Throughout the conversion process, it’s been a simple matter of learning and immersion, practice and study, then along came Hebrew. Reading, writing, and speaking Hebrew is a package deal and something that is a part of the process of learning… in my honest opinion, the hardest part. Hebrew isn’t inherently difficult, but so many of the letters of the alephbet look alike and so many of the vowel symbols have rules and subsets of rules to their uses. 

I’m legally blind, which I’m sure adds to the complication, but even then, I’m getting it and can read a lot of Hebrew words. I’m about fifty percent through the workbook in our intro to Judaism course, and my best advice, stick with it, you can do it if I can do it. 

Don’t let this dissuade you, Hebrew is semi-difficult in the world of languages, I speak five languages and by far Latin dominates in the difficulty of those I’ve learned. Hebrew has a lot of resources online and offline to help in learning, I have several books, Youtube has several excellent channels, Udemy has courses with native speakers, so there are a lot of resources out there. Plus during the conversion process, you’ll have the help of your sponsoring rabbi and those running the intro to Judaism course as well.

I know it can seem like a daunting task but remember you’re not just joining a religion, you’re joining the Jewish people themselves, and Hebrew is their language. Use every available resource out there, you’ll pick it up in no time, just put in the work and stay consistent in your studies. Having a partner to practice with also helps tremendously, as you can correct one another when you make mistakes and help each other to grow. 

It’s an amazing feeling when you know the words to the prayers you say in their native Hebrew, and then notice that you can read them as well. You not only gain a feeling of accomplishment in recognizing words from the prayers written in Hebrew, but you also begin forming a closer connection with other Jews past and present. This is a huge boost to one’s confidence when in the conversion process (take it from me on that), bringing a true feeling of being one of the tribe of Eretz-Yisrael.