I first fell in love with Hebrew while I was in my undergraduate Judaic Studies program. I spent countless hours late into the night, poring over my Hebrew books in the library, trying to figure out an tricky verb root or what to do with an obscure prepositional phrase, always with an eye on the goal of settling on a coherent translation. I almost always parked myself on the second floor close to the BS section - Biblical Studies - so that on stretch breaks I could browse through the aisles of books on textual criticism and ancient mythologies and get lost in time, just for a little bit. 

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In 2006, I completed four years of Biblical Hebrew education at the University of Oregon (one year of grammar and three years of various text study/translation courses), along with a full Judaic Studies degree and a second major in History, with a focus on the ancient world (Roman, Greek and Near Eastern history). 

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After graduation, I fulfilled my dream of making aliyah (immigrating to Israel). As an olah (new immigrant), I put my Hebrew grammar to good use and enrolled in three different ulpanim in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv to learn modern Hebrew. 

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In short, I bring a wealth of experience to teaching Hebrew, not to mention lifelong passion and an unending fascination with the language, its intricacies, and how its study can help us understand the Jewish people's foundational texts, stories, prayers and laws - and, indeed, its very essence. 

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I am a proud member of Congregation Shir Tikvah, Portland's Eastside Jewish shul, where I work part time as the gabbai and Hebrew teacher and volunteer as co-chair of the Tefilah Committee. 

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