Sunday school lesson 2

I've got my next 5 minute Hebrew lesson - here it is. Just became clear in the last 5 minutes. But it has taken longer than 5 minutes to write it out - and I wouldn't normally do this in advance! I wonder what's happening to me.

Last week we learned ki-tov from this one verse.

וירא אלהים את-האור כּי-טוב

And God saw the light, that it was good.

And we read the words va-yira - he saw. And Elohim, God, and the special word 'et' and the word ha-or, the light. So that's a review - and it all sounds and looks so different from English words in the Latin alphabet. But ki-tov - it was good.

This week I have another verse where we see that the LORD is good. So we have from last week a creation that is good. You showed me the image of the light and the darkness that you had made. Now in this verse we have an invitation to know the goodness of the One who is the creator. And here you will hear and see - that we have only read one verse in the Bible in Hebrew - and right away there are two words in this next verse that are the same as words in the verse we read last week.

טעמו וראו כּי-טוב יהוה.

O taste and see that the LORD is good.

Taste - ta-'amu - an invitation, and see ure'u, that is good ki-tov the LORD. It's a little hard to recognize the similarity in the words for seeing but God sees yira - and we see re-u. Something else too - there are two different words, as in English, that are used of the one LORD God who created the heavens and the earth - the special name that you can see in letters but which a reader does not normally say, but substitutes Adonai or Ha-Shem, the name, and the word Elohim in last week's verse.

The special name of the Lord God is not spoken. Hebrew readers substitute ha-shem (the name) or adonai (the Lord) instead of speaking the name. In the Jewish tradition, the name is spoken once a year by the High Priest at the feast of Atonement.

Knowing that this is your first seeing and hearing of a whole new writing system, I am going to give you a handout of all the letters. Some day, we will construct our own alef-bet book too.

Any predictions as to how much I will get through of this in 5 minutes?

A Jihad for Love continuing

Sandi DuBowski continues the with the NY premiere of his new film

Reading vertically did I miss any?

I think this makes as much sense as Sesame Street's abcdefk, jklmnop, qrstuvxyz (if you are young enough to remember that song.) Can you make a sentence or two with the following words - father, great, save me, gold, wheat, all, king, sign, dust, righteousness, horn, oil of gladness, instruction.

This challenge can go beyond the Hebraists to English speakers. The letters in red below - if they don't get messed up in publication - are the letters of the Hebrew Alef-Bet in sequence. I bet I could have chosen a little better to make the sentence easier or more meaningful.

Father, in your great mercy, save me.
With golden wheat, feed us all.
Your king, a sign in the dust of righteousness,
raises our horn with the oil of gladness,
making present your instruction.

אַב
גָּדֹל
הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי
זָהָב
חִטִּים
כָּל
מֶלֶךְ
נֵּס
ָעָפר
צֶדֶק
קֶרֶן
שֶׁמֶן
שָׂשׂוֹן
תּוֹרַת

Alef is for apple and opple, and epple, and oopple

[Update: continuing the challenge here.]
My first draft of an alef-bet book is advanced from my last post. I am thinking it might also inform a sentence (or maybe a paragraph) which would help remember the sequence of the alef-bet. That and grammar are still the bane of my memory!

If any care to comment - please help me correct any typos or other errors of judgment (even).

Here is (most of) the text extracted from the image:

