Research shows multilingual kids to be better at learning, planning, problem-solving, and self-control? Introduce your kids to Hebrew and give them the gift of a second language while strengthening their connection to Israel and the Bible. Click here to purchase digital/softcover/hardcover.
Introduce your kids to HEBREW in a fun and enriching fashion.
Visit www.MazorBooks.com/Hebrew.htm and read all about the fabulous MazorBooks series that opens the world of Hebrew to children of all ages.
You may also purchase all or any one of the books on Amazon. All are available in digital and paper back formats, some are already available in hard cover, the rest to follow.
MazorBooks also offers two Hebrew Alphabet workbooks: 1. Color the Aleph-Bet (ages 3-6) – http://amzn.to/2t3Z2FB 2. The Hebrew Alphabet: Read, Write & Color (ages 6 & up) – http://amzn.to/2mJR6G5
Jewish people living outside of Israel often comment about the timing of Jewish holidays.
“Chanukah is early or late this year.” Is it ever on time? 🙂
The Jewish calendar coordinates the astronomical characteristics of the cosmological environment, in which the months have either 29 or 30 days corresponding with the 29½-day lunar cycle, and the years consist of either 12 or 13 months, corresponding to the 12.4-month solar year.
Unlike the Jewish Calendar, the Gregorian calendar, used by most of the world, arbitrarily sets the length of months to 28, 30, or 31 days, so it corresponds to the 365.5 days of the Solar year.
In the chart below, you may see how the months in the two calendars correspond.
Jewish holiday celebration times hinge on the lunar-based Hebrew Calendar, and since Jewish holidays also celebrate the solar seasons, Jewish leap years occur every two or three years.
Chanukah always begins on the 25th day of the Hebrew month of KISLEV. However, it may fall anytime from around Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day. The same is true of all Jewish High Holidays, which occur on set Hebrew dates that vacillate on the Gregorian calendar. For example, the High Holidays (Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Shmini Atzeret & Simchat Torah) begin any time between early September to mid-October.
This year (2022), the celebration of Chanukah (Hanukkah) lasts from the evening of December 19th through the 26th. The first Chanukah candle lighting happens on the evening of December 18th.
Chanukah Gelt
Some argue that Chanukah has become so centered around gifts because of the festival’s proximity to Christmas. However, even before the ho-ho hegemony, Chanukah was a time of giving. It’s the holiday of “Chanukah Gelt,” or in Hebrew, “Dmei Chanukah,” – Chanukah money.
Children may prefer receiving Chanukah Gelt (money) for the latest gadgets or toys, but by gifting them with books, you will present them with the kind of gift that keeps on giving!
MazorBooks offers a growing selection of books for English-speaking kids. Visit the www.MazorBooks.com library for links to Jewish holiday books (listed below), a series of Hebrew for Kids picture and interactive books, and an array of books with good values
Have fun as you learn lots of HEBREW Words by playing the popular vocabulary-enriching game, IR/ERETZ עיר – IR – City ארץ – ERETZ – Land/State/Country
Some call the game CHAI/TZOMEACH/DOMEM חי – CHAI – Animal world (Chai also means life) צומח – TZO-ME-ACH / plants דומם – DO-MEM / inanimate/still object
And others call it YELED/YALDA ילד – YE-LED – boy (name of) ילדה – YAL-DA – girl (name of)
The IR/ERETZ game tests the players’ ability to find words that begin with a given letter for each of several general categories. Usually, the game includes categories such as country, city, animal, plant, inanimate object, a boy’s name, and a girl’s name. The number of categories is determined by the players. We will play with the seven listed.
This game is popular in Israel, Latin America, and other countries around the globe. Are familiar with this game in the language of your country? ‘Tutti Frutti,’ ‘Scattergories,’ or ‘Stop the Bus’ are English versions of IR/ERETZ. The French version is called ‘Le Jeu du Baccalauréa.
Click the following and get access to downloadable Hebrew-related coloring and activity pages. Coloring and Activity Pages – A Gift for You!
If you would like to join the game in the MazorBooks’ FB group, you are welcome 🙂
Many of us use words such as values, virtues, principles, morals, and ethics interchangeably, but though they have commonalities, they are not truly synonymous.
The most often confused terms are values and virtues.
