How much Hebrew do you need to know to get by at an Orthodox synagogue?
Do most Orthodox Jews know how to read Hebrew well and understand it when its spoken? Are all the services in Orthodox synagogues usually conducted in Hebrew? If you don't know how to read Hebrew will you be completely lost?
I'm in America by the way, and I've never been to an Orthodox synagogue yet, I want to go to one but since I was raised very secular I'm afraid I'll be "out of place" for quite awhile.
From my experience most orthodox synagogues will do a fair amount if not all of their set prayers in Hebrew. The synagogue sermon will be in english, but things like the shema, amida which form part of prescribed dailey prayers will most likely be in hebrew.
If your not used to at least parts of synagogue services being conducted in hebrew then it will feel strange at first. I have jewish heritage but i formally converted and i remember going to a reform synagogue and just being completely confused as to why some of it was in hebrew and some in english.
In my experience most orthodox synagogues like it when non religious jews want to become more religious so you should find the atmosphere welcoming at least and if you explain you dont speak hebrew someone should be able to show you what pages to turn to – what it all means etc
. It will be confusing, but remember most orthodox jews have grown up learning hebrew and aramaic so dont feel bad…
really – youll be fine
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April 27 2009 12:03 pm | Uncategorized
:Sheila: on 27 Apr 2009 at 5:13 pm #
Since no one has responded, I'll respond with my thoughts. I'm not Orthodox but I used to attend synagogue and now attend rarely if ever. It really varies on the synagogue; many of my Orthodox Jewish friends know very little Hebrew. I think you can call and ask the individual synagogue. Many if not most services that I have been too have been conducted in English. And you can read the translations in English but the prayers are usually or always in Hebrew. Again, I think it's best to ask the synagogue these kinds of questions. Good luck.
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Canute on 27 Apr 2009 at 5:56 pm #
It depends on the country. In Israel, it is fair to say that most understand what they are reading.
But there are many translations. You can pray from a translation, which is acceptable for most purposes.
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devora k on 27 Apr 2009 at 6:24 pm #
I was going to say what Canute said but he or she is right on
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GivPerf on 27 Apr 2009 at 7:00 pm #
Pretty much all Orthodox Jews are raised to read Hebrew and understand the basics of the language. Modern Hebrew is not exactly the same as the language of the Torah and prayers, so Israeli Hebrew really has nothing to do with it.
So in an Orthodox synagogue, you'll usually find everyone praying in Hebrew, with the Torah being read in the original language. You might feel out of place for awhile, but as soon as you learn to read Hebrew, you'll fit right in. Artscroll produces a siddur with an interlinear translation, meaning that the English translation is underneath each word or phrase of the Hebrew, designed to be read from right to left along with the Hebrew text. It helps you learn the meaning of the words as you read the prayers.
I'd love to teach you Hebrew, if you live near me.
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Orthodox Jew
¨°º¤ø„¸ COOPS ¸„ø¤º°¨ on 27 Apr 2009 at 7:05 pm #
everyone knows how to read with punctuation, but if they don't live in israel they don't speak good hebrew usually. the services are conducted in hebrew, but i think there might be phonetic sidurim, that have the text in english. ask in your local bookstore. and don't be embarrassed, people will be glad to help and point out where they are holding.
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Kimimela-PRO ISRAEL AND PROUD on 27 Apr 2009 at 7:48 pm #
From my experience most orthodox synagogues will do a fair amount if not all of their set prayers in Hebrew. The synagogue sermon will be in english, but things like the shema, amida which form part of prescribed dailey prayers will most likely be in hebrew.
If your not used to at least parts of synagogue services being conducted in hebrew then it will feel strange at first. I have jewish heritage but i formally converted and i remember going to a reform synagogue and just being completely confused as to why some of it was in hebrew and some in english.
In my experience most orthodox synagogues like it when non religious jews want to become more religious so you should find the atmosphere welcoming at least and if you explain you dont speak hebrew someone should be able to show you what pages to turn to – what it all means etc
. It will be confusing, but remember most orthodox jews have grown up learning hebrew and aramaic so dont feel bad…
really – youll be fine
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kismet on 27 Apr 2009 at 7:54 pm #
The services are indeed in Hebrew, but most Orthodox Jews are not fluent in Hebrew; they read Hebrew so they can pray and learn Torah.
All prayer books, by the way, come with an English translation as well as the transliteration, so you do not need to know Hebrew in order to participate in the prayers. It is helpful to find someone friendly who will show you which page is being read, etc.
The friendliest Orthodox synagogues are the Chabad ones, so if you want to attend an Orthodox service and have never done so before you should start there. You can look for a Chabad synagogue near you via this search engine:
http://www.chabad.org/centers/default_cdo/country/USA/jewish/Chabad-Lubavitch.htm
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jd on 27 Apr 2009 at 8:20 pm #
Keep in mind that Temple is nothing like Church.
