Sefer Yetzirah (the "Book of Creation"), one of the earliest Kabbalistic works, teaches that the letters of the Hebrew alphabet are the building blocks of creation. Each letter has its own significance, spiritual energy, and reason for existing. In this revised version of Rabbi Ginsburgh's best-selling The Alef-Beit, Jewish Thought Revealed Through the Hebrew Letters, he explains how each letter's name, form, and numerical value play a role in the creative process of the cosmos. He draws on the understandings of the well-known mystic, the Baal Shem Tov, in depicting how each letter has nine dimensions, with impact in three worlds--the physical, spiritual, and Divine. In every letter there is the true completion of the soul, a chance to unite consciousness with the code of creation. Includes glossary, footnotes, and index.

Discover Hebrew with the world's most straightforward guide to one of the world's most beautiful languages. Shalom! Are you ready to dive into an ancient-yet-modern and rich language full of nuance? Then open up Hebrew For Dummies and get started learning your way around Hebrew by immersing yourself in its sounds and rhythms. You'll start with the basics—like simple grammar and the Hebrew alphabet—before you move onto commonly used phrases and small-talk. This book gets you used to the more unfamiliar sounds of the Hebrew language—like gutturals—that English speakers aren't used to seeing. It will also help you: Recognize what Hebrew has in common with English (and what it doesn't) Learn to read from right to left, get a handle on the basics of Hebrew grammar, and pick up your first few phrases Discover commonly used expressions that help you get around, shop, eat, and have fun Complete with online resources that help you pick up Hebrew by listening to real speakers have actual conversations, Hebrew For Dummies is the perfect companion to help you work your way towards Hebrew fluency!

Basics of Biblical Hebrew Video Lectures provides 36 easy-to-follow lessons introducing the grammar and language of the Hebrew Bible. Integrated for use with today's bestselling Hebrew text, it is an ideal resource for traditional students in need of additional instruction; for professors, who can now utilize precious classroom time for discussion and exercises--and have students watch lectures at home; and for self learners and homeschoolers with an interest in learning Hebrew on their own. Each lesson is approximately half an hour and is taught by experienced teacher Miles V. Van Pelt using a logical and simple method of learning biblical Hebrew, an approach he's refined over more than 20 years of studying and instructing students in biblical languages. Focused on the structural pattern of biblical Hebrew instead of tedious memorization, each video session will give students in formal language classes and self-learners alike the basic understanding they need to begin studying the Hebrew Scriptures.

Anyone interested in learning to read the Hebrew Bible in its original language will find within the pages of this book all the resources needed to begin this wonderful journey. The book is laid out in four parts. The first part teaches the Hebrew alphabet through a series of lessons. The second part teaches word and sentence structure of the Hebrew language by breaking down each Hebrew word in Genesis chapter one, verses one through five. The Hebrew text of Genesis chapter one is provided for reading and comprehension practices in part three. The fourth part of the book contains charts and dictionaries of prefixes, suffixes, words and roots of the Hebrew language to assist the reader with vocabulary definitions and comprehension. Within a short amount of time the Hebrew student will soon be reading the Bible through the eyes of the author rather than the opinions of a translator.

For more than a generation, Rabbi Michael L. Munk, as a sidelight to his busy schedule of educational and communal work, has fascinated audiences with his learned and provocative lectures on the Hebrew alphabet. In the process of opening eyes and raising eyebrows, he has convinced countless people that his contention is true: the Hebrew alphabet abounds in scholarly and mystical meaning. He has developed and proven a profound thesis. The alphabet -- if correctly understood -- is a primer for life. Ethical conduct, religious guidance, philosophical insights, all are nestled in the curls, crowns, and combinations of the Hebrew letters. This is one of those rare books that is both interesting and profound, learned and readable. The wisdom and compassion of the author is evident in those subtle ways that do not intrude on the reader, but give him the satisfaction of knowing that a rich, warm, productive lifetime of experience is flavoring the text.

"Judaism has always regarded Hebrew as a sacred language, the medium of divine communication. And its letters are no ordinary forms. The very word for letter, ot, means sign or wonder ... reveals the spirituality and power of all 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, from aleph, which signifies creative energy, to tav, symbolizing wholeness and joy. Each concise, historical, and poetic letter profile, written by Judaica scholar Edward Hoffman, is accompanied by a lustrous illustration wrought in hues of olive, blue, and silver ... this insightful meditation delves into the rich mystical heritage of the letters, offering a modern link to ancient times, when contemplating the Hebrew alphabet could enlighten the inmost soul."--Publisher's description.

This book is a comprehensive description of Hebrew from its Semitic origins and the earliest settlement of the Israelite tribes in Canaan to the present day.

A study of the life and work of 'the Maggid"—a major figure in the mystical thought of early Hasidism Enshrined in Jewish memory simply as "the Maggid" (preacher), Rabbi Dov Ber Friedman of Mezritsh (1704-1772) played a critical role in the formation of Hasidism, the movement of mystical renewal that became one of the most important and successful forces in modern Jewish life. In Speaking Infinities, Ariel Evan Mayse turns to the homilies of the Maggid to explore the place of words in mystical experience. He argues that the Maggid's theory of language is the key to unpacking his abstract mystical theology as well as his teachings on the devotional life and religious practice. Mayse shows how Dov Ber's vision of language emerges from his encounters with Ba'al Shem Tov (the BeSHT), the founder of Hasidic Judaism, whose teaching put forward a vision of radical divine immanence. Taking the BeSHT's notion of God's immanence as a kind of linguistic vitality echoing in the cosmos, Dov Ber developed a theory of language in which all human tongues, even in their mundane forms, have the potential to become sacred when returned to their divine source. Analyzing homilies and theological meditations on language, Mayse demonstrates that Dov Ber was an innovative thinker and contends that, in many respects, it was Dov Ber, rather than the BeSHT, who was the true founder of Hasidism as it took root, and the foremost shaper of its early theology. Speaking Infinities offers an exploration of this introspective mystic's life, gleaned from scattered anecdotes, legends, and historical sources, distinguishing the historical personage from the figure that emerges from the composite array of textual and oral traditions that have shaped the memory of the Maggid and his legacy.