Jonathan Orr-Stav

Drawing on historical but mostly forgotten links between the Hebrew script and the Greek and Roman alphabets, in this talk I show how the Hebrew alphabet can be understood and learned in three steps.

This unofficial form of modern Hebrew is very extensive, and such an integral part of everyday speech, that most Israelis are often unaware of its existence. Anyone seeking to gain a true knowledge of modern spoken Hebrew must acquaint themselves with this side of Hebrew that does not appear in any siddur or Hebrew language textbook. In this talk, the most important terms, meanings, origins, and uses in everyday language will be reviewed.