Hebrew, Yiddish, and Ladino are written with different lettering than the English language. Whereas English is written and read from left to right, Hebrew, Yiddish, and Ladino are written and read from right to left. The Hebrew letters are often referred to as the alef-bet. Hebrew is considered to be the sacred language of Judaism. The prayers and Torah/Haftarah readings are done completely in Hebrew (although the vernacular language is permitted for those unfamiliar with Hebrew). The Hebrew language has no official vowels, but when the Hebrew language became less known, the rabbis invented a system of vowels to help with pronunciation. Most Hebrew in the modern-day writings, as well as the Torah scrolls, do not use the vowel system. [Mysticism of Hebrew Letters]

The Dagesh is a dot in the center of a Hebrew letter and may appear in most letters of the Hebrew aleph-bet. There are six letters in the group of Hebrew letters that use the dagesh on any consistent basis. These letters are bet/vet (ב), gimmel (ג), dalet (ד), kaf (כ), pey/fey (פ), and tav (ת). At one time, all six letters were pronounced differently depending upon whether or not a dagesh was present. Today, only three of these letters change their pronounciation if a dagesh is present. (ב, כ, פ) - note that it is an Ashkenazic tradition to change the pronounciation (pronounced as an "s") of the Tav (ת) if a dagesh is not present. The five guttural letters - aleph (א), hey (ה), chet (ח), ayin (ע), and resh (ר) - cannot ever have a dagesh.

Hebrew Letters (Printable Hebrew Aleph-Bet Chart ) (Printable Hebrew Flashcards )

Cursive

Rashi

STAM is an acronym for Sifrei Torah, Tefillin, Mezuzot and refers to the script used for sacred writing.

Old Hebrew (c. 8th century BCE)

Vowels (Niqqud)