First Sample Lesson — Feedback welcome!
Great news: Here is a sample lesson for our new course. Please give us your feedback in the comments!
And please answer the Sample Lesson survey. It only takes about 2 minutes and it will really help us to help you.
Some important notes before you begin:
1) Some of the intro remarks are for this sample only, to give you an idea what we are doing. We will move most/all of the intro stuff into a separate video in the course itself.
Here is the intro lesson:
Please submit your feedback in the comments below.
I am definitely looking forward to this!
Thank you so much, Seth, for your help and support in all of this. RBR
I am most excited to continue in Torah study with this program. I feel i have found the correct support for my studies!!
unfortunately, I can’t read Hebrew, second I prefer material that I can read at any time I have, I have no steady time job,I”m on call all the time, I can”t be seated at computer all the time and on specific time. thank you very much,but, for sure would be an interesting class.
Sincerely
Elisheva M
Shalom Elisheva,
For some reason your comment slipped my eyes, maybe because you added a response to Seth’s comment at the top, and I was looking always at the bottom to see what came in new. I’m very sorry.
Anyway, I agree that not being about to read Hebrew is a significant handicap for the course, but regarding the second point, being fixed to a time for a class, it is not like that – the course is given with prepared videos that you can view whenever you want, even at 3 in the morning.
Regarding the Hebrew, I can recommend to you the course published by my friend and colleague Seth Young, Instant Hebrew. It is supposed to have you reading Hebrew in two hours. If you want to give it a try, you can find it here:
http://torahonline.co.il/go/instanthebrew/
All the best,
RBR
No subtitles?
Hi Moyses,
Thank you for the feedback. Still, I haven’t yet grasped what you mean by “no subtitles”. Can you explain a little what you mean?
Thanks,
Boruch Rappaport
I really liked the first sample lesson. I did the Instant Hebrew last year so the first lesson works well for me. Hopefully, I will get to a point I can do the more advanced one.
Thank you,
E. Jones
Thank you, Elizabeth, for your feedback. The truth is that the goal right now is not necessarily “to get to the point where you can do the advanced one.” (But if you work on it, you will indeed get to the point where you can do the advanced one). Rather to gauge the students at what level they need to hear the lesson. You see, in the planning stages of the course my close friends were divided regarding what level lesson to prepare and give over (like how fast to recite the material, how much needs to be translated, etc.). When I prepared what is the second one, the harder one, the minority of my friends said, “ah, perfect”, but the majority said “No way.” So we decided to post them both and get feedback from the readers.
So far nobody complained that the first lesson was “too easy.” :)
Thanks again,
Boruch Rappaport
The introductory lesson is my understanding level for combining learning to read Hebrew with learning Rashi script. The smallest script, when you turned to a page with numbered comments on it, when I enlarge it on my end, comes in sort of fuzzy making it harder to focus on reading. Other than that, I truly appreciate your efforts to assist us with reading, understanding and speaking Hebrew while we learn Torah!
Toda Raba, Chayah
Thanks very much, Chayah, for your visit and for your feedback. I hope to see you on the inside when we launch, which might be very soon, and if so, please keep me up to date with any technical issues (as well as all other issues as well). I am not an ignoramus when it comes to online thingies, and I have much more knowledgeable people on my team as well. We aim to have everything top-notch.
Thanks again,
Boruch Rappaport
I really enjoyed the first sample lesson. At this level and speed it helps me improve my Hebrew by following the debate while also learning Rashi script. Thank you very much.
