Hebrew Reading Crash Course Empowers in 700 Cities

Newfound Hebrew literacy, made possible by JLI’s ‘Read it Hebrew’ program, is removing the biggest barrier to Jewish engagement for thousands worldwide.

Michael Efrusy, a cybersecurity professional from Ringwood, New Jersey, hit a dead end when he tried to teach himself Hebrew. “I could make out some letters, but I had no sense of how the vowels worked,” he said. But all that changed when he signed up for Rabbi Mendy Gurkov’s five-week Hebrew crash course, Read It In Hebrew. “It was a major stroke of luck,” he says, “I’d been looking for this for a long time.”

With over seven hundred participating Chabad centers worldwide, the Read It In Hebrew program from JLI has helped thousands overcome their number one obstacle to deeper Jewish engagement—the inability to read Hebrew. Identifying the pressing need for an effective and accessible Hebrew reading program, JLI created a unique five-session class incorporating the best educational techniques, including flashcards, PowerPoint slides, and a mobile app and is aligned with the Rebbe’s guidance.

With a more robust knowledge of Hebrew, Michael began to feel more at ease in the Chabad House. He started wrapping tefillin daily, reading the Shema, and even learning to layn from the Torah. “I never had a bar mitzvah growing up,” Michael says. “Being able to read from the Sefer Torah was one of my life’s greatest highlights.”

To bring Read It In Hebrew to your community, or for more information, visit ReadItInHebrew.com