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The Hebrew alphabet is one of the oldest alphabets still in use today. Even though the letters look different from the Latin characters that comprise the English alphabet, don’t be intimidated! Just spend some time memorizing the shapes and sounds of these Hebrew letters and reading Hebrew will be easier!

Like many ancient alphabets, the Hebrew alphabet is written from right to left. Hebrew consists of 22 letters, all of which are consonants. Vowels aren’t written within the consonant letters; rather, they’re written in the form of dots and dashes below the consonant letters. For a more complete discussion of Hebrew vowels, see “Those dots and dashes they call vowels” later in this chapter.

The pronunciation I provide in this book is the Sephardic (Mediterranean) pronunciation, which is spoken in Israel today. Ashkenazi (European) pronunciation differs slightly; the vowels, for example, have different pronunciations, and a few consonants are different as well. I use Sephardic pronunciation in this book.