Alexander River נַחַל אָלֶכְּסַנְדֶּר

Posted by Shira Cohen-Regev on July 28, 2008 under Traveling in Israel | Be the First to Comment

On Shabat evening, just after the heat of the summer day lessened, we headed up to our favorite river, not far from where we live. The Alexander River originates at the Samaria Mountains and runs all the way to the Mediterranean Sea. It flows into the sea north of the city of Netanya. Although the river was once polluted (מְזֹהָם, mezoham) and lost lots of its water animals and vegetation, it has been restored during the last decade or so. Now, you may walk or ride your bike (if you don’t have one, you may rent it there) along a well-nurtured bank. You may enjoy a picnic by the shed of a eucalyptus grove (חֻרְשַׁת אֵיקָלִיפְּטוּס, xurshat ‘ekaliptus), or enjoy the lovely resting areas along the river bank.

This is a wonderful walk that the whole family may enjoy. Along the river bank many Israeli trees and bushes were planted, such as figs, vines, carob, and the most Israeli cactus – the Sabra. You may walk along the bank, pick some fruits (my kids picked some sweet juicy grapes), and enjoy.

In the midst of the river, you may find soft-shelled turtles (צַבִּים רַכִּים, tsabim rakim). Personally, I dislike these reptiles with their long grayish head that welcome any piece of food provided for them, but I do respect their long lasting existence in the last 100 million years (and especially during the last hundred polluted years). The kids and lots of other people may watch for hours their sleekly movements and their assertive way of getting food. For that reason, a special bridge was built, just around the area they inhibit. Not surprisingly, it is called – The Turtles Bridge (גֶּשֶׁר הַצַּבִּים, gesher hatsabim). This nearly extinguished soft-shelled turtle population gets a special attention from the nature preserved communities. Their eggs are being moved to a fenced area where they can grow unharmed, and when the little turtles hatch, they walk directly into the water.

 The clean up of the Alexander River received top prize at the Australian 2003 Theiss River prize competition.
The place became even more attractive since then. So, on your next trip to Israel, when you feel like simply cleaning your head and enjoy nature, you may visit the Alexander River and watch the results of the ongoing preservation efforts.

Saturday Morning שַׁבָּת בַּבֹּקֶר

Posted by Shira Cohen-Regev on July 20, 2008 under Holidays, Traveling in Israel | Be the First to Comment

A beautiful children song tells about a Saturday morning from the point view of a little child. From some reason, Saturdays tend to be pleasant even in term of the weather. I remember waking up as a little girl on Shabat, hearing the voices of the people going to the synagogue (just next to my old house) and watching the sun rays penetrating through the closed shutters. Every Shabat I was astound to find out that it is another beautiful day. Even a Shabat following a stormy winter week somehow turned to be sunny and tempting. Therefore, the child in the song determines that it is a beautiful day (there is no other options).

The child from the song goes on and tells about his mother drinking lots of coffee (just like my mother did and I do now) and daddy reads lots of newspaper (which is one of the preferable activities on an Israeli weekend). The child describes the different options of spending Shabat’s morning such as sailing on the Yarkon river in Tel-Aviv, or simply walking down the street and picking flowers.

You may watch Arik Einstein singing this song with the composer Yoni Rechter playing the keyboard next to him and read along the song.

שַׁבָּת בַּבֹּקֶר Saturday Morning

מִלִּים: תִּרְצָה אֲתַר  Words: Tirtsa Atar

לַחַן: יוֹנִי רֶכְטֶר  Lyric: Yoni Rechter

Well, last Saturday, after drinking much coffee and going over the weekend papers, we found ourselves singing this song and decided to put it into practice. We packed some water, hats, sunscreen and fruits and went to the Yarkon. This river is the largest coastal river in Israel. It originates near Rosh Ha’ayin at the east and runs west through Gush Dan and Tel-Aviv into the Mediterranean Sea.

When my husband was growing up in the northern part of Tel-Aviv, he used to play at the Yarkon bank, attempting to build a raft and exploring the water turtles (that were later extinguished) and various river animals. Once he found a little boat that was swept away and sailed with his friends throughout the summer.

In memories of those days and following the lines of the song, we rented a boat (there are no swept away boats any longer) and rowed throughout the Yarkon almost till the sea. On the way back, the breeze helped us breathe and made the boat move faster. A picnic on the Yarkon bank was a wonderful conclusion to this beautiful Shabat morning.

There is no doubt: Shabat baboker! Yom Yafe!!!