A first draft of an alef-bet book סֵפֶר אָלֶף-בֵּית עִבְרִי‎ Sepher alef-beit Ivri אלף Alef is for אַבְרָהָם Abraham, pronounced Avraham The first part of the word, אַב, is father בּית Bet is for בַּת שָׁבַע Bathsheba, pronounced Batshava The first part of the word, בַּת, is daughter גימל Gimel is for גָּדוֹל Great, gadol, Psalm 96 כִּי גָדוֹל יְהוָה For great is the LORD דלת Daleth is for דָּוִד David. The vav and the bet (vet) can both make the v sound הא He is for הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי Save me, hoshieini, Psalm 3:8 קוּמָה יְהוָה הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי אֱלֹהַי Arise LORD, save me, my God וו Vav is for וַשׁתִּי Vashti. Esther 1:9 גַּם וַשְׁתִּי הַמַּלְכָּה Also, Vashti, the queen... זין Zayin is for זָהָב Gold, zahav, Psalm 19:11 הַנֶּחֱמָדִים מִזָּהָב More to be desired than gold חית Chet is for חִטִּים Wheat, chittim, Psalm 147:14 חֵלֶב חִטִּים, יַשְׂבִּיעֵךְ A fatness of wheat he gives you טית Tet is for טַעַם Taste, ta`am, Psalm 34:9 טַעֲמוּ וּרְאוּ, כִּי-טוֹב יְהוָה Taste and see that the LORD is good יוד Yod is for יָדְךָ Your hand, yadeka, Psalm 139:10 גַּם-שָׁם, יָדְךָ תַנְחֵנִי Even there your hand would lead me כף Kaf is for כָּל All, kol, Psalm 65:3 עָדֶיךָ, כָּל-בָּשָׂר יָבֹאוּ To you all flesh will come. למד Lamed is for לָמָה Why, lamah, Psalm 22:1 אֵלִי אֵלִי, לָמָה עֲזַבְתָּנִי My God, My God, why have you forsaken me? מם Mem is for מֶלֶךְ King, melek, Psalm 24:10 הוּא מֶלֶךְ הַכָּבוֹד He is the King of glory נון Nun is for נֵּס Sign, nes, Psalm 60:6 נָתַתָּה לִּירֵאֶיךָ נֵּס You give to those fearing you a sign סמך Samech is for סְעָרָה Sustain me, S'arah. Psalm 119:117 סְעָדֵנִי וְאִוָּשֵׁעָה Sustain me and I will be saved עין Ayin is for עָפָר Dust, 'apar, Psalm 103:14 זָכוּר, כִּי-עָפָר אֲנָחְנוּ He remembers that we are but dust פא Peh is for פְּצֵנִי Rescue me, petsani, Psalm 103:11 פְּצֵנִי וְהַצִּילֵנִי Rescue me and deliver me צדי Tsadi is for צֶדֶק Right, tsedek, Psalm 23:3 יַנְחֵנִי בְמַעְגְּלֵי-צֶדֶק He guides me in paths of righteousness קוף Qof is for קֶרֶן Horn, qeren, Psalm 132:17 אַצְמִיחַ קֶרֶן לְדָוִד I will cause to sprout a horn of David רישׁ Resh is for רְשָׁעִים Wicked, rashaim, Psalm 1:6 וְדֶרֶךְ רְשָׁעִים תֹּאבֵד but the way of the wicked will perish שׁין / שׂין Shin / Sin is for שֹׁשַׁנִּים and שָׂשׂוֹן gladness and lilies, Psalm 45:1 and 7 עַל-שֹׁשַׁנִּים At the place of the lilies שֶׁמֶן שָׂשׂוֹן the oil of gladness תף Taf is for תּוֹרַתָוֹרַת Teaching, Torah, Psalm 19:8 תּוֹרַת יְהוָה תְּמִימָה The teaching of the LORD is complete

An Alef-Bet Book

I'm thinking about a theological alef-bet book - the first one for learning some basics, the second for harder stuff. There are infinite possibilities except for Vav for which there are nearly no words at all! What a letter! And you have to be careful with aleph and yod and taf since many of the 'words' they begin are due to their role as prefixes. And you have to be careful with those prefixed prepositions Bet and He and Lamed (not to mention Mem and Kaf) since many of those 'words' begin with the second letter. Here's a first cut at the easy alef-bet book. [Update: to make learning by inspection possible, I think every one of them should have a Hebrew verse and translation...]

Here are all the two letter combinations as the first and second letters of a lexical 'word' in the Psalms. I am putting it on this blog since the template on the psalms blog is too narrow. The first letter is down the left column. The second letter is the transliteration in the header row. Read each cell right to left of course. (I should have reverse the order of the cross tab!) Now you can see clearly which subset of letters is used second less often. And you can see - Vav is used with every other consonant except itself - but not one of them - zero - is a word beginning with Vav.

)

