Students must sign up for this course by the deadline. Please review the Israel Institute website for details on upcoming deadlines.
About This Course
Students can take any Level 3-8 Modern Hebrew course from the Israel Institute of Biblical Studies for one credit each:
- Level 3: Up to now, you have probably learned many new sentences in Hebrew by heart and you feel comfortable using them in various situations. Now is the time to use your knowledge, take off the training wheels and begin expressing yourself freely! In this intermediate course, we introduce different texts about central Israeli issues and culture. Through these texts, you will enrich your vocabulary, learn verbs in the past tense and practice new syntactic structures. We will encourage you to express your opinion about the texts we read in class, thereby improving your fluency.
- Level 4: At this level you feel comfortable expressing yourself in Hebrew. Now we will introduce you to a wide range of Israeli topics that we will use as discussion points, to increase your Hebrew proficiency. In this course you will learn 300 new words, complex grammar, verbs in future tense and adjectives. However, Hebrew is more than just the grammar, it is a culture, a people and a history. Combining literature, poetry and texts about famous Israeli figures into your language studies, will help you truly immerse yourself in Hebrew.
- Level 5: You are already a confident Hebrew speaker, so this is the perfect time to enrich your vocabulary with Israeli idioms and metaphors. In this advanced course you will improve your listening comprehension, speaking skills and writing ability. We will read about historical areas of Israel, different social groups and popular poetry. Through these texts you will acquire 300 new words, expressions and proverbs and verb conjugations in all tenses, which will give you a variety of ways of expressing your thoughts.
- Level 6: At this stage, you are familiar with various Hebrew idioms and metaphors. This allows us to dive into more complex texts that will deepen your understanding of Israeli culture. We will read poetry and short stories, at a level suited to native Hebrew speakers, which will enrich your vocabulary. This course will encourage you to actively practice the grammar and vocabulary you have learned up to this point, in speaking, reading and writing.
- Level 7: When you reach this level, you are already in love with the Hebrew language and you are excited to learn as much as you can about Israel. In this course, we will begin to familiarize you with the exceptions to the rules of Hebrew grammar. There is no better way to do this, than by reading Hebrew poetry and songs, as well as articles on a variety of topics including education, art and biographies of famous Israelis.
- Level 8: Congratulations, you have reached the final level! You have acquired over 3,000 new words, you are familiar with many different aspects of grammar and you can speak, read and write Hebrew confidently and proficiently. The focus of this course is to give you an opportunity to practice everything you have learned to this point. Your teacher will introduce current news articles about Israeli politics, science and society. Together, we will practice speaking, reading and writing about these topics, to orient you in Israeli life and improve your fluency.
Students may not receive credit for Beginner or Improved level Hebrew.
Students may not receive credit for Beginner or Improved level Hebrew.
Also note that these electives are in addition to the Hebrew taken in your cohort, not as a substitute. You do not need to sign up for more language courses from this provider after you have received credit for a course taken.
This course is 1 elective credit towards smicha
Course Objectives
These courses offer a variety of outcomes. Please review the Modern Hebrew page on the Israel Institute site for details.
This course is offered through the Israel Institute of Biblical Studies, part of the eTeacher Group and in conjunction with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Students will receive a full credit for this course.
This course is provided by a third party and is unaffiliated with Pluralistic Rabbinical Seminary. There may be a cost associated with this course. Pluralistic Rabbinical Seminary does receive an affiliate fee by recommending this course to students.
