the Hebrew alephbet

The Hebrew Alephbet consists of 22 letters, all consonants. Most of these letters sound like the letter name. For example, the letter Mem מ is pronounced like an M, as in Moadim, which means appointed times. Of these 22 consonants, there are 2 silent letters that can take on different sounds, mainly for vowels. Vowel markers, small symbols near a letter, are also added for clarity in some Hebrew writing. Hebrew is read from right to left, which takes a little time to get used to. But when thinking about learning Hebrew, realize just like Torah, we are not in a race to acquire head knowledge; we are in a process of spiritual growth, allowing Ad-nai to birth within us what He has for each of us, each part of the body.

The name AlephBet comes from the first two letters of Hebrew: Aleph and Beit, similar to the English AlphaBet based on the first two Latin letters, Alpha and Beta. But that is one of the very few similarities to English because Hebrew has so many more levels of meaning compared to the English language. To some degree we can describe Hebrew much like we describe Ad-nai: simple yet amazingly and beautifully complex. For example, our letter B has no meaning aside from the fact that it sounds like “bee.” In Hebrew every letter has its own meaning(s), which then combines with other letters to make up the meaning of a word or phrase. Confusing? Here’s an example: El is a simple name for G-d. In Hebrew it is spelled אל - the letters Aleph Lamed. Ancient Hebrew letters were written as pictures based on the meaning of the letter. Aleph looks like the head of a bull - representing strength, and is often said to represent G-d. Lamed looks like a staff . And so when you say the “little” word El, realize you are saying something very “big” - The L-rd is my Shepherd!

Hebrew4Christians is a great site to begin to learn Hebrew.