrewbyinbal.com/read

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #HebrewAlphabet #HebrewForBeginners #JewishLife

Elections are approaching in Israel.

Follow along as I take you behind the scenes on the voting experience in Hebrew!

Click or Comment below if you’d like to receive the full link.

https://youtu.be/F_297gi-2iM?is=2MlaFxIO6EBDs1Cq

#Israel #Elections #Vote #Hebrew #Language

Ask yourself these 5 questions before committing to a Language Learning Program.

#LanguageLearning #LanguageDevelopment #Hebrew #Learning #HebrewLanguage

Let’s Bridge this Gap Together.
hebrewbyinbal.com

#Language #hebrew #Bridges

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Bridges of Madison County

There is a word Israelis use for each other that also happens to be a cactus. 🌵

Prickly on the outside. Sweet on the inside. And yes, that is exactly what it means about the person.

But the story goes so much deeper than a clever nickname. This one word carries a fruit that crossed an ocean from Mexico, a national identity that peaked in 1948 and quietly transformed by the 1970s, an Arabic root meaning patience, and a Marvel superhero whose real name most people have never learned.

By the end you will understand something about Israeli identity that most people who use this word have no idea about.

It is live now. Come find out what it actually means to be a Sabra. 👇

https://hebrewbyinbal.substack.com/p/learn-what-sabra-means-in-hebrew?r=2at7n8&utm_medium=ios

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #Israel #JewishLife #IsraeliCulture

Elections are approaching in Israel.

Follow along as I take you behind the scenes on the voting experience in Hebrew!

Click 👇🏻👇🏻

https://youtu.be/F_297gi-2iM?is=2MlaFxIO6EBDs1Cq

#Israel #Elections #Vote #Hebrew #Language

Elections are approaching in Israel.

Follow along as I take you behind the scenes on the voting experience in Hebrew!

Click or Comment below if you’d like to receive the full link.

https://youtu.be/F_297gi-2iM?is=2MlaFxIO6EBDs1Cq

#Israel #Elections #Vote #Hebrew #Language

Elections are approaching in Israel.

Follow along as I take you behind the scenes on the voting experience in Hebrew!

Click or Comment below if you’d like to receive the full link.

https://youtu.be/F_297gi-2iM?is=2MlaFxIO6EBDs1Cq

#Israel #Elections #Vote #Hebrew #Language

Elections are approaching in Israel.

Follow along as I take you behind the scenes on the voting experience in Hebrew!

Comment below if you’d like to receive the full link.

#Israel #Elections #Vote #Hebrew #Language

Elections are approaching in Israel.

Follow along as I take you behind the scenes on the voting experience in Hebrew!

Comment below if you’d like to receive the full link.

#Israel #Elections #Vote #Hebrew #Language

"It may be the middle of summer on the #Gregorian #calendar right now, but on the #Jewish calendar, we are approaching the end of the year. The month of #Elul begins this year at sundown on August 13. Although Elul contains no major Jewish holidays, it is quite an important period of reflection and preparation for the #HighHolidays, which begin with #RoshHashanah on the first of the following #Hebrew month, #Tishrei.

According to Jewish tradition, our fates are written on Rosh Hashanah and sealed for the upcoming year on #YomKippur. Because of that, Elul becomes an opportunity to strengthen our connection with #Hashem, or G-d; ask for forgiveness; repent; and return to Him. This process, known as #teshuvah, invites us to reflect on both our personal behavior and religious practice.

However, asking Hashem for forgiveness is not enough when we have wronged another person."

https://unpacked.media/i-am-for-my-beloved-and-my-beloved-is-for-me-why-is-the-month-of-elul-so-important-in-judaism/

Boker Tov Friends!

Time to order your morning coffee ☕️

https://open.substack.com/pub/hebrewbyinbal/p/learn-essential-hebrew-travel-phrases?r=2at7n8&utm_medium=ios

#CoffeeLovers #MorningCoffee #Language #Hebrew #BokerTov

We found a new park near our home and walked into this. 🌿

Spanish moss hanging down like curtains. Old oaks leaning over the path. An overgrown brick wall that has clearly stopped arguing with the vines. And a trail that just disappears into the green

I stood there a while. Because this is exactly what learning Hebrew feels like. It does not announce itself or demand anything from you. It simply opens, quietly, and invites you a little deeper. One word, then another, then a whole world you did not know was waiting behind the trees.

Nature in Hebrew is ‘te-va, טבע

Some things are not meant to be conquered. They are meant to be wandered into.

Where is the most enchanting spot near you? 💙

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #Nature #Israel #LanguageLearning

Going to Israel? Do not get on that plane without these. ✈️🇮🇱

Yes, you can get by with English in Israel. But there is a moment that changes everything, when you say a few words in Hebrew and watch the person in front of you light up. Suddenly you are not a tourist being served. You are a guest being welcomed.

It is live right now, and it is yours. The exact phrases to make that happen. Not textbook translations. The real ones Israelis actually use, chosen to keep you clear and confident whether you are asking for directions, ordering, shopping, or finding your way to the Kotel.

And here is my favorite part: I picked phrases that skip gender forms entirely, so you never have to stop and wonder which version to use. Just say it and be understood.

Go read it, save it, and take it with you. 👇
https://open.substack.com/pub/hebrewbyinbal/p/learn-essential-hebrew-travel-phrases?r=2at7n8&utm_medium=ios

Your trip is about to get so much better. 🧳💙

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #IsraelTravel #Israel #TravelTips

Going to Israel? Do not get on that plane without these. ✈️🇮🇱

Yes, you can get by with English in Israel. But there is a moment that changes everything, when you say a few words in Hebrew and watch the person in front of you light up. Suddenly you are not a tourist being served. You are a guest being welcomed.

