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Learning Hebrew as a Family

Creating Connections Through Language
Daniella Tourgeman
|
7 min read
Learning as a family

A Freedom to Call My Own

My Evolution from Wanderer to Digital Nomad
Sahar Axel
|
6 min read
Sahar Axel Digital Noamding

Where Do I Belong?

Dr. Lori Beth Bisbey on the Struggles of Being Jewish, Queer, and Unapologetically Herself
Noa Lara Meir
|
5 min read
Dr. Lori Beth Bisbey

׳Crossing Cultures and Oceans׳

Jordan Grimmer-Tufik on Following His Heart, Unexpected Life Choices, and the Journey from a Kiwi Farm in New Zealand to Tel Aviv for love.
Noa Lara Meir
|
4 min read
Jordan and Yehonatan

‘On Paper, It Shouldn’t Have Happened’

Sam (Shmu) Swartz Journey of Growth, Perseverance, and Finding His Voice in Hebrew.
Abigail Zamir
|
4 min read

‘Squeezing the Juice Out of Life’

Joanie Umscheid on Rediscovering Hebrew, Mentorship, and Building Community Through Language.
Abigail Zamir
|
5 min read

Finding Strength in Chaos

Kasha Lankiewicz on Embracing Life in Israel.
Abigail Zamir
|
6 min read
Kasha Lankiewicz on a kayak
Learning as a family

Learning Hebrew as a Family

Daniella Tourgeman
|
7 min read
Creating Connections Through Language
Sahar Axel Digital Noamding

A Freedom to Call My Own

Sahar Axel
|
6 min read
My Evolution from Wanderer to Digital Nomad
Dr. Lori Beth Bisbey

Where Do I Belong?

Noa Lara Meir
|
5 min read
Dr. Lori Beth Bisbey on the Struggles of Being Jewish, Queer, and Unapologetically Herself
Jordan and Yehonatan

׳Crossing Cultures and Oceans׳

Noa Lara Meir
|
4 min read
Jordan Grimmer-Tufik on Following His Heart, Unexpected Life Choices, and the Journey from a Kiwi Farm in New Zealand to Tel Aviv for love.
Sam Swartz

‘On Paper, It Shouldn’t Have Happened’

Abigail Zamir
|
4 min read
Sam (Shmu) Swartz Journey of Growth, Perseverance, and Finding His Voice in Hebrew.
Joanie Umscheid

‘Squeezing the Juice Out of Life’

Abigail Zamir
|
5 min read
Joanie Umscheid on Rediscovering Hebrew, Mentorship, and Building Community Through Language.

Finding Strength in Chaos

Abigail Zamir
|
6 min read
Kasha Lankiewicz on Embracing Life in Israel.

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Hebrew Nugget:

Learning Hebrew as a Family

Learning as a family
People have different reasons to learn Hebrew, most often to speak with family members or the family of an Israeli spouse or partner. Some take the Hebrew learning journey solo, but others do it as a family. For this piece, we’ve interviewed four families who decided to make Hebrew a source of connection and something to experience together, whether in the same classroom or separately: couples Ronen and Julia Kadosh, Dana and Brian Friedman, and Dominique and Laurent Laffy, along with mother and daughter Golda Katz and Chanie Friedman. Their stories show how learning a language together can strengthen bonds and create new shared experiences.

Golda and Chanie: When Mom Knows Hebrew Better Than You Do

Golda Katz and her mother Chanie Friedman both live in New Jersey, where they’ve turned Hebrew learning into a daily adventure. Chanie was the first to enroll at Citizen Café, and after seeing how much fun her mother was having and how quickly she was progressing, Golda decided to join as well. “The most fun part is practicing together throughout the day!” Golda shares. “We throw random Hebrew words in the middle of sentences like asking if the other wants to walk the כלבים to the בית קפה.” They’ve even given their dogs Hebrew names to further immerse themselves in the language. Their Hebrew studies have taken on special significance as Golda prepares for a major life change. “I’m making Aliyah this summer, so my goal is to learn as much as I can,” she explains. “I have a lot of family in Israel and I want to be able to have conversations with them in their native language.” Her most ambitious goal? “I also aspire to eventually say ‘ר’ without sounding so American!” For Chanie, the journey builds on foundations from her childhood. “I learned biblical Hebrew in school as a child, so I wanted to learn spoken Hebrew because I love the language and the country of Israel.” With Golda’s upcoming move, Chanie anticipates frequent visits to Israel, making fluency increasingly important.  Though they’ve always been close, studying together has added “one more fun dimension” to their relationship. “I already understand a lot, but speaking it is the challenge,” Chanie admits, as she eventually hopes to make Aliyah as well. They listen to Hebrew music and learn lyrics together, building excitement for future visits to Israel and video calls with family there. Their biggest challenge? According to Golda, “The most annoying thing is that my mom is better at Hebrew than I am!”