A VALUE is a principle or fundamental belief that informs our decisions about what is important in life and guides attitudes, motivation, and standards of behavior. Whether a specific value is deemed worthy or not is subjective and depends, among others, on one’s culture, family background, religious beliefs, and social affinity and association. For instance, some may view the value of “nationalism” positively, while others may declare it a negative elitist attitude. Indeed, firmly held but opposing
VALUES have led to cultural clashes, societal divisions, and bloody wars. A VIRTUE, on the other hand, is a quality that is commonly and widely considered favorable and desirable—qualities such as kindness, honesty, integrity, dignity, and such.
While all values may not be desirable, virtuous, and have moral goodness and are subjective and personal, virtues are universally lauded and deemed to have high moral value.
As often is the case in Hebrew, the terms for value and virtue are not ambiguous but clearly distinguish their meaning. E-rech, עֵרֶךְ, value, is neither intrinsically good nor bad. Mi-da tova, מִדָּה טוֹבָה, virtue, is inherently and fundamentally good.
Another lovely Hebrew word for your treasure box:
Most Hebrew words are formed from roots of three-letter roots with vowels and the addition of prefixes and suffixes. The root of the word to-va-na is the same as in ha-va-na, which means comprehension/understanding, and bi-na, intelligence/wisdom/understanding.
NEW from MAZORBOOKS Your source for children’s picture books that introduce Hebrew to English-speaking kids.
Learning the alphabet of a new language completely different than your own is a big challenge. Learning the Hebrew alphabet is challenging, even more, as its characters are different and it is read from right to left.
With over 130 attractive and easy-to-read e-flashcards, you will master the Hebrew letters in no time!
Learning with flashcards is beneficial for many reasons:
Visual learning is more effective for long-term memory
Repetition super-enhances retention
Automatic feedback – Instant correction and validation
NEW: “The Hebrew Alphabet” digital Flashcards make learning easier. With over 130 attractive and easy-to-read e-flashcards, you will master the Hebrew letters in no time! – amzn.to/3Ff14ci
A BLOG SERIES ABOUT GOOD VALUES AND VIRTUES BASED ON THE HEBREW ALPHABET
When children are instilled with good values and instructed about the importance of virtues and virtuous behavior, they will likely evolve into values-driven, ethical, honest, and moral adults!
To combat concerning reports that dominate the news from around the globe, we must be mindful of what it means to be good humans: The values, virtues, and traits to admire, choose right, and emulate those among us who live honest and honorable lives. We must strive to improve ourselves, be great role models for our kids, and attract goodness and kindness while rejecting evil.
Since Hebrew is the language of the Bible, the bedrock and foundation for virtues, noble values, and good morals, its alphabet will serve as the framework for this series about good virtues, good values, principles, traits, behaviors, actions, and more.
The Hebrew phrase for virtues is mi-dot to-vot – מִדּוֹת טוֹבוֹת, which means good measurements, as in the measure of a man – an idiom expressing that behaviors and reactions to different situations sum up a person.
The Hebrew word for value is e-rech עֵרֶךְ. Like in English, depending on the context, the term ‘value’ describes the importance, worth, or usefulness of something or a person’s principles and standards of behavior.
Look for the next installment will delve into more about the meaning of מִדָּה טוֹבָהmi-da to-va (singular for mi-dot to-vot) and עֵרֶךְ – e-rech. Are value and virtue synonymous?
www.mazorbooks.com/hebrew.htm Your source for children’s picture books that introduce Hebrew to English-speaking kids.
Learning the alphabet of a new language completely different than your own is a big challenge. Learning the Hebrew alphabet is challenging, even more, as its characters are different and it is read from right to left.
With over 130 attractive and easy-to-read e-flashcards, you will master the Hebrew letters in no time!
Learning with flashcards is beneficial for many reasons:
Visual learning is more effective for long-term memory
Repetition super-enhances retention
Automatic feedback – Instant correction and validation
NEW: “The Hebrew Alphabet” digital Flashcards make learning easier. With over 130 attractive and easy-to-read e-flashcards, you will master the Hebrew letters in no time! – amzn.to/3Ff14ci
The celebration of Passover 2022 will begin on the evening of Friday, April 15, and end Saturday night, April 23.
Passover, “Pesach” in Hebrew, is the first of the three major festivals with both historical and agricultural significance (Shavuot and Sukkot, being the other two). On Passover, Jews everywhere celebrate the redemption of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery, over 3800 years ago.