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Annt Hu DeShalit on 27 Apr 2009 at 8:49 pm #
You can learn.
You may have heard that Rabbi Akiva hadn't studied until the age of forty.
Good luck in your quest for Torah.
.
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gottago on 27 Apr 2009 at 9:01 pm #
Where I live, our synagogue services are all in Hebrew but I don't think visitors feel left out. The people are very helpful and welcoming. We announce the page numbers whenever we skip pages or other points when someone might need help. The Torah is read in Hebrew but the books that we use to follow along have both the Hebrew and English and the vast majority of us follow along in English so that we actually learn something. The Sermon and all explanations are in English. Twice a month we have a "Beginners service" which introduces people to the Traditional service.
It might be a good idea to hook up with someone who worships there so that you come in knowing someone. Then he/she can sit with you and help you follow the service. This person could introduce you to the rabbi and other people. Hopefully, he/she would also invite you for lunch after services and answer any questions you have afterward.
You can find someone by going to partnersintorah.org.
Partners in Torah is a program that will provide any Jew with someone to help them learn about Judaism. They set up tele-partners (Learn over the phone) and Partners-in-Person which means you learn with someone in your community.
You could also call the synagogue directly.
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NAArabianJewess on 27 Apr 2009 at 9:30 pm #
There are great siddurs (daily, Shabbos and Holiday) available. Also many Tehilim (Book of Psalms) are around. You can get versions of them that have the Hebrew, Hebrew transliterations and English within the books themselves. You can follow in the transliteration or English which is important but the Holy Language has always been the norm, even in the Chinese or Japanese or Swedish, Spanish or Iraqi editions to name a few. Knowing Hebrew is a help, but not a stop to praying along in your own tongue (language) and ArtScroll carries a selection in Russian, English, Spanish etc. Also, many Torah books not only have the Hebrew but the English with the commentaries. I read Tehilim each day for the healing of others (if a person is 20 I read 21 for him or her) and of course, I read the Psalms for each of my family members. It is uplifting. As for learning Hebrew, Torah-True Jews around the globe have open classes to learn to read Hebrew and Feldhelm and ArtScroll publishers have tapes, books and most anything you need in English and other languages. I used the Hebrew tapes years ago in college to learn Biblical Hebrew. Recently it has been discovered that some special ed students have been able to learn Hebrew before English. It seems Hebrew has a natural flow and consistency that is lost when trying to learn English.
Not everyone that comes to a synagogue to pray knows Hebrew and some not even English, so they bring or leave behind in the "shul" or a small "home-shul" for use on the Seventh Day (Sabbath) and holidays.
Women usually go to synagogue on the Sabbath when they do not have children as yet, or when they are old enough to walk. Sons go with dad and the girls go with mom. It isn't a requirement to attend services, but finding learning classes is so much more filling than I could ever imagine. Even on line, "Chabad.org" has question/answer pages, great videos, and you can even contact them to get great articles from women and men scholars. I met a woman in shul that was just learning English and having a hard time, she came from Iran and escaped to Turkey then to France then to America. So she was fluent in Farsi, Arabic, Turkish, French, Hebrew and was having a hard time with English! Wow, I didn't think that would be the case, but as we have seen, so many Spanish speaking people in US can't speak English and we end up with bi-lingual classes for them, especially in New York.
Women's prayers are heard directly and women aren't bound to time-honored mitzahs (deeds or laws), so many will meet in home to learn, study the weekly Parasha (Torah portion for the week), learn Hebrew, study the meaning of passages, etc. and read and study Tehillim (Psalms) together. There are also phone groups and computer groups. We had a very large one via AOL until they changed their format. Chabad.org and OrthodoxUnion sites have quite a lot on them for free. For those that are visually handicapped, having a reading mac makes it even easier to participate. There are also so many wonderful books in English on commentaries for the Torah and any or all aspects of life. Even great beginning Hebrew books for adults and children, including videos, music, workbooks and if you need help visually, the Jewish Guild for the Blind carries prayer books in Braille and in large print English and Hebrew (heavy book, lol). So don't feel out of place, many you will meet come from all walks of life and other groups that do not know Hebrew. Our neighbors were/are Reform and now are going to the local classes and learning what they can. No one will ask, but if you look stuck, there is always someone around that can help. Some will ask you if you would like to join in a class or come to a holiday celebration, don't feel bad if you decline, they will understand and I have yet to meet someone that has made feel "stupid" as we all questions and there are no stupid questions, we only learn by asking, doubting, challenging and go from there.
Women usually are separated from the men–it is for the men that this is done. Women are not so easily distracted when praying and don't size up men in suits wearing their tallit. But, as we all know, men's eyes will wander and to keep them on the track to concentrate on what they are there for, to pray and connect with God, great looking women would be a distraction, lol.
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