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Learning Hebrew in Israel

Arabic has special status.

Free & state-funded programs

The state entitlement: five months of intensive Hebrew, tuition-free for new immigrants.

Free
Details

Jointly run by the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, the Ministry of Education's Adult Education Department and the Jewish Agency, with classes opening across the country according to local demand. The standard course is roughly 420 to 450 hours over about five months, most commonly a morning ulpan five days a week, with evening options too. Eligibility is olim aged 17 and over, the tuition exemption is a one-time entitlement, and it can be claimed up to ten years after aliyah; those in their first year also receive absorption-basket or income-support payments while studying. To start, contact the klita coordinator at your local Ministry branch for a referral, or submit a request through your personal area on gov.il.

State vouchers that buy you a place at an approved private ulpan, in small groups at flexible hours.

Subsidized
Details

The Ministry's second track, designed for olim who cannot fit a full morning ulpan around work or family: groups of up to twelve, 150 to 200 study hours spread over as much as eight months, at pre-approved private institutions. Eligibility is olim who completed a Ministry of Education introductory ulpan, within ten years of receiving oleh status (fifteen for Ethiopian, Yemenite and Bnei Menashe olim), aged at least 17 at aliyah. Exceptions to the introductory-ulpan requirement can be requested within two years of aliyah for health reasons, having a child aged 0–3, work or study hours, or no ulpan being available locally. Apply through your personal area on gov.il or via your absorption advisor; higher levels needed for professional licensing are not covered.

Jerusalem

The original residential ulpan — live and study Hebrew alongside other young olim.

Subsidized
Details

A five-month intensive residential Hebrew programme run by the Jewish Agency at the Beit Canada Absorption Center in Armon HaNatziv, with sessions starting in January and July. Eligibility is narrow: olim who are college graduates aged 22 to 35, single or a couple without children — you need immigration status to join. The fee covers furnished apartment housing, dining hall, library and security, and a cheaper non-resident option exists for people who only want the classes. Apply by contacting the programme office listed on the page.

Haifa

The same residential model as Jerusalem, cheaper, in downtown Haifa.

Subsidized
Details

Five-month residential sessions beginning in May and November, across two campuses — a port campus for singles, with one student per room in shared apartments, and a second campus for married couples. Eligibility matches the Jerusalem programme: olim only, college graduates aged 22 to 35, single or a couple without children. Costs run somewhat below the Jerusalem programme, with a refundable deposit and a non-resident rate for those who only attend classes. Apply through the campus email address on the page.

Language schools

An approved voucher provider, so eligible olim pay almost nothing.

Subsidized
Details

A private ulpan running six levels from beginner to advanced in very small groups of four to six students, with a conversation-first method, plus private, medical, business and Yael-test tracks. It is an approved provider under the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration's voucher programme: you pay up front and, with regular attendance, the Ministry reimburses you, leaving a small maximum co-payment. Non-olim can enrol at the full price. Book a free trial lesson through the site, which asks whether you made aliyah within the last ten years in order to route you into the subsidised track. Confirm whether your group runs in person or over Zoom when you book, as it offers both.

Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv's big municipal ulpan, and the default in-person option in the city.

Subsidized
Details

A long-running municipal ulpan teaching levels aleph through hey, with a dedicated conversation class and classes designed for older adults and pensioners. Courses range from 6 to 25 hours a week across morning, midday and evening slots, including summer courses, and placement tests run twice weekly year-round so waiting times are short. Its published timetable distinguishes referral classes — for olim sent by the Ministry, who study tuition-free — from paid classes open to anyone, which makes it usable by residents who are not olim. Register through the site or by email; note the site is mainly in Hebrew with English, Russian and French sections.

Private one-to-one Hebrew, face-to-face in Israel, taught in a language you already speak.

Paid
Details

All teaching is one-on-one rather than in groups, delivered face-to-face in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv, or online, with a programme tailored to each student. Because lessons are given in a language both teacher and student share, explanations and questions can happen in your own language, which suits absolute beginners and people on a tight schedule. No oleh status is required and short 'visit Israel and learn Hebrew' and summer tracks exist for visitors. Specialist tracks include vocational, medical and biblical Hebrew. Pricing is premium and quoted per programme — request a free evaluation through the contact form.

Jerusalem

Independent Jerusalem ulpan with genuinely open enrolment — no oleh status required.

Paid
Details

Located in central Jerusalem, teaching from level aleph upward in person, over Zoom or hybrid, using a cognitive-psychological method. Open to everyone regardless of immigration status, but it also accepts referrals from the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, in which case eligible olim study free. Morning intensive runs Sunday to Thursday, with an evening intensive three nights a week at a lower monthly rate. Groups open on a rolling basis and you join a waiting list, which can run from one to six months depending on level — register well before you want to start.

Universities

Tel Aviv

TAU's Hebrew ulpan for international participants, on the Ramat Aviv campus.