Moses, the leader of the Israelites, was commanded by God to demand of Pharaoh, the Egyptian ruler, to let the Jewish people go. Pharaoh was not keen on the idea. Eventually, the Jews of Egypt escaped Pharaoh and slavery in the most spectacular fashion.
The Holiday of Passover has FOUR NAMES!!
Passover commemorates the Jewish people’s redemption from Egyptian slavery and their birth as a nation. Passover also teaches about values, such as trust, humility, hope, renewal, and freedom. Some of the values are evident in the holiday’s four names.
Chag HaPesach/The Holiday of “Passing Over” Chag HaMatzot/The Holiday of Matzahs Chag HaAviv/The Holiday of Spring Chag HaCherut/The Holiday of Freedom
The Holiday of Passover – Chag Ha-Pesach,the most well-known name of the holiday, literaly means to pass over or skip. Passover refers to God’s “passing over” or skipping the Jewish homes (marked above the door) during the tenth plague and saving their firstborn sons.
The Matzahs Holiday – Chag HaMatzot, is the holiday’s second name. The name refers to the main symbolic food eaten on Passover, the Matzah (unleavened bread). The Matzah is made of flour and water, without yeast and is baked quickly. It commemorates the departure of the Jews from Egypt, who in their haste to leave their oppressors, they did not wait for their dough to rise, and baked matzahs instead of bread.
The Holiday of Spring – Chag Ha-A-viv, is the holiday’s third name, refers to the time of year during which Passover is celebrated. The holiday occurs every year during the Hebrew month of Nisan, the first month of spring season. Passover, like spring, symbolizes freedom, renewal, and hope.
The Holiday of Freedom – Chag Ha-Che-rut, is the holiday’s fourth name. On Passover, we celebrate freedom. We remember the freeing of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery. We also celebrate the freedom we have today to live and to celebrate our Jewish life and our Jewish heritage.
The Passover Story is one of a number of the MazorBooks “Jewish Holiday Books for Children” series, which offers a growing selection of picture books that tell the story of the Jewish holiday and/or a story relevant to the festivities. The books in this special series include books about Rosh Hashanah, Sukkot, Chanukah, Purim, and Passover, with more to come.
TAV is the twenty-second letter of the Hebrew Alphabet.
The numerical value of TAV is 400
In modern Hebrew, the frequency usage of the letter TAV is 5.68%
The TAV sounds like the “t” in table Some orthodox/ashkenazi Jews pronounce the TAV as SAV, especially during prayer and Torah learning. For example they call the KOTEL, כותל, (wailing wall) – KOSEL,
“The Hebrew Alphabet” digital Flashcards make learning easier. With over 130 attractive and easy-to-read e-flashcards, you will master the Hebrew letters in no time!
Learning with flashcards is beneficial for many reasons:
Visual learning is more effective for long-term memory
Repetition super-enhances retention
Automatic feedback – Instant correction and validation
And much more!
Available on Amazon (kindle & kindle unlimited)
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Most Hebrew speakers in Israel and Jews in the diaspora chose Biblical names for their children in generations past. Generally, names given to boys and girls were Biblical in origin and gender-specific. Nowadays, past name-choice practices are still prevalent, but many parents do not limit themselves to Biblical or gender-specific naming. Nowadays, you will find TOM (innocence) and TO-MER (date tree/palm tree) among the new unisex names beginning with the letter TAV.
Words of Values that Begin with the Letter TAV MazorBooks children’s books promote Good Values. In that spirit, below is a list of Good Value words that begin with the letter TAV
TO-RAH – The Hebrew Bible/The Old Testament The Torah is the compilation of the five books of MOSHE/MOSES: Genesis/Bereshit, Exodus/Shmot, Leviticus/Vayikra, Numbers/Bamidbar, and Deuteronomy/Dvarim.
A Place in Israel that Begins with the Letter TAV As Hebrew is the official language of the State of Israel, it stands to reason to include a place in this incredible country that begins with the letter TAV.
TEL AVIV, the first modern city in the State of Israel, is known for its beaches, financial center, and tourist attractions!
Coloring and Activity Pages – A Gift for You!
Click the following and get access to downloadable Hebrew-related coloring and activity pages. (If you have subscribed to the MazorBooks Mailing list, you will receive the link to the new Activity Pack via email.)
