1. Hebrew is the language of the Bible and a key to decoding Judeo-Christian civilization. Studying Modern Hebrew as a living tongue is the simplest way into the Bible.

2. Modern Hebrew is the main language of Israel, the Jewish state born just 50 years ago, one of the world's fastest-growing high-tech economies and a country constantly in the news. Take part in Dartmouth's newly approved Jerusalem summer program, and you'll see for yourself.

3. If you might be interested in research on the Middle East or simply working there, a knowledge of Hebrew is invaluable.

4. In its 50 year history, Israel has produced a crop of famous writers. Yehuda Amichai, A B Yehoshua, Amos Oz, and David Grossman have explored the joys and troubles of modern Jewish existence, the birth of a nation, the Holocaust, the Mid East conflict... You will have a chance to study such writers in simplified hebrew and in the original.

5. Hebrew is a unique phenomenon: the only known case of a mother tongue recreated (after a coma of two millenia). Get a feel of how this happened and how an ancient tongue now talks computer-speak, basketball and baby-talk.

6. Dartmouth has movies, grammar tapes, software, and loads of great Hebrew music (from the songs of the pioneers to heavy rock).

7. The bottom line: Learning Hebrew is fast-moving and fun. It has to be -- Israel was built on teaching Hebrew to waves of immigrants, using its famous Ulpan system.
   The Hebrew alphabet is a small hurdle. The grammar is systematic, built around three-letter roots, and there ain't much of it.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS?
Just e-mail Professor Lewis Glinert or our language instructor Ilona Ben-Moshe, or visit the department Web site.

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