How it all began
The Aleph Champ Program was developed in 2004 to provide new and exciting ways for students to learn to read Hebrew.
Aleph Champ adopted the color system used in karate--“white belt to “black belt”--to motivate Hebrew reading in Hebrew Schools.
The success of the program was immediate!! Students took to the “Aleph Champ” idea with unprecedented enthusiasm.
Following its initial success, Chabad Hebrew Schools around the world began using Aleph Champ and today the program is used by over 450 schools worldwide as well as by many home-schoolers and adult educators.
Aleph Champ is constantly looking for new ways to reinforce Hebrew reading and continues to strive for an excellent reading program that will give Jewish children confidence in reading.
It is our goal to provide the next generation of Jewish children with the dignity to walk into a shul and open up a siddur, comfortable enough to read from the Hebrew text and join along as a proud member of the Jewish community.
Understanding Levels
White Aleph Champ
First 19 Letters of the Hebrew Alphabet
א ב ב ג ד ה ו ז ח ט י כ כ ך ל מ ם נ ן
Red Aleph Champ
Next 13 letters of the Hebrew Alphabet:
ס ע פ פ ף צ ץ ק ר ש ש ת ת
Orange Aleph Champ
The first 3 vowels of the Hebrew Reading System:
Kamatz, Patach, Tzeirei
Yellow Aleph Champ
The next 3 vowels...
Segol, Shva, Cholam
Green Aleph Champ
The last 3 vowels:
Cheereek, Koobootz, Shoorook
Blue Aleph Champ
Exceptions to the Rule:
Patach Chet, Double shva, (middle and end of words) Yud vav, Patach yud... etc
Purple Aleph Champ
35-50 wpm (words per minute)
Prayers from the everyday prayers
Brown Aleph Champ
40-60 wpm (words per minute)
Prayers from the everyday and Shabbat prayers
Grey Aleph Champ
Welcome to the siddur!
Grey level integrates students from the Aleph Champ program into the real world.
Highest Level: Black Aleph Champ
Our Methodology
Aleph Champ is based on Chabad Chassidic philosophy which follows the ancient, traditional method in which children were taught to read, as explained in the Kabbalistic teachings of the Zohar. A child’s spiritual development mirrors the physical. Child development specialists speak of the importance of the order in which a child learns to walk. Beginning with lying, then rolling, crawling and finally walking and running, the order of these steps affects the development of the child. The same is true of spiritual development. The Aleph Bet are the spiritual building blocks of a Jewish child. Beginning with the letters and their traditional names, one at a time in the order that they appear, the vowels in their order, then building words, this order of study which has been practiced for thousands of years affects the spiritual development of the child and their internalization of the holiness of the Hebrew letters.
My family and I thank the Mission Viejo Chabad from the bottom of our hearts. Your teaching in Hebrew school and fun stories have created a Huge sense of Pride in my daughter in Being Jewish. Just like the Ckids Jewish Unity Song..... it is so true! My daughter and I want to shout it out loud that we a super proud to be Jewish! She even wants to be called her Hebrew name, Nesia over her birth name. You and Rabbi Marcus have made religion so much fun to learn about through the Hebrew school and various events centered around the holidays. My daughter looks forward to going to Hebrew school and all your events! I am amazed how quickly she has been learning to read Hebrew through your Aleph program. I love how every holiday you communicate a relevant message in a fun way that we can apply to our daily lives. The super creative Passover walk was amazing! The weekly newsletter is always terrific to read also! What a huge difference Mission Viejo Chabad has made in our lives in such a short time. Especially during these trying times, you found a way to be creative to continue making Hebrew school fun and inspirational online. We will never forgot the video you created at the end of last years Hebrew School. We appreciate it from the bottom of our hearts how you stirred the passion for religion in our family and we are excited to continue growing our Jewish journey.
Love the "B" Family