Tomorrow morning I am handing you the exact phrases to make that happen. Not textbook translations. The real ones Israelis actually use, chosen to keep you clear and confident whether you are asking for directions, ordering, shopping, or finding your way to the Kotel.

And here is my favorite part: I picked phrases that skip gender forms entirely, so you never have to stop and wonder which version to use. Just say it and be understood.

It drops tomorrow, Monday at 8:00am. Subscribe now so it is waiting in your inbox before you pack. 👇
https://substack.com/@hebrewbyinbal

Your trip is about to get so much better. 🧳💙

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #IsraelTravel #Israel #TravelTips

It’s Live!

What is it actually like to vote in an Israeli election? 🗳️🇮🇱

Not the headlines. Not the analysis. The real thing. The paper slips, the blue envelope, the little booth, the walk to the polling station in your neighborhood. It works nothing like it does in America, and most people outside Israel have never seen it.

I am taking you inside the whole experience from a voter’s point of view, with the Hebrew you would actually hear and use along the way.

Democracy in Hebrew, from the inside out.

Head here 👇
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_297gi-2iM

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #Israel #Elections #Vote

ICYMI

Did you happen to catch my last lesson on Hebrew Colors?

https://open.substack.com/pub/hebrewbyinbal/p/learn-colors-in-hebrew-your-guide?r=2at7n8&utm_medium=ios

#Color #Rainbow #Hebrew #Language

Tomorrow (Sunday) at 12pm EST, I am taking you inside the whole experience from a voter’s point of view, with the Hebrew you would actually hear and use along the way.

Democracy in Hebrew, from the inside out.

Not subscribed yet? Fix that now so it lands the moment it drops. head here 👇
https://www.youtube.com/hebrewbyinbal

Hit the notification bell too. See you at the ballot box. 🇮🇱

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #Israel #Elections #Vote

My friend Sergio DeSoto made this for me and I have not stopped smiling. Inbal the Explorer, backpack on, Hebrew 1 in hand, ready to head off into the wild in search of adventure.

He captured something true. That is exactly what learning Hebrew feels like. You set off down a path you have never walked, you do not know what is around the bend, and you carry one good guide with you. Every new word is a discovery. Every sentence is another mile down the trail.

Thank you, Sergio. This made my whole week. Go follow him on Substack, https://substack.com/@mrdesoto and follow me there as well https://substack.com/@hebrewbyinbal

And if you have been thinking about starting your own Hebrew adventure, consider this your sign. Grab your backpack. Let’s go. 💙

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #HebrewForBeginners #Substack #Adventure

What if everything you were told about learning Hebrew was backwards?

For generations, the rule has been the same. Memorize the alphabet, drill the vowels, practice your handwriting, and then, far down the road, you might be ready to say your first sentence out loud.

No wonder so many people quit. They spent months staring at letters and never once got to do the thing they came for. To speak.

Here is what I know after years of teaching. Speaking can start on day one. My students hold real conversations in Hebrew long before they can write a word of it, because I teach the sounds first, through a system built for the way English speakers think.

Letters have their place, and I teach them. But they were never the gate you unlock before you are allowed to speak.

If you have been waiting for permission to start, here it is.

hebrewbyinbal.com/speak 💙

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #HebrewForBeginners #LanguageLearning #JewishLife

You meet a version of yourself that only exists in this language. The you that reads the prayer in its first voice. The you that jokes with an Israeli cab driver. The you that finally understands what your grandmother meant. That person was always in there, waiting for the words to arrive.

That is what I get to witness with my students. Not just new vocabulary. A whole new self, stepping into the light.

Come find yours. 💙

hebrewbyinbal.com/speak

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #HebrewForBeginners #LanguageLearning #JewishLife

The whole country is watching the polls today. Michigan. Missouri. Kansas. Virginia. Washington. Huge stakes, and history being written in real time. 🇺🇸

So I went to my chalkboard and filmed a quick Hebrew lesson on the language of politics, elections, and democracy. Because these are words worth knowing in any language, especially now.

Whatever you believe, wherever you stand, come learn a little Hebrew with me today. 🇮🇱

Watch, and drop one word you would want to know in Hebrew below. 👇

#Election2026 #Politics #Vote #LearnHebrew #Hebrew

People ask me all the time, “How fluent will I be after your program?” “How do I test my fluency?”

My honest answer surprises them because I do not want them to think about fluency at all.

Fluency is a moving target nobody can really measure. Chase it and you end up counting words, testing yourself and feeling behind. But that was never the point of a language. A language is not a score to hit. It is a room full of people waiting to hear from you.

What I care about is different. Can you understand what someone is actually saying to you? Can you say the thing in your heart and be understood? Can you sit at a table, read a prayer, talk to family, and feel like you belong there? That is not fluency. That is connection. And connection starts from your very first word not some distant finish line.

That is exactly what I built “Practically Speaking Hebrew” around. Not memorizing. Not testing.

hebrewbyinbal.com/speak 💙

#LearnHebrew #Connections #LanguageLearning #Hebrew #LanguageFluency

“We Will Dance Again”

So many of you have asked what are the words @BoyGeorge sings out at the end of his beautiful song. Here it is and I want to thank him for uplifting my heart. For being a champion of support for the Jewish People and Humanity. For standing so proudly in his belief that we all will dance again, and we shall. Shalom 💙

#WeWillDanceAgain #BoyGeorge #StandWithTheJews #Hebrew #Jewish

Only love shall win. 🤍

I come from a place that has every reason to believe otherwise. A land that has known too much loss, too much fear, too many people insisting that hatred is stronger. And yet, again and again, my people choose love. We dance after grief. We plant after destruction. We raise children who believe in tomorrow.

