Introduction to The Hebrew Hacker

The Hebrew Hacker is a pun on the title of a 2003 movie called The Hebrew Hammer , starring Adam Goldberg and Judy Greer. It’s a good movie to watch when you have nothing to do on a weekend afternoon, even if you’re not Jewish. It parodies and satirizes common Jewish stereotypes (Jewish mothers, the Jewish media conspiracy, etc), examines Jewish-American identity politics (a young Mordechai wrestles with the feeling of being left out during the Christmas season), and even touches upon intra-gender solidarity from a Jewish-American perspective (Mordechai [Adam Goldberg] has the hots for a blonde shiksa but Esther [Judy Greer] wins him over).

I took a 5 week crash course in the Hebrew alphabet from 9/12/06 - 10/10/06 at the JCC in Manhattan. It was being offered for free. This course (which is one of two crash courses in learning to read Hebrew using the so-called ulpan method) is funded and sponsored by the National Jewish Outreach Program (NJOP). They conduct classes in synagogues and JCCs (which is basically like a Jewish YMCA) all over North America.

Initially, I had absolutely no prior background in Hebrew. Before taking the class, I really had no idea what to expect. I thought it would be really difficult. I was pleasantly surprised that it was not so. I really enjoyed the class and learned a lot. The instructor, Barbara Simon, was engaging and enthusiatic. The class members consisted of about 25 students, mostly women. There were a handful of students who were obviously not Jewish, and I was one of them. I had a wonderful time.

After the 5 weeks was over, I was confronted with the problem of not having any reasons or motivation in my life to continue and maintain my little adventure into the study of the aleph, bet, gimel. It’s not like I go to a synagogue for Shabbat services, have a career or occupation that requires a knowledge of Hebrew, or friends who share this idiosyncratic interest of mine.

Then one day, near my workplace, I saw a construction site dumpster in the street next to a new condominium that was being built in the DUMBO section of Brooklyn. Pasted on the side of the dumpster was a decal sign with Hebrew words written on it. I found myself trying to decipher it, using the knowledge I gained from the crash course. That’s when I hit upon the idea for this blog.

I’ve decided that I will go around, taking snapshots of random street occurances of Hebrew words and phrases, post them here on my blog, and analyze them. Since I live near NYC, working in Brooklyn where there is a sizable Hasidic Jewish community, I figure I shouldn’t lack for opportunities. I’m rather psyched about this project of mine. I hope that it would also attract like-minded folks who share an interest in learning Hebrew so that we may sharpen each other, like knives.

Please bear in mind that I am no language expert, nor a linguistics geek, or anything of that sort. I’m just a regular guy with a slightly irregular, off-beat interest. The study of foreign languages was actually one of my biggest weaknesses when I was in school. I’m much better with concepts, rather than rote memorization of words and grammar, which is actually just bunch of arbitrary rules and convention made up by people. I’ll probably write a lot of stupid stuff, seem awfully clueless at times, etc. I welcome all constructive criticism from my readers and look forward to some lively discussions.

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