Hi Carlos,
Thank you for the feedback. Apparently this is what 95% of the readers want, the pace of the first lesson. I”ll gear it down appropriately. I once heard from a certain Rabbi over here, regarding when the three angels came to visit Abraham on the third day following his entering in to the covenant. Rashi brings there from the Sages that Abraham slaughtered 3 cows in order that he can give to each one tongue. Why tongue? Explained this Rabbi, that Abraham wanted to give them a hint, “welcome to ‘this world.’ You angels live upstairs without an evil inclination, and without the trials that we have here in ‘this world’. Welcome to a place where one sometimes has to ‘bite his tongue.” :)
Boruch Rappaport
I noticed that on the second lesson the pronunciation is Ashkenazi, while on the first one it is in the Sephardi/general Israeli pronunciation. Is there a reason for that variation? Personally it doesn’t matter to me, since I want to be familiar with different aspects of the lashon hakodesh/Hebrew. Thanks.
I actually gave you a head’s up about that above between the two videos. Why did I do it that way? See my response to Elizabeth above. RBR
I like it because it the kingdom language,i love hebrew
Hi Danny, Thanks for the visit and thanks for the feedback. I hope that the more you see, the more you’ll like the course. We’re trying to get last minute tech difficulties worked out now before launch, but we are hoping that it will very soon, this week still I hope.
All the best,
Boruch Rappaport
the signs are too small and i dont know enough the language… i’m sorry, maybe later. sicerely: roberto
Hi Roberto,
The dots are too small. Hmmmm. I wasn’t sensitive to that, thanks for raising the point, I’ll pay more attention.
We are planning on being here for the long haul, so whenever you’re ready, we’d love to have you in.
Best of luck in all your endeavors.
Boruch Rappaport
I love Hebrew. I would like to take the time, to thank you for this!
Hi James,
Thank you for your feedback. Pay attention to your inbox, we are hoping to launch the site soon, and the people signed up already will have first grabs at the spots available.
With blessings,
Boruch Rappaport
This is great! Thank you so much!
Thank you too !!! RBR
It’s very good, but for me, it’s a little difficult, because my english is so-so, but I like it
Hi ZhangRu (Please let me know how to call you),
The trend amongst the readers is to slow the class down. So I think that it will be indeed slow, as much as it can be given time constraints. The current plan is to have a free trial for the program, I can’t promise, but that’s the direction of thought. If it turns out that way, consider entering the free trial in order to give it another chance to see it is for you.
All the best,
Boruch Rappaport
Thank you very much, GOD BLESS YOU! :）
G-d bless you too !!! RBR
DEAR AND BLESSED RABBI; THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK ON THESE LESSONS ! I AM 69 YRS.OLD. AND WOULD LOVE TO
LEARN THE ” HOLY TONGUE ” . HOWEVER ALL THE SKIPPING BACK AND FORTH IS JUST TOO CONFUSING FOR ME ! THANK YOU VERY MUCH BUT I CAN NOT DO THIS AT THIS TIME. FREDERICK FIRKEY SHALOM ALEICHEM !
Aleichem Shalom Frederick!
Thank you for your feedback. We plan to be here for the long haul, so if you want to reconsider in the future, we’d love to have you.
Best of luck in all of your endeavors,
Boruch Rappaport
Thank you very much! I liked both versions, the second offered more insights so I would prefer the second or a mix of both.
Loking very much forward to learning this way!
Hi Ruth,
Congratulations on being the first one to “like” the second version. What I would like to do, if I can get away with it, is to put in the added content at the slower pace. We’ll see, I can’t make a lesson 2 hours long, we’ll see how things develop.
Thank you very much, and hoping to see you on the inside.
Boruch Rappaport
HI, Thank you very much for this lesson. I would love to learn reading and understanding Hebrew language. In my case, this lesson is difficult because I should practice first more of reading and writing the Hebrew alphabet. Maybe it will make easier for the reader to follow you as you read it if you make a highlight of the word you are reading. and make the letter bigger. I will try next time if I’m ready or my Hebrew is more advanced.
Hi Maffe,
Thank you for your visit and for your feedback. Especially the point about highlighting the word. I’ll consider this in the future. Although when working with PDF it’s not so relevant, but with Word it might be an idea.
If it works out that we will offer a free trial, you can always sign up and see whether the level of your Hebrew is enough to understand the course. Consider this.
