Podcasts can be a great complementary resource to an online Hebrew course or textbook. They’re a great way to add in a lot of listening practice, which will aid in your comprehension.
Podcasts provide a simple, readily available, convenient and affordable way to learn a new language. You can learn Hebrew basics, all the way up to more advanced Hebrew concepts, whether you’re using supporting materials or just the podcast alone, while you go about your daily routine.
Learn Hebrew while you’re driving, doing chores around the house, exercising or getting ready for work. They’re a fantastic way to easily add extra exposure to the language while going about your daily routine.
Unfortunately, Hebrew learners don’t have as many options to choose from as people studying more popular languages. Still, these eight Hebrew podcasts are worth checking out.
Table of Contents
Podcasts for Beginners
For those with no prior knowledge of Hebrew, these podcasts can be a good place to start. They break down all the important, need-to-know details, regardless of your reason for wanting to learn Hebrew in the first place.
HebrewPod101
HebrewPod101 provides beginning learners with hundreds of audio and video lessons, taking you through the very basics and into more complex concepts in a fun, engaging and relevant way. The podcast is available to listeners via a mobile app or their website with new lessons released every week.
HebrewPod101 even provides extra resources, such as flashcards, vocabulary learning tools and lesson notes, so you can supplement your learning with other materials. The hosts are engaging and really try to make the learning process more fun for listeners. To get full-access, you’d need to sign up for a subscription, but the basic plan is very affordable.
Hebrew Survival Phrases
Maybe you don’t necessarily need to learn all the ins and outs of the Hebrew language. Maybe it wouldn’t necessarily benefit you to learn the Hebrew alphabet and how the letters fit together to make common Hebrew words. Maybe you just need to learn basic phrases and terms, in order to get you successfully through a trip to Israel or an interaction with a Jewish friend or colleague.
If that’s the case, you can tune in to the Hebrew Survival Phrases podcast, which teaches you just the most important phrases to get through daily life in Hebrew, whether you need to apologize, greet someone in a business setting or make a reservation at a restaurant.
Intermediate
If you’ve already learned the basics of the Hebrew language and you now want to take your knowledge further, getting into conversational Hebrew and more advanced concepts, then you might want to start with one of these podcasts designed for intermediate learners.
Learn Hebrew Pod
The Learn Hebrew Pod podcast offers more than 60 episodes, all aiming to teach you how to speak conversational Hebrew. There are beginner, intermediate, and advanced level lessons to choose from, though the quantity is a bit limited.
There are multiple components to each lesson, including dialogue, translations, vocabulary, and review. The platform is pretty well designed as well, with the text being highlighted as you listen and read. Unfortunately, it isn’t the cheapest resource around.
Streetwise Hebrew
When you’ve learned basic Hebrew words, pronunciation and other basic concepts, you can move on to Hebrew slang. This podcast is an excellent resource for brushing up on your Hebrew “street” talk.
The host not only goes over popular Hebrew slang phrases and words, but also discusses how they fit into Hebrew culture and what they say about the Israeli psyche and society. The podcast comes out with new episodes every week and each episode is approximately 10 minutes long. There are more than 275 episodes currently available.
Hebrew Podcasts: Learn Hebrew at Your Leisure
For more conversational Hebrew learning, you can download the Hebrew Podcasts episodes, where each lesson covers a part of Hebrew dialogue, going into detail and providing translations, examples, explanations and exercises, to further enhance your learning experience. There are nearly 200 episodes available, with new episodes being added on a regular basis. You can also sign up on their website to get additional resources.
Intermediate Hebrew Course
Unfortunately, this podcast only lasted three episodes, but it could still be a helpful refresher. Each short episode covers intermediate-level Hebrew words, phrases and vocabulary, with PDF transcripts provided to help you best understand the taught concepts. The free audio-only course is available via Apple Podcasts.
Advanced
If you’ve already studied Hebrew for a good portion of your life and want to make sure you don’t forget how to use the language in daily conversation, check out these podcasts featuring news, cultural commentary and more, in the Hebrew language and from a Hebrew perspective.
SBS Hebrew
The SBS Hebrew podcast from the Special Broadcasting Service offers interviews, features and community stories, with a focus on news from all over the world. Uploads of new episodes are rather sporadic, but if you keep your eye on the podcast, you’ll find that new episodes are uploaded on occasion.
Each episode is under 10 minutes long and features a mix of English, Hebrew, and Yiddish. You’ll be able to follow along as an advanced Hebrew speaker, while learning more about Hebrew culture and news items.
Hebrew in Israel with Yoel Halevi
A relatively new podcast, Hebrew in Israel with Yoel Halevi only has 10 episodes thus far, with episodes uploaded weekly. The podcast is broadcast from northern Israel, where Yoel Halevi teaches Hebrew, Israeli culture and Israeli history through a lens of Hebrew biblical scriptures.
Those with a firm understanding of Hebrew will find that they learn even more about the language, as well as the culture that surrounds it. Podcast episodes range from half an hour to over an hour, due to the in-depth topic coverage.
Final Thoughts
Whatever your level of Hebrew comprehension, having a Hebrew language learning podcast, or Hebrew language podcast in general, at your disposal can be a great help in keeping your language skills sharp.
Do you know any other podcasts we missed? Let us know your favorites in the comments below!