That is not naivety. It is the oldest form of strength there is. To keep choosing love when the world hands you every excuse not to, that is the bravest thing a person can do.

So today, choose it too. Not because it is easy. Because it is the only thing that has ever truly won.

Only love shall win. 🤍

#OnlyLoveShallWin #Israel #Hebrew #Love #AmYisraelChai

"Modern #textual #scholarship has shown that #ToledotYeshu never existed as a single, fixed #composition. Unlike the #Mishna or the #Talmud, whose textual traditions gradually stabilized through widespread printing, Toledot Yeshu remained fluid for centuries. #Scribes copied from whatever exemplars were available, frequently introducing additions, omissions, stylistic revisions, and entirely new #narrative episodes. Rather than preserving a single "original" version, the #manuscript tradition reflects a living #text continually reshaped by its transmitters.

The #Łomżamanuscript is especially noteworthy because it preserves a substantially expanded #recension. Its elaborate title-page introduction immediately distinguishes it from many simpler copies. Throughout the text, the #Hebrew is unusually polished, employing a consciously #biblical style that lends the narrative an air of #antiquity and #literary refinement."

https://jewishpress.com/a-medieval-jewish-counter-narrative-about-the-life-of-the-founder-of-christianity/

“Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Almost everyone knows this line. Fewer know it comes from Leviticus 19:18, written in Hebrew long before it was ever spoken in English. Jesus called it the second greatest commandment. He was quoting the Hebrew Bible when he said it.

Which means every time those words are spoken, in any church, any synagogue, any language, they are an echo of the same ancient Hebrew sentence. One verse, holding two faiths and countless hearts.

That is what this community means to me. Jews and Christians, people from more than 30 countries, all gathered around a language that keeps insisting we belong to each other.

Today I teach you how to say it in Hebrew, the way it was first written. Learn it, then go live it. 💙

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #BibleStudy #JewishLife #Christianity

The final video in the July Summer Event Series deal with the cost of Admissions 🤗

#Hebrew #Language #Events #JewishLife

This is one of my students reading Scripture. In Hebrew. In the original language it was written in thousands of years ago.

Not long ago, these were just letters they could not read. Today, they are reading the Word of God the way it first flowed from the page, hearing the meaning that lives underneath every translation.

This is why so many of you come to me. Not to order coffee in Tel Aviv, beautiful as that is, but to draw closer to the Book that shaped your faith, to meet it face to face, in its first voice.

And here is what makes me proudest. My student is reading, not decoding one word at a time after years of study. The right method gets you to the text.

If your heart has been whispering that you want to read the Bible as it was truly written, listen to it. This is possible for you too. 💙

hebrewbyinbal.com/speak

#LearnHebrew #BiblicalHebrew #Hebrew #BibleStudy #Christianity

"This week, #Jews around the world will mark #TishaBAv, the ninth day of the #Hebrew month of #Av and the saddest day on the #Jewish calendar. It is a fast day that mourns the destruction of both Temples in #Jerusalem, the first by #Babylon over 2,500 years ago and the second by #Rome in the year 70.

When we mourn on Tisha B'Av, we tend to travel backward in time. We place ourselves at the moment the Temple stood ablaze. We picture Jews sold as slaves and thrown to the lions in #Roman amphitheaters. We focus on what was lost then.

The full weight of a catastrophe is not measured at the moment of impact. It is measured in everything that follows."

https://aish.com/why-tisha-bav-should-hurt-more-every-year/

It is LIVE. 🍕🇮🇱

The wait is over, and so is your excuse for not knowing any Hebrew. My brand new article is out right now, and it hands you over 100 food and drink words you already know how to say, from avocado all the way to zucchini.

This one is for everyone who loves food AND for everyone who loves Hebrew, because it turns out those two loves speak the same language more than you ever imagined.

Go read it, find your favorite foods on the list, and start ordering like a true Israeli. Then come back and tell me which word surprised you most.

https://open.substack.com/pub/hebrewbyinbal/p/learn-hebrew-for-foodies-over-100?r=2at7n8&utm_medium=ios

Learn Hebrew. Love Hebrew. Eat well. That is the whole recipe. 😄💙

#Foodie #LearnHebrew #Hebrew #FoodLovers #IsraeliFood

This is what a brilliant student looks like. 🤩

Esmeralda’s study setup: Practically Speaking Hebrew on the laptop, my phonetic table standing by, and my Hebrew Words and Jewish Traditions coloring book open to a beautiful Am Yisrael Chai page, decoded all by herself using the phonetic system she learned inside the program.

This is exactly what I dreamed my resources would do. Work together, meet you where you are, and make learning Hebrew genuinely fun.

If you wish to learn more about my coloring book or speaking course, comment below!

Esmeralda, you are amazing. Keep going. 💙🇮🇱

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #AmYisraelChai #JewishLife #HebrewForBeginners

Foodies, I have news. You already speak Hebrew. 🍕🇮🇱

Over 100 food and drink words are the same or nearly the same in Hebrew, which means every food lover walks around with a head start on the language and has no idea.

Tomorrow at 8:30am Eastern, I am publishing the full delicious list on Substack, from A to Z, with exactly how Israelis pronounce each one so you can order like a local.

Not subscribed yet? Fix that here: https://substack.com/@hebrewbyinbal

Already subscribed? Be on the lookout tomorrow morning. Come hungry. 😄

#Foodie #LearnHebrew #Hebrew #FoodLovers #IsraeliFood

Getting back to Events in Tel Aviv, is it outdoors?

