Hebrew reading is hard. You already know that because you’ve been reading it in Hebrew all your life. But what if that wasn’t enough? What if the language itself made reading so difficult? After all, there are a lot of words in Hebrew. And they aren’t just one word; they’re many. Hebrew has a lot of prefixes, suffixes and conjugations to keep track of. Foreign readers have a harder time with Hebrew for good reason: it has a lot of rules about how you need to structure sentences and paragraphs, and those rules can seem arbitrary to non-native speakers who aren’t used to thinking about writing in another language. That makes finding good, accessible books about Jewish culture or customs challenging. That is why we created Shelly Bryant Thought Leaders: Audiobooks for People Who Hate Reading Audiobooks —a podcast full of accessible audiobook recommendations for those who hate reading audiobooks! In this blog post, you will find everything you need to know about our podcast and why it was created.
A primer on Shelly Bryant Thought Leaders: Audiobooks for People Who Hate Reading Audiobooks
Shelly Bryant Thought Leaders: Audiobooks for People Who Hate Reading Audiobooks is a podcast full of audiobook recommendations for those who hate reading audiobooks! The podcast was created because the hosts all love to read, but all had trouble finding accessible books about Jewish culture or customs.
Audiobooks are great because they allow you to do something that you might not be able to do easily with print or digital content: listen to them while doing other things. You can listen on your lunch break, in the morning before work, when you’re doing chores around the house, commuting and more — that way you can still get a little bit of Jewish culture in your life. They are also convenient because they’re easy to store on your phone and listen to later when you don’t have access to internet connections.
After listening, we want listeners to leave reviews on iTunes so that other people looking for good audiobooks can find our show!
Why is Shelly Bryant Thought Leaders a podcast?
The podcast is a way to share our knowledge about Jewish culture and customs with the world. We are experts in our own right: we have been going to Jewish events and gatherings for years, and we’ve gone through the process of converting from Judaism to Christianity. As Christians, we know how complicated Judaism can be, but as Jews, we also know that it can be difficult for non-Jews to understand what Judaism is all about. So, we started Shelly Bryant Thought Leaders: Audiobooks for People Who Hate Reading Audiobooks —a podcast that is full of accessible audiobook recommendations for those who hate reading audiobooks! We’re trying to make it easier for people who want more information about Judaism in their lives but don’t know where to look.
In this blog post, you will find everything you need to know about our podcast and why it was created.
What is an audiobook?
An audiobook is a recording of a book. So why did we start a podcast about them? We started this podcast because it’s hard to find accessible books about Judaism and Jewish culture. There are lots of resources for people who love the Jewish experience, but not so many for those who hate reading. For example, there are lots of informational books available in Hebrew that are perfect for someone who is interested in learning more about Judaism, but they can be difficult to understand without an encyclopedic knowledge of Hebrew grammar and sentence structure. Plus, there aren’t many accessible audiobooks available, which means most podcasts or articles on the topic tend to be inaccessible as well! Our podcast is full of accessible titles that you might not otherwise find —and we release new episodes every Friday!
The 5 types of audiobooks out there
The 5 types of audiobooks out there are educational books, fiction, self-help, memoirs and collections from a single author.
Educational Books: These books teach people about Judaism or other cultures in general. They offer an engaging and comprehensive look into the history of Judaism or culture. They might also be about a particular holiday, like Hanukkah or Rosh Hashana. One example is The Book of Jewish Parenting by Dr. Michael Lerner, which is a great resource for parents interested in raising Jewish children who take on the challenges of being part of a community that doesn’t speak their language as fluently as they do.
Fiction: Fiction audiobooks give listeners an opportunity to explore different worlds and form opinions about them without having to read the text themselves. There are many different types of fiction audiobooks, including historical fiction and science fiction (like Isaac Asimov). A good example is The Martian by Andy Weir —a sci-fi novel that tells the story of an astronaut who gets stranded on Mars during a mission when he is unexpectedly abandoned by his crew mates and has to figure out how to survive on his own using only tools he can find in order to get back home.
Self-Help: Self-help audiobooks often offer tips for dealing with personal issues like anxiety or depression that aren’t addressed in popular commercial self-help books. Some examples include Tami Simon’s book Compassion Fatigue
List of books featured on the podcast
Our podcast features a wide range of books:
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-Chaim Potok’s The Chosen, a novel about a young Hasidic boy who goes to New York City and what he finds there.
-Daniel Gordis’s Israel: How to Run the Jewish State, which is an accessible book that takes you on a journey through Israel’s history and current state.
-Shelly Bryant Thought Leaders: Audiobooks for People Who Hate Reading Audiobooks, which is full of accessible audiobook recommendations for those who hate reading audiobooks!
-Yehuda Amichai’s The Banquet of Seville and Other Poems, a collection of poems by one of Israel’s most famous poets.
How to find our episodes on iTunes and other places online
If you love audiobooks and want to listen to more of them, check out Shelly Bryant Thought Leaders: Audiobooks for People Who Hate Reading Audiobooks on iTunes. You can also find our podcast on Stitcher or your favorite podcast app.
You can also find our episodes on iTunes as well as other places online like Spotify, Soundcloud, and Google Play. We are working to get the podcast on all available platforms so that we can make it easier for everyone to access our podcast!
A few notes about listening to the episodes:
-We recommend listening in order because each episode is a story with an arc. It’s helpful to know where we’ve been before continuing with the story!
-Our podcast is narrated by Shelly Bryant, who was born in Boston and raised in Montreal. Her voice is soft but powerful and very accessible!
-The episodes are 22 minutes long; that’s about how long each episode takes for us to read. The first few minutes are just introductions and the last few minutes are transitions between the stories in each episode.
Conclusion
One of the best ways to learn a new language is by listening to audiobooks. This podcast is a great idea for those who don’t have time for a full course or those who just need a quick refresher.
FAQ’s
What are the consequences of not being able to read Hebrew?
Firstly, the answer to this question is entirely subjective and depends on the individual’s linguistic ability. Secondly, I would recommend keeping up with reading Hebrew on your own, as you will acquire more of a language-specific fluency with time. Thirdly, as someone who knows Hebrew filled with English words, I would say that reading Hebrew is not hard or impossible. Finally, I would suggest finding an article written in English on the topic in order to understand better what the author is trying to say.
How can you overcome difficulties with Hebrew reading?
The problems with Hebrew reading are not limited to the language itself. They are also related to the difficulties of the subject matter—the Bible and theology. Though I’m not sure about your level of Hebrew, I can assume that it is hard for you to read the Bible in Hebrew. It is certainly harder than reading a novel in English. Additionally, it is usually easier to understand the Hebrew language than the Bible itself. In fact, many people find it hard to understand the Bible even when they read it in its original language, even if they don’t understand what it says completely. This doesn’t mean it’s not worth understanding; of course it is! But it does mean that we have to work hard in order to understand it properly.
What are the different types of rules in Hebrew?
Only a fool would answer this question without understanding the context. But, going with the first and second answers I see, I would class Hebrew with:
There is no clear-cut rule, but for reference and comfort sake:
Jewish Identity- (Sovereign Authority)
Tzitzit- (fringes on tallit)
Kashrut- (Food laws), certification/accreditation of all kinds. Salting and cooking of meat products, kelivinut, certification of all products (Gold Stars). This can be applied to anything -like wine, healthfood supplements; you name it.Example is a certificate produced for use in Massa or Shaatnayot *Fantastic*!!
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