 |
|
 | |
| Spring 2006 | |
 |
|
Editor’s note: Cantor Robert Lieberman wrote to tell us why his first class using Hineni: Prayerbook Hebrew for Adults was so successful. A varied group of adult learners from within the Syracuse Jewish community convened for the first meeting of an eight-week course using the new Behrman House textbook, Hineni: Prayerbook Hebrew for Adults. The ages of the fourteen participants ranged from twenty-something singles to grandparents in their seventies. We began by introducing ourselves and our goals for the class. One learner said, "I want to understand more about why I do certain things in the synagogue." Another said, "I’ve never had formal training and often feel frustrated trying to follow a service." A public school educator said that he just enjoys learning for learning’s sake. Our second task was to sing a niggun, a wordless melody, during which our group began to feel a connection to one another. |
Cantor Robert Lieberman of Temple Adath Yeshurun, Syracuse After distributing Hineni, I shared with the class what attracted me to it. The approach is refreshing. I like the idea of building vocabulary, with each Hebrew word matched to its corresponding translation. The illustrations are compelling, but more than that, the commentary gives meaning, context, and understanding to the prayers. |
Our studies began with chapter one and the recitation of the six-word b’rachah formula, in which we—by habit—grouped the first three and the last three words. I pointed out, however, that the book seemed to have another interpretation: the six Hebrew words were punctuated with commas grouping every two words. We discussed this new approach.One student raised his hand with an "Aha!" moment. He asked if I knew the blessing for shehecheyanu by Israeli composer Tzvika Pik in which the words are grouped in twos. We ended our first class with this song, a blessing especially for that moment, and sang out "amen," enriched with the new layer of understanding about the meaning and role of the word "amen"— one we’d just gained from our book. 
|
|
![[Next]](../next.gif){kind=small}