Here’s how to ask in Hebrew

#Hebrew #Language #Events #Outdoor #HebrewByInbal

July in Israel is not a month. It is an oven setting. 🥵🇮🇱

We are talking 13 hours of blazing sun a day, zero rain, humid Tel Aviv afternoons, and the Dead Sea area pushing past 40 degrees. Israelis do not just endure this. We have an entire survival system, and it comes with its own vocabulary.

In an Israeli summer, certain words stop being words and become lifelines. The signs you scan for on every street. The things you ask for the moment you walk in somewhere.

In today’s video I teach you the exact Hebrew words to look for when you are out and about and the heat is winning. Learn them, and you will navigate an Israeli summer like a local.

How hot does it get where you live? 🌡️👇

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #Israel #IsraelTravel #SummerVibes

@guardian

#HPsCommentary
#WarInGaza #Palestine #GeoPol

(1/n)

As I was saying a year ago:

"👉This abominable deed will haunt them for generations to come👈 (probably less than the instigated murder of #Christ by the #Roman invasion force at the behest of the #Jerusalem elite, but still.)"

https://mastodon.social/@HistoPol/114999539193193621

In other words:

"There is a popular #Hebrew phrase which states, "maaseh avot siman lebanim", meaning 👉"the deeds of the fathers are portents for the children." 👈

It is used...

I say this with love because I see it every day. People spend years memorizing vocabulary, collecting thousands of flashcards, and still cannot hold a real Hebrew conversation.

Because words alone will never get you there.

The real skill is building your own sentences. Saying exactly what you want to say with the right words, in the right form, naturally and confidently.

That is what you master inside “Practically Speaking Hebrew.”

Here’s the part that surprises people: I give away vocabulary for free every week. The sentence building system that transforms those words into real conversation? That is what we build together inside the program.

If your goal is to truly speak Hebrew, stop investing in more words. Invest in the skill that makes every word count.

https://hebrewbyinbal.com/immersion

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #HebrewForBeginners #LanguageLearning #ChristianLife

Today we enter the month of Av.

In the Hebrew calendar, Av carries the heaviest memories of our people. Loss. Destruction. Things that fell apart.

And yet, look at the name. Av. “Father.”

That’s not an accident. That’s the whole lesson of this month.

Because Av doesn’t end in grief. Just days after its lowest point comes Tu B’Av, the holiday of love. The same month that holds our deepest sorrow also holds our greatest celebration of the heart.

Av teaches something we all know from our own lives: breaking is not the end of the story. It’s the middle. What falls can be rebuilt. What was lost makes room for what’s coming. And comfort doesn’t arrive instead of pain. It arrives through it.

So this month, if something feels broken or unfinished, remember what Av whispers: hold on. Love is already on the calendar.

May this month turn your heaviness into strength. 🤍

#JewishLife #HebrewCalendar #TuBAv #Hebrew #Jewish

English words that mean something COMPLETELY different in Hebrew. 🇮🇱

They are called “FALSE FRIENDS”

Some will make you laugh. One will make you gasp. 🤣

Check out the full list on my Substack. 👇
https://open.substack.com/pub/hebrewbyinbal/p/learn-hebrew-words-that-mean-something?r=2at7n8&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #HebrewForBeginners #LanguageLearning #JewishLife

July in Israel is a whole different world. 🇮🇱☀️

Film festivals under the stars, dancing in the streets, music everywhere, and the Mediterranean summer in full swing. In today’s video I take you through the top events that light up Israel every July, what they are, and exactly how to pronounce them like a local.

Consider this your insider’s calendar. Watch, learn, and tell me which one you would love to experience in person. 👇

COMMENT “166” for the link or CLICK https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-DLIJPwOsA

#Israel #LearnHebrew #Hebrew #SummerTime #JewishLife

There are English words that mean something COMPLETELY different in Hebrew. 🇮🇱

Some of them will make you laugh. At least one will make you gasp. And a few are so surprising that you will never hear these words the same way again.

They are called false friends, words that sound identical in both languages but mean entirely different things. This Tuesday I am handing you a long, useful, occasionally hilarious list of them.

It publishes Tuesday at 8:30am Eastern. Subscribe now so it lands in your inbox the moment it drops. 👇
https://substack.com/@hebrewbyinbal

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #HebrewForBeginners #LanguageLearning #JewishLife

July in Israel is a whole different world. 🇮🇱☀️

Film festivals under the stars, dancing in the streets, music everywhere, and the Mediterranean summer in full swing. In today’s video I take you through the top events that light up Israel every July, what they are, and exactly how to pronounce them like a local.

Consider this your insider’s calendar. Watch, learn, and tell me which one you would love to experience in person. 👇

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-DLIJPwOsA

#Israel #LearnHebrew #Hebrew #IsraelTravel #JewishLife

2,400,000 views. 🤯

https://www.youtube.com/hebrewbyinbal

My YouTube channel just crossed 2.4 million lifetime views, and I have been sitting here trying to actually picture that number. I cannot.

What I can picture is one person. Someone at their kitchen table pressing play, wanting to understand their grandmother, or read a prayer in the original, or finally feel at home in Israel. Behind this number, that person showed up 2.4 million times.

When I filmed my first Hebrew lesson, I dreamed of reaching a few people who needed it. I never imagined millions of clicks from every corner of the world.

To every one of you who ever watched, learned, commented, or shared, this milestone belongs to you. Thank you for learning Hebrew with me.