CLICK HERE – HEBREW ACTIVITY PAGES More AlephBet and more fun information, coming soon! Keep visiting. Let us know what you think! GET ALL SIX ‘A Taste of HEBREW’ books for Kids
NEW: “The Hebrew Alphabet” digital Flashcards make learning easier. With over 130 attractive and easy-to-read e-flashcards, you will master the Hebrew letters in no time! – amzn.to/3Ff14ci
“The Hebrew Alphabet” digital Flashcards make learning easier. With over 130 attractive and easy-to-read e-flashcards, you will master the Hebrew letters in no time!
Learning with flashcards is beneficial for many reasons:
Visual learning is more effective for long-term memory
Repetition super-enhances retention
Automatic feedback – Instant correction and validation
And much more!
Available on Amazon (kindle & kindle unlimited)
——————–
Most Hebrew speakers in Israel and Jews in the diaspora chose Biblical names for their children in generations past. Generally, names given to boys and girls were Biblical in origin and gender-specific. Nowadays, past name-choice practices are still prevalent, but many parents do not limit themselves to Biblical or gender-specific naming. Nowadays, you will find SHAI (gift/present) and SHA-KED (almond) among the new unisex names beginning with the letter SHIN.
Words of Values that Begin with the Letter SHIN MazorBooks children’s books promote Good Values. In that spirit, below is a list of Good Value words that begin with the letter SHIN
SHA-LOM – Peace. The greeting Jews use upon the arrival of Shabbat and during the holy day, is SHABBAT SHALOM, a wish for a peaceful Shabbat.
A Place in Israel that Begins with the Letter SHIN As Hebrew is the official language of the State of Israel, it stands to reason to include a place in this incredible country that begins with the letter SHIN.
SHA-AR YA-FO, One of the famed entrances into the Old City of Jerusalem.
Coloring and Activity Pages – A Gift for You!
Click the following and get access to downloadable Hebrew-related coloring and activity pages. (If you have subscribed to the MazorBooks Mailing list, you will receive the link to the new Activity Pack via email.)
CLICK HERE – HEBREW PACK #21 More AlephBet and more fun information, coming soon! Keep visiting. Let us know what you think! GET ALL SIX ‘A Taste of HEBREW’ books for Kids
NEW: “The Hebrew Alphabet” digital Flashcards make learning easier. With over 130 attractive and easy-to-read e-flashcards, you will master the Hebrew letters in no time! – amzn.to/3Ff14ci
The celebration of Passover 2022 will begin on the evening of Friday, April 15, and end Saturday night, April 23.
The Passover Story recounts historical events in ancient Egypt, starting with the harsh slavery conditions of descendants of Jacob (son of Isaac, son of Abraham) and of and Moses’ first attempt to secure his people’s freedom to the Israelite’s eventual redemption – all in lovely rhymes and beautiful illustrations
Passover, “Pesach” in Hebrew, is the first of the three major festivals with both historical and agricultural significance (Shavuot and Sukkot, being the other two).
On Passover, Jews everywhere celebrate the redemption of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery, over 3800 years ago.
Moses, the leader of the Israelites, was commanded by God to demand of Pharaoh, the Egyptian ruler, to let the Jewish people go. Pharaoh was not keen on the idea. Eventually, the Jews of Egypt escaped Pharaoh and slavery in the most spectacular fashion.
Passover observances involve the eating of the Matzah (unleavened bread) and the celebration of the Seder. The Matzah eaten on Passover is made of flour and water and without yeast and is baked quickly. It commemorates the hasty departure of the Jews from Egypt, which did not allow time for lengthy preparation and rising doughs. And during the Seder the story of the exodus in told and retold in detail.
The picture book, The Passover Story, tells the story of the Jews of ancient Egypt and their escape from slavery in lovely rhymes accompanied by gorgeous illustrations.
Available both in digital and print format at Amazon Click here to purchase a copy for your beloved child
Sample Pages
The Passover Story is one of a number of the MazorBooks “Jewish Holiday Books for Children” series, which offers a growing selection of picture books that tell the story of the Jewish holiday and/or a story relevant to the festivities. The books in this special series include books about Rosh Hashanah, Sukkot, Chanukah, Purim, and Passover, with more to come.