Hebrew is the language of the Jewish people; it is one of the national languages of Israel and is used by Jewish people all over the world for religious practices. It is also the language in which the Jewish Bible is written; this book is known as The Old Testament to those that follow the Christian faith. A lot of Jewish people, irrespective of where they live in the world, learn the Hebrew language to be able to understand their religious texts and offer prayers in their holy language. Christians also have a desire to learn the Hebrew language, as they would like to read the original text of the holiest book of their faith.
A lot of parents who follow the Jewish faith would love to teach the Hebrew language to their children. They would like them to be capable of offering their religious prayers in the ancient language and also be prepared to read and recite religious texts such as the Torah, which form part of the coming of age ceremonies in the Jewish faith: their Bar Mitzvah or Bat Mitzvah. Likewise, devout Christians would love to incorporte learning Hebrew as part of their children’s religious education, giving them the opportunity to read and understand the Old Testament, and thereby being able to appreciate the rich history of the Christian faith.
There are language institutes that offer Hebrew learning courses targeted at kids; they are obviously the conventional choice. In addition to classes, providing the kids with various other learning tools to complement and supplement their Hebrew learning is a smart move. There are a lot of books that have been written in Hebrew with children in mind. These provide simple stories that are easy to follow, adapted from the religious texts of the Jewish faith with simple morals to inculcate good habits and thoughts in the child.
jewishbktown.com is a wonderful online resource for parents looking for books in Hebrew for their children. Sample chapters and stories from Hebrew books for children, Hebrew books for teens, and inspirational and religious Jewish books are displayed on this site. The Storyteller, a five volume collection of Jewish stories for children by Nissen Mindel and Our Sages Showed The Way, a five volume beloved Jewish classic by Yocheved Sega are some of the books recommended by this site. Sample chapters from both books are available on the site for parents to read and decide if they want to buy them for their children.
The Jewish Children’s Learning Network is a most useful online Jewish learning resource for children. This colorful website has a multitude of special features targeted at kids. There is an interesting feature where it teaches kids a new word and a new letter of the Hebrew language each day. It is a rich resource for children to learn about the ancient traditions of their religion and language. This site has lessons on alphabets, days and months of the year, a children’s dictionary and coloring and work sheets for children to work on and learn. It also has stories about Israel, the heroes, Parshas and various ancient traditions of the Jewish faith.