Here is to the next million, together. 💙🇮🇱

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #YouTube #LanguageLearning #JewishLife

On the Israeli ‘Married at First Sight’, a husband told the therapist he was waiting for certainty before letting his guard down.

Her answer belongs on billboards. It won’t happen in that order. You let your guard down first. That’s the only way it can come in.

Every big thing that changed my life happened in the “wrong” order. I jumped before I felt ready.

Ready doesn’t come first. It comes after.

Shabbat Shalom 💙

#ShabbatShalom #Shabbat #MarriedAtFirstSight #Hebrew

Hebrew Isn’t Faster!

Click to Join the Conversation or Comment “FAST” for the link 🏃🏻‍♀️

https://youtu.be/MAyUfFuik4Y?is=pPLv0--Uc98VHJYQ

#Jewish #Language #Hebrew #LanguageVideo #LearnHebrew

Confession time. For years, growing up in Israel, I was completely certain John Travolta was named Jontra Volta. First name Jontra. Last name Volta. 😂

Nobody hands you a little marker in the middle of a sentence that says this word ends here and the next one starts there. It is all just sound, and your brain fills in the gaps however it can.

And here is the thing. If Hebrew ever feels like one long wall of sound flying past you, you are experiencing the exact same thing I did with English. It is not a hearing problem. It is not a you problem. And it is completely fixable.

I made a full video breaking down why this happens and exactly how to overcome it. Watch it, and Hebrew will never sound quite so impossible again. 👇
https://youtu.be/MAyUfFuik4Y?is=HwBOuaFVKe8KdIUh

#JohnTravolta #LearnHebrew #Hebrew #LanguageLearning #HebrewForBeginners

"When #AlanaSatsukiChandler was growing up their mother made #kosher #gyoza with tofu instead of pork and hybrid #okonomi-#latkes, a #Jewish riff on savoury #Japanese cabbage pancakes.

Their #Ashkenazi-Jewish father and Japanese mother created a home in #Chicago that fused cultures, with #food always a big part of that lifestyle.

But #Chandler rarely met other #Jews of colour and rarely saw their experience represented in Jewish environments.

Their desire to find and amplify the voices of Jews with diverse identities and underrepresented experiences was a key reason they created a new #cookbook dedicated to expanding the definition of #Jewishfood.

#Tlaim (#Hebrew for patchwork) is a collection of more than 80 #recipes and #stories from Jewish communities around the world, designed to celebrate the #ethnic and #racial #diversity of Jewish people, and to spotlight historically underrepresented Jewish identities."

https://thejewishindependent.com.au/jewish-food-diversity-tlaim/

What if one simple pattern could unlock hundreds of the most useful everyday sentences in Hebrew?

👇
https://open.substack.com/pub/hebrewbyinbal/p/speak-hebrew-faster-with-infinitive?r=2at7n8&utm_medium=ios

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #HebrewForBeginners #LanguageLearning #JewishLife

The dear Professor and I agree, motivation is unreliable. Everyone who has tried to learn a language alone already knows this. You are inspired on day one, and by week three the app sits unopened on your phone, quietly reminding you of a promise you made to yourself.

Here is the truth nobody tells you. It was never a discipline problem. Motivation was simply never designed to carry you the whole way. What actually gets people to the other side is structure and accountability, a clear path to follow and someone who notices when you have gone quiet.

That is exactly what I built into Practically Speaking Hebrew. A real path, at your own pace, so you always know what comes next instead of guessing. And me, personally, in your corner, so this never becomes something you do entirely alone.

hebrewbyinbal.com/speak

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #HebrewForBeginners #LanguageLearning #JewishLife

What if one simple pattern could unlock hundreds of the most useful everyday sentences in Hebrew?

Not a grammar mountain. Not endless memorization. One easy pattern that lets you say what you want, what you need, and what you wish for, from your very first week.

That is exactly what tomorrow’s new article teaches, and it is the trick beginners always tell me they wish they had learned first.

It drops tomorrow, Tuesday at 8am. Subscribe today and it lands right in your inbox the moment it publishes. 👇
https://substack.com/@hebrewbyinbal

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #HebrewForBeginners #LanguageLearning #JewishLife

“Israelis speak so fast. It’s hard for me to keep up.”

If you have ever said that, or thought it while nodding along to a conversation you lost three sentences ago, today’s lesson was made for you.

This is one of the top struggles I hear from Hebrew learners, and here is the good news. That blur is not a hearing problem, and it is not a you problem. It is a trainable skill, and in the video I show you exactly how to start slowing the blur down until real words come through.

👇
https://youtu.be/MAyUfFuik4Y?is=zI1LprjqkwMUXa5V

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #HebrewForBeginners #LanguageLearning #JewishLife

“Hebrew is too fast. It all sounds like a blur.” 🇮🇱

This is one of the top struggles I hear from Hebrew learners, and here is the good news. That blur is not a hearing problem, and it is not a you problem. It is a trainable skill, and in today’s video I show you exactly how to start slowing the blur down until real words come through.

It airs today, Sunday July 5th, at 12 noon Eastern. Subscribe now and be there when it drops. 👇
https://www.youtube.com/hebrewbyinbal

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #HebrewForBeginners #LanguageLearning #JewishLife

Nobody quits Hebrew because they ran out of words to memorize. They quit because the words never added up to anything.

Hebrew is not a pile of vocabulary. It is a system, a way of thinking, where every word connects to a root and every root opens a door. Your family. Your history. Your prayers. Your everyday life. Learn how the language thinks and one word starts opening entire worlds.

