Lesson 5 ח מי שׁי שׁעוּר All ages (from youngsters through seniors) have fun learning God s holy Word Practice using all letters of the aleph-bet Vowels: chatef vowels & a very brief intro to cantillation marks 23 P a g e
In this lesson, we will: Learn new vowels (chatef vowels) Begin to learn the remaining letters in the Hebrew aleph-bet. Review and learn the difference between letters that look alike. Learn the chatef vowels ( א chatef segol; א chatef kamats; & א - chatef patach) Below are the new vowels 1. Read the name of each letter below. (Refer to Sound of Letter column for pronunciation) 2. Do the hand: make a fist with your right hand. Point thumb down and say aleph. Raise index finger - say bet. Lift middle finger - say gimmel. Lift ring finger say dalet. And finally lift pinkie say hay 3. Print each letter. (Copy the Block print below & refer to Aleph-Bet chart for letter formulation.) Vowels א א א Name of vowel ח ט ף ס ג ול aleph+ chatef segol Sound of vowel eh as in bed; same sound as segol Block Print (as in English, there are slight variations in letters shapes) א פ ת ח ח ט ף aleph + chatef patach ah as in spa; same sound as patach א ק מ ץ ח ט ף aleph + chatef chamats oh as in א row Write each letter FACT: the Torah is the foundation of the Bible Even though the Old Testament comes at the front of our Bibles and is the larger portion of the whole Bible, unfortunately many traditional, mainstream Christians only study the Old Testament for its historical information, Psalms & Proverbs, and as an aid to understand the Jews. To these Christians, the Scripture with greatest importance is the New Testament. Did you know that every book of the Bible has its foundation in the Torah. Let us consider: what Scripture did Yeshua Himself study? The Torah. What Scripture did Paul and the early believers study? The Torah. How do we know? Because the Apostolic Scriptures had not yet been written. If our goal is to live and walk as our Messiah did, don t we think we should do the things He did, including studying the Scriptures He studied? We are living in a very special time God chose for US to live at this time and is allowing us to help restore that which was lost in our understanding and study of Scripture. 24 P a g e
Practice reading and writing the letters below Chatef Vowels Chatef vowels generally appear only under these consonants א (aleph), ה (hay),,( ayin )ע (resh). ר (chet) & sometimes ח They are pronounced quicker and shorter than the regular segol and tsere. א aleph א א aleph with chatef segol eh as in bed א א aleph with chatef patach ah as in spa א א aleph with chatef kamats over) o (long O; א ה hay ה ה hay with chatef segol heh as in hello ה ה hay with chatef patach ha! hah as in ה ה hay with chatef kamats hold) ho (long O; ה ע ayin ע ע ayin with chatef segol eh as in bed ע ע ayin with chatef patach ah as in spa ע ע ayin with chatef kamats over) o (long O; ע ח chet ח ח chet with chatef segol cheh as in chet ח ח chet with chatef patach Cha as is chatef ח ח chet with chatef kamats over) cho (long O; ח 25 P a g e
Now, we are going to practice putting these sounds together! Our objective is to become familiar with the letters and their sounds. not to memorize words. How to read Hebrew: 1. Hebrew is read right to left and top to bottom. Begin by reading the right-most letter. Then add the vowel that is written below it. 2. For example: with the word ה ב.א Begin by reading the ;א then add the.ה We now have Because there is no vowel below this letter, it only has.ב (ah-ha). Now, we add the א ה the sound of the consonant. When we put the word altogether we have: א ה ב (ah-hav). Always remember read: right to left and top to bottom. Hebrew Translation Read & Write words below Transliteration (please, try to read before looking at transliteration) א ה ב ה love, noun ah-hah-vah א ד מ ה earth, ground ah-dah-mah ח ט א sinner chah-tah א שׁר who, which, where ah-shehr the earth (12:3 (Genesis ה א ד מ ה ח ט ף י ע שה Half or reduced vowels, as we have studied in this lesson hah-ah-dah-mah chah-tehf he will do, make (Numbers 9:14) yah-ah-seh אמת truth eh-meht* Tip ח זק ועמ ץ ועמ ץ & courage (& veh-eh-mahtz* Tip courageous) Be strong and of good courage Practice writing each word (Use Block print on page 1 of this lesson.) Congratulations said to Torah service chah-zahk veh-eh-mahtz participants at the end of Torah service. (Deut 31:6, 7, 23; Josh 1:6, 7, 9, 18, 10:25; 2Sam 10:12; 1Chron 19:13, 22:13, 28:20; 2Chron 32:7) EXTRA CREDIT (Practice reading the chatefs (the highlighted letters) in the words below. These words will be in later lessons.) וּל ה ב דיל & to divide (Lev 10:10) א להים God, Elohim Eh-lo-heem י ע ק ב Jacob, Ya acov Yah-ah-cov oo-lah-hahv-deel (ו עמ ץ & אמ ת) * Tip Normally when there are 2 segols in a 3-4 letter word, the accent moves to the first segol. However, because these each have a hatef segol (a half or reduced vowel) & a segol, the accent does not move to the first; instead it remains on the last syllable. 26 P a g e
Patach Vav How Shall I Study Hebrew? 1. Look at all you ve learned in the last few weeks the entire Hebrew aleph bet & most of the vowels!!! 2. Consider taking your lesson with you & review it during lunch. 3. Continue practice saying the all the letters of the aleph-bet using the hand. 4. Read again the Hebrew words in this lesson. (Repetition helps reinforce sounds in our minds.) 5. On the Scriptures below, please write the name of the letter above each letter & the name of the vowel below each letter. Hebrew Words for Joshua 1:9 Translation Transliteration צוּיתי ך I have commanded you tzeev-vee-tee-chah ח ז ק be strong chah-zahk ועמ ץ & courage (courageous) veh-eh-mahtz צוּיתי ך ח ז ק ואמ ץ I have commanded you to be strong & of good courage, Josh 1:9a EXTRA INFO: In the 600s, the Masorets added vowels and other markings to the Hebrew letters in order to ensure accurate pronunciation. Today, these markings are found in Biblical writings. The verse below includes these extra marks (aka cantillation marks, accents, tropes). Every word in the Masoretic text includes cantillation marking. These special marks are placed on accented syllables. These marks are placed either above or below the consonantal letters (the consonants). Explanation and example of cantillation marks: In the first word below, there are 2. (One is above the tav and the other is above the chaf sofit) In the 2 nd word, it looks like a backwards L and is below the zayin. And in the 3 rd word, above the mem is a mark that resembles a colon. צוּית י ך ח ז ק וא מץ 27 P a g e