All the best,
Boruch Rappaport
I need to have a better understanding of Hebrew before studying the commentators. What confused me was the reference to Rashi without mention of the Babylonian Talmud. Please disregard my ignorance on Talmudic study, yet it had been my understanding that the Babylonian Talmud was the established standard. Allow me to reiterate my interest in these lessons, although I need to have the ability to read Hebrew fluently first, in order to learn.
Hi Ray,
I answered you on the other page: http://torahonline.co.il/new-course-features-announced/#comment-42
Thank you,
RBR
The first of the two options–the easier lesson–seems to be just right for me. Thanks!
Hi Barry,
Thank you for your comment, I noted your answer. Sorry for the delay in answering, we put out a launch for those on the list, so we were busy day and night.
Did you get an email regarding the launch? If not, and you want to be in under the best of conditions, leave me a support ticket at http://torahonline.co.il/support/
All the best,
Boruch Rappaport
My Hebrew is simple but do want to understand other views and insights. Anticipating the other lessons coming.
Hi Victor,
Thank you for your feedback. Keep your eyes open, we may be launching soon, I am working night and day so that it can be this week yet.
All the best,
Boruch Rappaport
I have enjoyed my Hebrew studies in the last year. It looks like this course will be a great addition to my study. Learning some vocabulary while studying Torah.
Hi Matt,
Thanks for the feedback. Keep your eyes open, things are starting to fall into place, I hope to launch this week still.
Looking forward to seeing you on the inside,
Boruch Rappaport
I highly appreciate the quality of your first sample lesson. Even if my knowledge of Hebrew does not always allow me to understand all your explanations at once I find it easy to listen once again and look for supplementary explanation as you have well advised beginners to do. It’s really a great opportunity to understand and learn the Chumash and to widen my horizon in Bible interpretation. G-d bless you in all your endeavors!
Thank you very very much, Dana, for your visit and feedback. I shorten my words because we are holding, maybe, before a momentary launch of the course. G-d bless you too, Boruch Rappaport
Enjoyed learning from both formats of video samples. Would prefer the first.
Hi Stuart HaCohen (I am also a Cohen),
Thank you for the feedback, you are in the clear majority who favor the first.
Did you see our email? We have launched the some 10 hours ago. I’d love to see you on the inside, (there’s a free trial), but I don’t see you yet. No, actually, I do see you, I will contact you personally by email.
Best of luck,
Boruch Rappaport
I am very interested in learning Gmara once again as I studied when I was in day school. I need to relearn Rashi, which I can do online. My Hebrew is an advanced level therefore I feel I am actually on a level between the 2 versions. The harder version I am not totally comfortable with due to the traditional pronunciations and the easier version is much too repetitive for me. I’d like to see the Rashi presented with the Hebrew on your prepared lesson sheet as well. Maybe the harder version using the modern Heb pronunciation? Or sadly, maybe it’s just not for me. But I really wanted this to work for me.
todah
Forgive my mistake…Gmara…meant chumash. All the rest applies.
This is not quite the way I like to learn. I would remove the black frame, it is too distracting, I would enlarge the fine print a little more, and it would be helpful to have the English translation appear also on the screen on one side with the key Hebrew words above or below the translation in an offset color. This would enhance the visual retention. It would even help to provide the lesson in download form so that the student could make notes to help with learning and do additional study between lessons.
Thank you
Dear Mr. Kanter,
Thank you for your comments, and forgive my delay in answering while we went live, we were busy day and night.
I appreciate your feedback. Some of the points that you are asking for are simple to do, and yet others are extremely difficult. But I will sit with all of your suggestions together with my technical assistant, and see what we can come up with.
I don’t see you yet on the inside, did you get an email, are you interested in signing up?
All the best,
Boruch Rappaport
I am extremely happy to know that the word of elohym is being taught directly from Ishrael.
It is true enough that many people will have access to it freely. They will learn the pure truth, certainly it will please the Most High.