That is the whole foundation of Practically Speaking Hebrew. I do not hand you lists. I hand you the patterns, the meaning, the way it all connects, so speaking and understanding finally happen.

https://hebrewbyinbal.com/speak

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #HebrewForBeginners #LanguageLearning #JewishLife

My gift was never really Hebrew. It was sharing Hebrew. The language was always mine, but it only became a gift the day I started giving it away, to you.

So today I celebrate you. My students and followers. The ones who show up, practice, and remind me every day why I do this. You receiving this gift is what makes it one.

What is your gift, and who are you giving it to? 💙

#Inspiration #LearnHebrew #Hebrew #Gratitude #Community

"Every so often, a discovery comes along that reminds us how much of #Jewish #history still lies hidden on library shelves, in forgotten archives, and within private collections. For collectors, scholars, and anyone fascinated by the world of rare #Hebrew #books and #manuscripts, such moments are exceedingly rare. This is one of them.

An entirely unknown, previously unpublished eighteenth-century #Kabbalistic #manuscript has surfaced from a private collection and has now been officially consigned for sale through #Mizrahi #Bookstore. More than simply another #handwritten volume, this remarkable #codex opens an extraordinary window into the formative years of #Lurianic #Kabbalah in Eastern #Europe, decades before these teachings became widely available in print.

The manuscript is a unique recension of the Lurianic #Kavvanot, the intricate mystical intentions associated with prayer, for #Shabbat and the Jewish festivals. Dated to 1717[...]"

https://jewishpress.com/the-aris-influence-in-18th-cent-eastern-europe/

Did you know there is more than one way to say “4th of July” in Hebrew? In today’s lesson I teach you four of them.

Watch, learn all four, and impress someone at the barbecue this weekend. Which one will you use? Tell me below. 🎆

#FourthOfJuly #America250 #LearnHebrew #Hebrew #LanguageLearning

For a moment I felt transported back to the days of the ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Then I remembered I was in America, cheering for a knight while holding half a roasted chicken. 😄

By the way, medieval times in Hebrew is *(ye-'mey ha-bey-'na-yeem)* יְמֵי הַבֵּינַיִם

Even a Hebrew teacher needs a night off in another century. Have you ever been? 🏰💙

#MedievalTimes #LearnHebrew #Hebrew #Lifestyle #IsraeliInAmerica

And as an Israeli who has made her home here I wanted to celebrate in the way I know best. Through Hebrew.

Liberty. Freedom. Independence. Three words at the very heart of this nation’s story, and each one has a rich, ancient counterpart in Hebrew, the language of the Bible that helped shape America’s founding ideals.

So ahead of this historic Fourth of July, let’s learn these three beautiful words in Hebrew together. Two nations, two languages, one deep love of freedom.

Happy early 250th, America. 💙🤍🇺🇸🇮🇱

#FourthOfJuly #America250 #LearnHebrew #Hebrew #BibleStudy

“Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.” That is Leviticus 25:10, and the Hebrew word for liberty in that verse is dror. It comes from the biblical Year of Jubilee, a sacred time when debts were forgiven, the enslaved were set free, and everyone returned home.

The man who chose it for the bell in 1752 loved Hebrew so much he taught his own children to read it. He reached all the way back to the Hebrew Bible to find the word that would ring over a new nation.

For those of faith, Jubilee has always pointed to something deeper still, the freedom of the soul.

This Fourth of July, hear the verse in the language it was first written in. 💙

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #FourthOfJuly #BibleStudy #America250

So many people come to me convinced they simply cannot make the Hebrew sounds. The ones that do not exist in English. The ones that feel like they live somewhere in the back of your throat that English never asked you to use.

And here is what I tell every one of them. You are not missing some special ability. You were just never shown how.

Those unfamiliar sounds are not a wall, they are a skill. And like any skill, they break down into small, learnable pieces. That is exactly how I teach them, clearly and patiently, one piece at a time, until what felt foreign starts to feel natural.

No more guessing. No more being misunderstood and not knowing why. Just clear, confident Hebrew that Israelis actually understand.

Those sounds are absolutely within your reach. Let me show you.

hebrewbyinbal.com/speak

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #HebrewForBeginners #LanguageLearning #JewishLife

People often ask me if the hamsa is a Jewish symbol. The answer is one of my favorite things to share because it is so much bigger than any one of us. 🤚

The hamsa is ancient, older than the faiths that carry it today. In Jewish tradition it is the Hand of Miriam, sister of Moses. In Islam it is the Hand of Fatima. In some Middle Eastern Christian traditions it is the Hand of Mary. Different names, different homes, and the very same meaning in all of them. Protection. Blessing. Peace.

In a world that loves to draw lines between people I find something quietly hopeful in a single open hand that Jews, Christians, and Muslims have all held close for centuries. We share more than we are told we do.

What does the hamsa mean to you? 💙

#Hamsa #Israel #JewishCulture #Hebrew #Unity

Judeo-Christian

"Among the many #faiths practiced by millions of #Texas #students, a new statewide required #reading list that includes #biblical passages draws from just two traditions: #Protestant #Christianity and #Judaism.

Yet Texas #rabbis say #Jews had no role in shaping how #Judaism appears in the #curriculum, and they disagree with how the lone #Jewish text is presented. Rather than teaching about Judaism on its own terms, they argue, the lessons filter Jewish texts through a #Christian perspective.

The #readinglist, which is expected to go into effect in 2030, will have #publicschool students across the state reading passages from the #NewTestament and mostly Christian #translations of the #Hebrew Bible alongside #literary classics. Of the curriculum’s six #HebrewBible readings, just one uses a Jewish #translation."

https://forward.com/news/834539/texas-bible-curriculum/

Most people walking past the Liberty Bell have no idea. The words on it come straight from the Hebrew Bible. 🔔🇺🇸🇮🇱

“Proclaim liberty throughout all the land.” Leviticus. And the original Hebrew word for liberty runs far deeper than any translation.

