The Jerusalem Bridge exists because the languages that shaped Jewish history, faith, and identity deserve better than what the language-learning industry has given them.
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Jack
Founder & Teacher
Jerusalem, Israel
I grew up in the Old Yishuv — the pre-state Jewish community of Jerusalem. My family, the Schlesingers, has been in Jerusalem for generations. I grew up hearing Hebrew in every register: the formal Hebrew of Torah study, the street Hebrew of Machane Yehuda, the liturgical Hebrew of Shabbat morning, and the Yiddish my grandparents spoke when they didn't want the kids to understand.
I started teaching Hebrew and Yiddish because I kept meeting people who wanted desperately to connect — with family in Israel, with texts they'd been hearing their whole lives, with a part of their identity they felt slipping away — and every tool available to them was inadequate.
Duolingo's Hebrew course doesn't teach binyanim — the seven verb patterns that make the language actually make sense. Their Yiddish course confused dialects so badly that native speakers couldn't recognize it. The apps that do exist treat Biblical Hebrew and Modern Hebrew as completely separate languages when they're deeply interconnected. And nobody — nobody — teaches Yiddish with dialect awareness.
I built The Jerusalem Bridge because I live at the intersection of these languages. Modern Hebrew is my daily life. Biblical Hebrew is my Torah study. Yiddish is my family heritage. Aramaic is my Talmud learning. I'm not a tech company that hired a Hebrew consultant — I'm the person who grew up speaking, reading, praying, and arguing in these languages.
Every feature on this platform comes from a real teaching moment. The Nikud Toggle exists because I watched student after student freeze when vowels disappeared. The Root Explorer exists because I saw how a single shoresh insight could unlock a month's worth of vocabulary. The lesson-fed flashcards exist because I noticed my students forgot what we covered together within 48 hours — unless they reviewed.
This isn't a language app. It's a bridge — between you and the texts, the people, and the places these languages connect you to.
To make Hebrew, Yiddish, and Aramaic learning as accessible and effective as learning Spanish or French — while honoring the depth, culture, and sacredness that make these languages unique.
Every person who wants to read their grandmother's letters, follow Torah in the original, or say the Shema and understand every word — they deserve tools as good as what the mainstream languages get. Better, even. Because these languages carry something that no app can fully capture — but that the right tools can help you get closer to.
I teach every lesson, record every audio, review every flashcard. Your tutor and your platform builder are the same person.
I walk past the Old City walls every day. This isn't a theme — it's the actual cultural context your learning is rooted in.
Other platforms separate Biblical and Modern Hebrew. We show you the bridge between them — because there is one, and it makes you better at both.
No other platform generates personalized flashcards from your actual tutoring sessions. Your practice material is always exactly what you need.