Evidenced by the outstanding success of the Me'ah Graduate Institute's inaugural year in 2003–04, Me'ah graduates remain thirsty for more learning. First, they asked for courses in cultural history, biblical text interpretation and Jewish spirituality. And now they've requested instruction in the big one: Hebrew language.

Ask and they shall receive.

"Ever since Me'ah started ten years ago, there's been a sense that Hebrew should be part of the vision and conversation of the program," says Dr. Avi Bernstein-Nahar, dean of educational planning at Hebrew College and chief architect of the Institute. Reflecting the view of many Me'ah graduates, Bernstein-Nahar argues that the ability to read classical Jewish texts in their original language will deepen students' learning experiences in all MGI courses.

So starting in the fall, two Hebrew courses will be added to the Me'ah Graduate Institute's offerings: Reading Classical Hebrew Texts: Fundamentals for Beginners, a daytime course on Wednesdays, 3:00–5:00 p.m., with Harvey Bock, and Reading the Hebrew Bible: Grammar and Text, a year-long evening course on biblical Hebrew with Dr. Marc Brettler, Mondays 7:00–8:15 p.m. The more advanced course of the two, Brettler's will include a one-hour language lab on Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m.

What makes the adult learning of Hebrew unique, Bernstein-Nahar says, is the students' desire to concentrate on reading. Therefore, unlike Ulpan and other methods of Hebrew instruction that also promote auditory and listening skills, Hebrew instruction in the Me'ah Graduate Institute will focus primarily on reading comprehension.

For example, in Bock's beginners' course, which presumes no previous knowledge of Hebrew, students will spend the first few classes learning phonetic reading skills and a basic vocabulary of approximately 150 words. Then they will progress toward reading comprehension of biblical and rabbinic texts within two to three years. In Brettler's course, students possessing a basic ability to read and translate simple biblical verses will learn to read selected biblical prose and poetry throughout the year, culminating in their reading the Book of Jonah.

At a summer celebration on August 10, nearly 200 Me'ah graduates and administrators gathered to help launch this new initiative. Brettler, the Dora Golding Professor of Biblical Studies and chair of the Near Eastern and Judaic Studies Department at Brandeis University and co-editor of The Jewish Study Bible (Oxford University Press, 2004), lectured at the event on "Lost in Translation—Learning to Read the Hebrew Bible."

For more information, please visit hebrewcollege.edu/mgi or contact mgi@hebrewcollege.edu or 617-559-8709.

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