But here is what moves me most as an Israeli living in America. This was no accident. Hebrew was taught at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. It still sits on the Yale seal today. The founders studied the Hebrew Bible and built a new nation on its ideas of liberty and law.

The language of my homeland is woven into the foundation of my adopted one. As America turns 250, I made a Fourth of July video about exactly that.

It is live now. Come see the Hebrew hidden in the heart of American freedom. 🎬
https://youtu.be/rs5-GnAvKvI

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #FourthOfJuly #BibleStudy #America250

There is a moment every Hebrew learner dreams about. The moment you stop sounding like a textbook and start sounding like an actual native speaker!

Tomorrow morning I am handing you the shortcut. Ten Israeli slang expressions that instantly make your Hebrew sound natural, the little phrases textbooks never teach but every Israeli uses all day long.

It drops tomorrow at 8am. Subscribe today so it lands in your inbox the moment it goes live. 👇
https://substack.com/@hebrewbyinbal

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #HebrewSlang #LanguageLearning #JewishLife

Boker Tov and Shavua Tov, friends. ☕🇮🇱

This is my favorite way to start a week. Early morning, my little nook in the coffee shop, an iced Americano, and my students’ Hebrew filling my ears as I read and listen to your practices.

Side note, the cup says “USA with ALM” instead of iced Americano with almond milk. Very fitting with the Fourth of July around the corner. 😄

Here is to a new week of Hebrew, creativity, and positivity. To every student, artist, writer, and dreamer starting fresh today, I salute you with my coffee. Let’s make it a beautiful one. 💙

#ShavuaTov #LearnHebrew #Hebrew #CoffeeLovers #Creativity

Here is how I measure success in learning a language, and it has nothing to do with grades or grammar drills. 🇮🇱

Success is when you enjoy learning it so much that you do not want to stop.

When Hebrew stops feeling like homework and starts feeling like the best part of your day, you have already won, because that joy is the feeling that carries you all the way.

That is exactly what I built Practically Speaking Hebrew around. Not pressure, not endless lists. Just real Hebrew, taught in a way that makes you want to keep going, with a native teacher right beside you.

If you are ready to fall in love with learning Hebrew, come join me.

hebrewbyinbal.com/speak

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #HebrewForBeginners #LanguageLearning #JewishLife

Every Sunday, after I post my weekly Hebrew video lesson my husband and I set out on a little adventure. We pick a new spot in Charleston for brunch and let this beautiful city sweep us away. 🇮🇱🍳

Today it was finally “Church and Union.” The restaurant lives inside a renovated 105-year-old church, with 60-foot vaulted ceilings and the original stained glass still glowing over the room. And then you look up. The entire text of Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War” is hand-painted across that ceiling, more than twelve thousand words, with the company’s mantra written large among them: There Is Only We.

This is our ritual. After a full week of teaching Hebrew we step out together, find somewhere new, and wander the historic streets letting the stories of this city wash over us.

What is your version of this? The weekly ritual that brings you back to yourself. 💙

#Charleston #ChurchAndUnion #ExploreCharleston #DateDay #Hebrew

As America turns 250, I made a special Fourth of July video unpacking this beautiful, hidden Hebrew thread woven right into the heart of American freedom.

It is live now. Go watch it, then tell me, did you have any idea the Liberty Bell was carrying Hebrew scripture all this time? 🎬
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rs5-GnAvKvI

SEARCH “HEBREW BY INBAL” on YouTube to find it as well.

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #FourthOfJuly #BibleStudy #America250

"The #Samaritans are different. They are a tiny community of around 800 souls, divided between #Holon and #KiryatLuza near #Nablus. They trace their ancestry back to the ancient #Israelites and possess a version of the #Torah that differs only slightly from our own. Their central point of departure from mainstream #Judaism is their belief that #MountGerizim, rather than #Jerusalem, is the divinely chosen place, together with their rejection of the Oral Law and #rabbinic tradition.

As I stood among them, watching ancient rituals performed with immense sincerity, hearing #Hebrew prayers and seeing #Torahscrolls carried with reverence, I could not help feeling that I was encountering not strangers, but long-lost cousins.

Their Torah is, with only relatively minor differences, our Torah. #Abraham, #Isaac, #Jacob, and #Moses are their ancestors no less than ours. Yet somewhere in the distant past, our paths diverged."

https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-900393

This is where her story turns. And after everything in this series, you already know the truth: it was never you. It was the what, and the how.

The real fix, learning Hebrew the way your brain actually thinks with someone guiding you so you never quietly get stuck is exactly what my program Practically Speaking Hebrew is built for.

If you're ready to finally get there, comment SPEAK and I'll send you where to start. Or go straight to hebrewbyinbal.com/speak.

No rush, no pressure. It'll be here whenever you are.

#LearnHebrew #LanguageLearning #BibleStudy #Jewish #Hebrew

Here is something most people walking past the Liberty Bell never realize. The words inscribed on it come straight from the Hebrew Bible. 🔔🇺🇸🇮🇱

“Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.” That line is from Leviticus, and the original Hebrew word for liberty carries a meaning far richer than most translations capture.

As America turns 250, I made a special Fourth of July video unpacking this beautiful, hidden Hebrew thread woven right into the heart of American freedom.