Ronen and Julia: From Restaurant Romance to Hebrew Class

Manhattan couple Julia and Ronen Kadosh began their Hebrew journey in spring 2024 and are now in their fourth semester at the yellow level. “Ronen was interested first, but we decided to commit to it together and hold each other accountable,” they explain. The recommendation came from their friend Vera, who spoke highly of her experience with Citizen Café.. Their connection to Hebrew runs deep—they actually met at 12 Chairs, an Israeli restaurant in Manhattan where Ronen had become friends with many Israeli regulars. “Israeli culture, food and Hebrew have been a part of our relationship from day 1,” Ronen shares.

For Ronen, learning Hebrew is about reconnecting with his heritage. “My dad grew up in Jerusalem and moved back to Israel several years ago. I have so much family there and even though many of them speak English, I see learning Hebrew as a way to grow closer with my family and build a stronger connection with my Israeli roots.” Despite having attended Hebrew school when younger, he had lost most of what he’d learned over the years. During their regular visits to Israel, “everyone always expects that we speak Hebrew, so I’m just trying to live up to expectations!”

The couple appreciates how learning together highlights their complementary strengths. “Julia’s super smart,” Ronen admits. “She also has an incredible memory, so her vocab recall is really strong. I have to hear something 10 times for it to stick; Julia gets it much quicker.” Meanwhile, Julia admires Ronen’s confidence to practice in public. “Whenever we travel to Israel, he’s so quick to use his new vocab with friends, family, and in restaurants. Sometimes I get nervous and crack under pressure!” Beyond language skills, the commitment has strengthened their relationship. “We do everything together, but we had never taken a class or committed to doing something extracurricular for 3 hours a week together. It’s fun to push ourselves and do something difficult, and it’s so rewarding to be learning something new at the same time.”

Dominique and Laurent Laffy: 35 Years Together and Still Finishing Each Other’s Hebrew Sentences

After 35 years of marriage, Dominique and Laurent Laffy have embarked on a new shared journey: learning Hebrew together from their home in London’s Notting Hill. They began during COVID at the most basic level, following in the footsteps of their daughter Julie, who they later discovered had learned Hebrew fluently through Citizen Café before them. The couple’s Hebrew studies reflect their deep connection to Israel. Dominique explains, “I started learning Hebrew because of my love of and links to Israel. My father’s family escaped the ‘Pale’ and were politically active Zionists.” She mentions a fascinating historical connection: her great-grandfather once wrote to Lord Balfour offering to raise an army of 125,000 to help create the state of Israel—just three months before the Jewish Home was created. For Laurent, the motivation is more exploratory: “No particular goal—it is an entertainment to learn and discover a new language, its construction and relationships with other languages hinting at historical connections.” With their daughter having spent seven years in Israel and their increasing visits there, being able to communicate in the local language became increasingly appealing. Their classroom dynamic reveals their decades-long familiarity with each other. Dominique laughs about “seeing Laurent preparing for his next joke and knowing what he’s gonna say before he says it.” Meanwhile, Laurent enjoys watching “Dominique stubbornly updating her list of words, now known as the Dominique’s dictionary, instead of just listening and reviewing class notes.” Despite the challenges of memorizing vocabulary—which Laurent attributes partly to “getting older”—they appreciate Hebrew’s logical structure, finding that even after 35 years of marriage, they can still discover new dimensions to their relationship through learning together.

Dana and Brian Friedman: Complementary Skills Make a Perfect Team

For Dana and Brian Friedman of Denver, Colorado, learning Hebrew together has become both a practical skill and a way to connect with others who share their passion. Brian was the first to enroll with Citizen Café in 2023, starting at the green level. After his enthusiastic experience, he encouraged Dana to begin in 2024, and soon they found themselves studying together on the turquoise level. Their different backgrounds create a complementary learning dynamic. “As a Sabra who left Israel as a young child, Dana speaks more naturally but struggles with reading fluency,” they explain. “Brian reads well and ‘breaks his teeth’ to speak. Together we make a good team!” The couple has incorporated Hebrew into their daily lives in playful ways, using flashcards as games to test each other and dropping Hebrew phrases into conversations “as random jokes out in the world.” Their Hebrew studies have even expanded their social circle—they were delighted to discover another married couple in their class, and when traveling to London, they arranged to meet their classmates in person. Dana and Brian frequently travel to Israel and hope to become comfortable enough to maintain conversations in Hebrew during their visits. “Since many Israelis speak English very well, we find that most often our conversations there turn to English. Our goal is to get our Hebrew to a level that enables us to keep the conversations in Hebrew.” Beyond the classroom, the couple immerses themselves in Hebrew media: “Outside of class, the most helpful tools are Hebrew language movies and television shows as well as podcasts,” they share, listing favorites like “Shtisel,” “Beauty and the Baker,” “A Body the Works,” “Seven Figures,” and “HaShoter HaTov.”

Learning Together: More than Just Language Skills

These families’ experiences highlight how learning Hebrew together creates connections that go beyond vocabulary and grammar. What unites them all is how they’ve transformed language learning from a solitary pursuit into a shared experience—one that brings not just new skills, but laughter, inside jokes, and deeper bonds. Whether preparing for Aliyah, planning visits to Israel, or simply exploring a language they love, these families demonstrate how learning together can enrich relationships in unexpected and meaningful ways.