The Most Extensive Campaign Ever For Hebrew Literacy 

Winnipeg, MB, October 2, 2013 – This fall, members of Winnipeg’s Jewish community will gather to participate in the only continent-wide campaign aimed at teaching North American Jews to read the Hebrew language.  Conceived and orchestrated by NJOP in 1998, Read Hebrew America and Canada is expected to reach 12,000 Jews across the United States and Canada this year.

Opening its doors to all members of Winnipeg’s Jewish community, Herzlia - Adas Yeshurun, together with the Rady Centre, will be one of 600 institutions across the continent to host Read Hebrew America and Canada.  Led by Rabbi Ari Ellis, Read Hebrew Winnipeg, a free Hebrew Reading Crash Course, will focus on teaching the Hebrew alphabet and basic reading skills to Jews with little or no background in Hebrew – in just five easy lessons. Classes will meet at the Campus on Tuesday evenings beginning at 7:30 pm on October 22.

“Twenty years of experience in teaching over 234,700 North American Jews to read Hebrew has taught us that for most Jews, Hebrew literacy is a crucial first step towards personal Jewish empowerment and enthusiastic communal involvement. Without the ability to read Hebrew, many Jews feel alienated from religious services and shy away from involvement in Jewish observances and traditions,” commented Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald, Founder and Director of NJOP. The mass outreach approach has been proven to be an opportunity to touch, inspire, and engage tens of thousands of seeking Jews, thus ensuring a flourishing and vibrant future for them as part of an enriched Jewish community.

Eexperts believe that 80% of all North American Jews do not know how to read Hebrew. Read Hebrew Winnipeg is designed to introduce local Jews to the Hebrew language - a skill that will enable them to participate in Jewish life in the original language of our ancestors. An essential component to the practice of Judaism, Hebrew is the primary language in which Jewish prayer books, holiday services, and significant religious texts are written and read.

The Read Hebrew Winnipeg program is based on NJOP’s popular and enjoyable Hebrew Reading Crash Course. Designed for those with little or no background in Hebrew, the program concentrates on teaching the Hebrew alphabet and basic reading skills. Follow up programs are available to those who are interested in further advancing their Hebrew reading and comprehension skills.

NJOP was established in 1987 by Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald, and has become one of the world’s largest and most successful Jewish outreach organizations. NJOP has offered free programs at more than 4,821 locations across North America and in 40 countries worldwide.  Through programs such as Read Hebrew America and Canada and Shabbat Across America and Canada, NJOP has successfully reached more than 1,415,600 North American Jews, and engaged them in Jewish life.

Herzlia - Adas Yeshurun, Winipeg’s largest and oldest Modern Orthodox congregation, has been an innovator in Jewish programming and education since 1955. Our members range from young families with children to senior citizens and founding members. We hold weekly Shabbat services and have a regular daily Minyan. We offer weekly classes as well as other educational and social programs for adults and children throughout the year.

For more information about Read Hebrew Winnipeg, call us at (204) 489 - 6262  or e-mail [email protected].