It lands tomorrow, Sunday at noon Eastern, on my YouTube channel. Set a reminder and meet me there. 🎬

https://www.youtube.com/hebrewbyinbal

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #FourthOfJuly #BibleStudy #America250

Want to see for yourself how quickly you can start speaking Hebrew? I made you something, and it is completely free. 🇮🇱

My free Hebrew speaking guide hands you my proven method, my 5 key steps, and my syllable breakdown technique. Apply it and you will learn 50+ words and build 150+ different sentences in Hebrew, speaking like a true Hebrew speaker.

No catch. Just a real taste of what learning Hebrew the right way feels like. Download it here. 👇
https://hebrewbyinbal.com/pages/free-resources

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #HebrewForBeginners #LanguageLearning #FreeLessons

Save this one.

It is the test you can hold up to any way of learning Hebrew, before you spend another dollar, or another year, on the wrong one.

Send it to someone who is about to start over. Follow for the rest. 👇

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #HebrewForBeginners #LanguageLearning #JewishLife

"A remarkable discovery has recently emerged from among a group of rare #books and #manuscripts consigned to my shop: an unrecorded eighteenth-century #Hebrew autograph manuscript penned by #Rabbi #YekutielGordon, one of the most fascinating and consequential members of the inner circle of Rabbi #MosheChaimLuzzatto, the #Ramchal.

Hidden from public view for centuries, this extraordinary #manuscript came to light only through careful examination of a collection entrusted to the shop for sale.

The manuscript itself is modest in size – approximately 4.5 by 6.5 inches – but immense in significance. Consisting of one hundred surviving double-sided folios, it preserves what appears to be a previously unknown work entitled #MarehKohen, together with a section of #MarehMussar, a work already known to scholars and associated with Rabbi Yekutiel Gordon.

Mareh Kohen focuses largely on the themes of #Elul, #teshuvah, the #YamimNoraim, and the profound symbolism of the #shofar."

https://jewishpress.com/a-manuscript-by-a-student-of-the-ramchals/

This is the part people stop and rewatch.

The one thing every method you have tried quietly missed, and the reason it was never about trying harder.

If this hits home, you are far from alone. Send it to someone who needs to hear it. Follow, because next I show you what actually works. 👇

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #HebrewForBeginners #LanguageLearning #JewishLife

If you have tried class after class and it still did not stick, this was never a you problem.

And what I get to in part 3 is the part almost no one talks about.

Tag someone who has tried every program out there. Follow so the next part finds you. 👇

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #HebrewForBeginners #LanguageLearning #JewishLife

There is a kind of hesitation I see all the time and it holds people back before they ever begin. The worry that if they try to speak Hebrew they will get it wrong.

“What if I say it incorrectly?” “What if I sound silly?” So instead of practicing, people hold back and stay quiet and that quiet becomes the very thing that keeps them stuck, because confidence in speaking only grows by actually speaking.

My students tell me again and again that they felt safe with me. Encouraged instead of judged. Free to try, stumble, and try again. And slowly the hesitation softened and their voice grew stronger.

That is the environment I create on purpose. You do not have to feel completely ready to start. You just have to start somewhere safe.

hebrewbyinbal.com/speak

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #HebrewForBeginners #LanguageLearning #JewishLife

I have ordered the same Nespresso pods for years and this morning I noticed something I had never seen before. Hebrew, right there on the side of the box. ☕🇮🇱

I looked it up and this batch was made for a handful of markets, Argentina, Mexico, the USA, and Israel, so the Hebrew was printed alongside the other languages.

And it landed with me in the best way. Coffee already feels like a little hug to me. Seeing my language on the box in my kitchen here in America, felt like that same hug all over again. A small reminder of home showing up where I least expected it.

That is what language does. It finds you and it says you are still home, wherever you are.

Has your language ever surprised you somewhere unexpected? 💙

#Israel #Hebrew #JewishLife #Coffee #IsraelLife

You did everything right. The lessons. The streaks. Years, for some of you. And Hebrew still slipped through your fingers.

Over the next six parts, I am going to show you exactly why, and it has nothing to do with your age, your memory, or how hard you tried.

By the end, you will see the one thing no class or app ever told you. This is where it starts.

Send this to someone who is still convinced they just cannot learn Hebrew. Follow so every part finds you.

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #HebrewForBeginners #LanguageLearning #JewishLife

I am out on a morning hike surrounded by trees and fresh air, and I am still thinking about Hebrew verbs. Some things never turn off. 🌿

My new article is live, all about one verb that does more heavy lifting than almost any other in the language. One verb, dozens of real everyday expressions, the kind that makes you sound more natural and more local.

Nature, peace, and a whole lot of Hebrew. Go read it. 👇
https://open.substack.com/pub/hebrewbyinbal/p/learn-the-hebrew-verb-that-does-everything?r=2at7n8&utm_medium=ios

#LearnHebrew #Hebrew #HebrewForBeginners #BibleStudy #LanguageLearning

"On Sunday, crowds of thousands rode ferries to #GovernorsIsland to attend a kind of #NewYork-centric Coachella for #Jewishfood and culture.

With glistening waters and the Statue of Liberty in sight, the droves then descended upon a lush lawn for the festival, the #GreatNosh. Revelers in flip-flops held inflatable green #pickles while they danced on the grass. People wearing #Hebrew-lettered jewelry and #StarofDavid necklaces waited in line for portable toilets. Couples strolled together with cups of #VanLeeuwen ice cream paired with black-and-white cookies from #Zabar’s.

The #festival’s stalls were filled with #Jewish institutions that had buddied up with buzzy establishments to serve New Yawky gastronomic fusions, a concept that is the Great Nosh’s guiding idea."

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/22/style/great-nosh-jewish-food-festival-governors-island.html