Thank you, Paulo, for your feedback, I appreciate it very much.
All the best,
Boruch Rappaport
It is a challenge both lessons because I don’t know how to read Hebrew. I would like to learn how to read Hebrew.
Hi Nancy,
Thank you for your feedback. Maybe consider the link that I sent you in the email, here:
http://torahonline.co.il/go/instanthebrew/
All the best,
Boruch Rappaport
Hi Rabbi, we are excited to see this new course develop. One hopes to be able to not just read Torah in Hebrew but understand Torah in Hebrew as well.
On silly questions:
1. Would it be possible to also include English translations/footnotes to Rashi’s commentary as you did for the parsha from Shemot?
2. Also, how do we know if we are “progressing” in the material we are learning?
For example: Will there be questions (and model answers provided later) after each lesson to determine if we grasped the key ideas and comments since the lessons are asynchronous?
3. Finally, personally, it would be helpful if the material we studied coincided with the parshot of the week and Jewish festivals during the year. We think this makes the material more relevant in our lives as we try to study and understand Torah daily and appreciate the significance of Jewish events. Hope that makes sense.
That’s all for now.
Thank you in advance for your hard work!
Hi Mr. Law (is it?),
Thank you for your feedback and your real constructive criticism. My reactions:
1) I agree with this need, and from Lesson 1 I included a vocabulary list with the translations for the major words in Rashi as well.
2) The point about questions. I think that you are the second person raising this request, and I definitely hear it. I didn’t do it so far for lesson one and two. I will try to incorporate self-test questions, bl”n. I am working to get Lesson 2 and 3 online, but I put it on my to-do list, also to get to it for Lesson 1.
3) I raised this point together with my team in the early planning stages a couple of months ago, and when we kicked it around, we decided that teaching/learning Chumash well, with quality, doesn’t really go together with Parshat HaShavua. Each week you’ll hear a lesson for an hour or so in a couple of verses, perhaps only one Rashi?!? I think it better to do it this way, that way we can really accomplish what we want to do.
Regarding Jewish festivals, I have on my long-term to-do list to develop a Mishna Brura class in the holidays. But to do it in the Chumash class, it sort of defeats the purpose of the class by doing it that way.
If I’m not mistaken, I don’t see you yet inside. Do you want to come in?
All the best, and thanks again !!!
Boruch Rappaport
Thank you for inviting me to subscribe to the on-line course. I am afraid at this point i am not ready to enroll. All success!
Shavua tov,
E
Hi Elisha (is that correct?),
Your very welcome, and consider it whenever you are ready, we plan to be here for the long haul.
All the best,
Boruch Rappaport
Video links did not load on this computer. Thanks.
Jerry, do you know why not? This is standard mp4 in a Flash framework, if I am not making a mistake. Which types of video do you know work well for you on your computer? I can tell you that on the inside, in the lessons, I put a link to download the mp4 file by itself so that you can listen to it with your own player.
Maybe you have slow bandwidth and you didn’t give enough time for it to load? On my computer it takes just 3 seconds to start playing, but I know that I have a relatively fast computer. Maybe for you it takes longer?
Thanks, and take care,
Boruch Rappaport
Shalom,
My hebrew Rashi`s make deeper day by day. Thank you very much. I m not in possibility to take all together, until next year, but I m looking forward for OhrHachaim, also. Seams can be very interesting for people who are good language level, cos simultaneously and interdisciplinary way of transcriptions/translations…
p.s. like digital artist and web editor I know how s dificult with all this digital mess around, with all users, browsers computers, montage, video and audio codecs, and little gremlins inside internet :) Until now I haven`t problems with site, lessons and feedbacks, and all s great, and I hope will be ok in the future.
Good luck,
and thanks again,
KataRina
Thanks very much for the feedback. It’s nice to know that someone actually realizes what it takes to put a lesson online, and I am happy to hear that so far the quality has been OK.
All the best,
RBR