About Teaching Hebrew

Posted by Shira Cohen-Regev on July 5, 2008 under Learn Hebrew | Be the First to Comment

Shalom Xaverim (friends),

People often refer to learning a new language as a difficult task, Hebrew (or Chinese) in particular. One of the first phrases newcomers (עולים חדשים, ‘olim xadashim, new immigrants to Israel) learn is “עברית שפה קשה” (‘ivrit safa kasha = Hebrew is a difficult language), but Hebrew is a beautiful language and learning it is one of the most satisfying adventure many people experience. In this post I would like to share with you my experience of teaching Hebrew – one of the most satisfying challenges I have been facing (besides raising children).

Teaching via the internet is a unique experience. Teaching Hebrew via the internet is one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had. Sometimes I feel like a Genie who fulfills the one biggest dream of a person – learning Hebrew. When I tell about my work (most often with bright eyes) people here do not really understand why others want to learn Hebrew. I feel that most of my students study Hebrew for emotional rather than practical reasons (although some plan to go to Israel or have a common language with the grandchildren who made aliya). They feel an urge to learn Hebrew – the language of the holy scripts, the language that was kept alive for thousands of years, the language that was revived after 2,000 years, the language of a young nation, the language of loved ones, the language of the Torah.

I meet students from all over the world – Jews and non-Jews – who make major efforts to study Hebrew. Learning a new language is not an easy task – after participating in the lessons, students review the materials, listen to the recorded lessons, trying to pronounce the Hebrew words with the guttural sounds, and practice writing from right to left. My students don’t need exams or grades because they have this inner urge to know the language, to master it.

The internet and eLearning provides many people with the opportunity to learn Hebrew in places where Hebrew schools are not present or in times that fit their unique schedule. It puts together people from different countries or continents, with different backgrounds, and of different ages to inspire each other and to learn from each other. In some classes I have students from various time zones, different professions like a physician, a truck driver, a retired person, a teacher of English as Second Language, and an artist, sitting together, each one at the comfort of their home – learning about shopping and dining in Israel in Hebrew.

I sit at home in Israel – in the holidays, I bring my students the flavor of the holiday – my children may sing the holiday songs to them in Hebrew. When we learn about the Seven Species the land of Israel was blessed with, I turn my webcam and show them the olive tree out of my window. When the lesson takes place at the break of the day, my students hear the birds waking up in Israel chirping and announcing the new day. And when we conclude our course, we often have virtual parties with virtual food and presents sent by the students and the teacher.

Last week we learned about the family – the various family relations like mother, father, grandchildren and the like. I asked my students to send in advance some family photographs. In class each student presented his or her family in Hebrew – it was a lovely opportunity to make these virtual students real – to see their pictures and to meet their families, to hear their stories and to feel their joy (at the wedding of a loved one) or worries (about the son who serves in Afghanistan). These students, who had first met the Hebrew language about 6 months ago, were able to articulate all their family relations, and express their feelings about them. I am very proud of them – I believe they feel major satisfaction.

Teaching Hebrew to young children is a different yet very rewarding experience. These young children come from various backgrounds. Their parents may speak Hebrew or have some Hebrew background but find it difficult to keep their children’s Hebrew at age level. I have been there and I can fully understand them. We used to live in the States for many years and our children were born and raised there. My Israeli husband and I spoke Hebrew at home, but the “street” is stronger – the level of their Hebrew was not satisfactory and when a parent attempts to be a teacher, it doesn’t always have positive psychological effects. Therefore, I wish I could have the option of having someone Israeli teaching my children Hebrew while we were away. It is funny, but when we lived in the States I felt that my son spoke Hebrew fluently – I guess that was what I wanted to believe in. When we watched the video tapes later on (preparing for his Bar-Mitzvah last year), we were amazed from the strong American accent and lack of Hebrew understanding he had.

This is a wonderful opportunity to tell you that HebrewOnline has just opened the registration to the yearly Ulpan for Kids. I think that it is a lovely opportunity for children (ages 7-17 years old) to learn Hebrew. The lessons are interesting, energetic and dynamic; the teachers are wonderful. The lessons are live, online, and conducted in small groups. There is no need to chauffeur the children or detach them from their computer – the lessons are delivered straight to your home computer through advanced video conference technology. You may sign up now for a trial lesson.

Would you like to share with us your experience of learning Hebrew? We would love to hear from you and publish your story.

You may watch the Aleph-Bet Song (written by Na’omi Shemer) performed in an alternative way in this Youtube page.

You may also familiarize yourself with the Hebrew letters and the transcription rules we use.