B

G

D

H

V

Z

X

T

Y

K

L

M

N

S

`

P

C

Q

R

$

W

T

א

אב

אג

אד

אה

או

אז

אח

אט

אי

אכ

אל

אמ

אנ

אס

אע

אפ

אצ

אק

אר

אשׁ

אשׂ

את

ב

בא

בב

בג

בד

בה

בו

בז

בח

בט

בי

בכ

בל

במ

בנ

בס

בע

בפ

בצ

בק

בר

בשׁ

בשׂ

בת

ג

גא

גב

גג

גד

גו

גז

גח

גי

גל

גמ

גנ

גע

גפ

גר

גשׁ

ד

דא

דב

דג

דו

דח

די

דכ

דל

דמ

דע

דפ

דר

דשׁ

דת

ה

הא

הב

הג

הד

הה

הו

הז

הח

הט

הי

הכ

הל

המ

הנ

הס

הע

הפ

הצ

הק

הר

השׁ

השׂ

הת

ו

וא

וב

וג

וד

וה

וז

וח

וט

וי

וכ

ול

ומ

ונ

וס

וע

ופ

וצ

וק

ור

ושׁ

ושׂ

ות

ז

זא

זב

זד

זה

זו

זי

זכ

זל

זמ

זנ

זע

זק

זר

ח

חב

חג

חד

חו

חז

חט

חי

חכ

חל

חמ

חנ

חס

חפ

חצ

חק

חר

חשׁ

חשׂ

ט

טב

טה

טו

טי

טל

טמ

טע

טפ

טר

י

יא

יב

יג

יד

יה

יו

יז

יח

יט

יי

יכ

יל

ימ

ינ

יס

יע

יפ

יצ

יק

יר

ישׁ

ישׂ

ית

כ

כא

כב

כג

כד

כה

כו

כז

כח

כט

כי

ככ

כל

כמ

כנ

כס

כע

כפ

כצ

כק

כר

כשׁ

כשׂ

כת

ל

לא

לב

לג

לד

לה

לו

לז

לח

לט

לי

לכ

לל

למ

לנ

לס

לע

לפ

לצ

לק

לר

לשׁ

לשׂ

לת

מ

מא

מב

מג

מד

מה

מו

מז

מח

מט

מי

מכ

מל

ממ

מנ

מס

מע

מפ

מצ

מק

מר

משׁ

משׂ

מת

נ

נא

נב

נג

נד

נה

נו

נז

נח

נט

ני

נכ

נל

נמ

ננ

נס

נע

נפ

נצ

נק

נר

נשׁ

נשׂ

נת

ס

סב

סג

סו

סח

סט

סי

סכ

סל

סמ

סע

ספ

סר

סת

ע

עב

עג

עד

עו

עז

עט

עי

עכ

על

עמ

ענ

עפ

עצ

עק

ער

עשׁ

עשׂ

עת

פ

פד

פה

פו

פז

פח

פי

פל

פנ

פס

פע

פצ

פק

פר

פשׁ

פת

צ

צא

צב

צד

צה

צו

צח

צי

צל

צמ

צנ

צע

צפ

צר

ק

קב

קד

קה

קו

קט

קי

קל

קמ

קנ

קפ

קצ

קר

קשׁ

ר

רא

רב

רג

רד

רה

רו

רז

רח

רי

רכ

רמ

רנ

רע

רפ

רצ

רק

רשׁ

רת

שׁ

שׁא

שׁב

שׁג

שׁד

שׁה

שׁו

שׁח

שׁט

שׁי

שׁכ

שׁל

שׁמ

שׁנ

שׁס

שׁע

שׁפ

שׁק

שׁר

שׁשׁ

שׁת

שׂ

שׂא

שׂב

שׂד

שׂו

שׂח

שׂט

שׂי

שׂכ

שׂל

שׂמ

שׂנ

שׂע

שׂפ

שׂק

שׂר

שׂשׂ

ת

תא

תב

תג

תד

תה

תו

תז

תח

תט

תי

תכ

תל

תמ

תנ

תס

תע

תפ

תצ

תק

תר

תשׁ

תשׂ

תת

A New alef-bet song

Here is a challenge to the Hebraists out there.

Can you write a coherent sentence using all the letters of the alef-bet in sequence?

Can you write a sentence using a minimum of words that have all the letters of the alef-bet in sequence and would be memorable and singable by children?

Here are some starting points: words beginning with
alef-bet like אֲבָרְכֶךָּ
gimel-dalet like גְדֹלוֹת
he-vav הוֹלֵךְ
zayin stands alone,
chet-tet-yod חִטִּים
kaf-lamed-mem כְּלִמָּה
nun-samech נִסְתָּר
ayin-peh עָפָר
tsade stands alone,
qof-resh קָרָאתִי
resh-shin - it's hard to escape רְשָׁעִים
sin stands alone, tav stands alone

(When I say stands alone, it means there are no words I can find in the Psalms that combine that letter with the next in the alef-bet. You need not confine yourself to the Psalms.)

Friends - if such I may call you - try me a riddle please.
To the Better Bibles Blog - Peter, Suzanne and others...
To John Hobbins the incomparable poetry master
To Duane Smith of abnormal imagination
To Tim Bulkeley the traveller in far-away places
To Chris Heard - the creative interpreter of functions and structures
To Iyov - master of the Shakespearian and collector of innumerabilia
To DLC - the Hebrew Language Detective

The purpose is to have a mnemonic for order and meaning - it can include a dash of theology if it is good - Can you work in the Schema in a triple rhythm?

I promise to read your blogs - I do I do.

Sunday School lesson 2

Feedback from lesson 1 from the adults was very positive. I had pre-arranged the blocks to read from Genesis as in this image and I had printed several copies of the image of ci-tov as noted in the prior post here. As I talked a bit about different writing systems, and read the verse in Genesis 1 to them, I got them to cut out a section of the ci-tov image so that they each had one for themselves.

What some children enjoyed the most was wrapping the paper around their fingers or rolling it up into a cylinder - next time maybe I will do a mobius strip with them in class.

What's my next word to teach going to be? I thought maybe אֱלֹהִים (Elohim) but I am stuck for a few things - what to do with the 'idea' of God in letters - the plural form, the difference between a name and an unnamable. I wonder about making a bit of Psalm 82 in the blocks then showing that Elohim occurs 36 times in Genesis 1-2:4 alone. I don't think the children will 'get' a graph of the usage of Elohim verses the tetragrammaton.

And I thought also that if any one of them is keen to learn more outside of 5 minutes a week, they need some names for the letters - so I will have a one page handout on the letters and let the letter names teach themselves. See the image to the left for the idea. (And feel free to use it for teaching or learning if you like.)

To make that image work, I will get the children to find the letters from week 1 in it, and then get them to find the letters from the rest of that verse and maybe another verse like Psalm 82 verse 5.

I will avoid diacritical marks for a while (except the mater lectiones and the necessary dagesh and marks to distinguish shin and sin). Then I don't teach again till mid June. The first lesson was fun for me. I wonder what will come of these lessons.