Paid
Details

Tel Aviv University's international arm lists Hebrew language programmes among its short-term offerings, alongside summer programmes and executive education — the Tel Aviv counterpart to Rothberg for people who want a university-run ulpan with campus facilities. Be aware that the public page does not publish session dates, fees or eligibility rules, so you must contact TAU International admissions to confirm whether a given session is open to non-degree adults and what it costs. Treat it as a promising lead to verify rather than a course you can price in advance.

Jerusalem

The university-grade ulpan, with academic credit and a Biblical Hebrew track alongside modern.

Paid
Details

Hebrew University's international school teaches modern Hebrew and Biblical Hebrew on the Mount Scopus campus, in summer sessions and during the academic year, with a published Hebrew-language academic calendar. Programmes are structured around exchange, summer, gap-year, visiting and degree-seeking students, so you normally enrol through a school programme rather than walking in as a local adult — check eligibility for standalone enrolment before planning around it. Placement is by level test, and applications go through Rothberg admissions.

Community & meetups

Five months of Hebrew combined with working and living on a kibbutz.

Paid
Details

A multi-level five-month programme sponsored by Masa Israel Journey that pairs classroom Hebrew with living and working in a rural community, currently running at several kibbutzim with staggered intakes. Open to visitors and to people considering aliyah, with grants available through the programme's own grants page. Note the site states explicitly that if you have already made aliyah or are arriving as an oleh you should go through the Jewish Agency instead — the state ulpan entitlement is the better route in that case. Apply through the form on the site.

The nonprofit that helps you work out which ulpan you are actually entitled to.

Free
Details

Nefesh B'Nefesh is a nonprofit supporting aliyah from North America and the UK, and this page is a searchable ulpan database plus plain-language guidance rather than classes of its own. It explains the five months of free intensive ulpan that come with aliyah benefits and points to specific programmes. Treat it as a navigation layer over the state system — it does not run or fund ulpan itself — and as a useful pre-aliyah resource, since it also lists Hebrew classes abroad. Free to use, with personalised help by email.

Top online resources for Hebrew

The official authority on Hebrew spelling, grammar rules and new coinages.

WebsitesDictionaries Free Advanced B2–C2
grammarwritingvocabulary
Details

This is where the rules actually come from: spelling conventions for writing without niqqud, decisions on new terminology, grammar explanations and a searchable archive of language questions answered by the Academy's linguists. Everything is free and there is a steady stream of short, readable articles on why a word is the way it is. The whole site is in Hebrew and pitched at educated native speakers, so it only becomes usable at a solid B2 — but at that point it is the best free Hebrew resource on the internet.

Anki

Multi-language

The gold-standard spaced-repetition flashcard app with community decks for every language.

AppsTools Free BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced
vocabulary
Details

Free on desktop, Android and web; the iOS app is a one-off paid purchase that funds the project. The interface is dated and the options are overwhelming at first, but nothing beats it for retaining vocabulary over years. Most effective when you stop grinding premade decks and start mining sentences from things you actually read or watch.

Free public-domain US government language courses with textbooks and audio.

CoursesBooks Free BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced A1–C1
grammarlisteningspeakingreading
Details

Foreign Service Institute, Peace Corps and DLI materials — full textbooks plus hundreds of hours of audio — are public domain and hosted here for free across dozens of languages. The depth is extraordinary and the FSI Basic courses take diplomats to professional working proficiency, which no consumer app attempts. The recordings are from the 1960s–80s, the drills are relentless, and some vocabulary is dated (Cold War era), so they suit disciplined self-studiers, not casual learners.

Beginner Hebrew explained in Hebrew with gestures and images, no translation.

YouTube Free Beginner A1–A2
listeningimmersionvocabulary
Details

One of the very few channels attempting true comprehensible input for beginner Modern Hebrew: the teacher speaks only Hebrew, slowly, making meaning clear through gestures, drawings and images, including walk-and-talk videos filmed in Israeli streets. Free, and valuable precisely because this niche is nearly empty — most 'easy Hebrew' content is really English-language explanation. The channel is small and uploads irregularly (most recent video March 2026), and production is homemade, so there is not yet enough material to carry you far on its own.

Free Israeli children's television — slow speech, simple words, visual context.

Media Free BeginnerIntermediate A1–B1
listeningimmersionvocabulary
Details

The public broadcaster's children's channel streams its programmes free, and children's television is the standard workaround in languages with little beginner comprehensible input: speech is slower, vocabulary is concrete and the picture carries much of the meaning. Useful from the moment you know the alphabet. The obvious caveats are that the content is made for children, the register is not what adults speak to each other, and some streams may be geo-restricted outside Israel.

Israel's public broadcaster's full podcast catalogue — native Hebrew, studio quality.

PodcastsMedia Free Advanced B2–C2
listeningimmersion
Details

Kan produces documentary, history, science, culture and current-affairs series to broadcast standards, all free, with presenters who speak clearly into a microphone rather than over background noise — which makes it far more approachable than Israeli TV drama. This is the natural graduation step once learner podcasts stop stretching you. Nothing here is adapted for learners: no transcripts, no glossaries, full speed and heavy on political and cultural references, so it is genuinely B2 and up.

All Hebrew resources →