Braille

The Braille BOOK need not look pretty. Prettiness will not add to its value. Braille books are not hypocritical. Their covers are not made to be more attractive than their insides worthy. Their insides are at first mystifying and unrewarding. But that situation can be remedied by hard work, desire, perserverance, belief that the end will be worth it, and ,above all, loving touch. Braille Book reveals all sorts of sercrets, some even sublime, through bumps.

Bumps are repugnant to aristocrats. The bumps are set as a sort of formidable Greek Phalanx of warriers on the march to war downwards. Downwards to those who believe that they themselves are on top. These bumps are arranged in two (2) verticle rows, three (3) to the row. That means there are six (6) bumps in various possible combinations for every sound.

The Hebrew Braille Book

Hebrew Braille. leads us to an appreciation of a sterling quality of Braille known as humility . Braille conceives its role to be the servant of something else, namely, language - any language. It does not pick and choose. Hebrew language, for instance, wishes to express itself in these modern days without vowels. So Hebrew Braille gladly obliges in this desire of the other and refrains from the use of . vowels.

Now... glaring-at from above, you will never fathom what sound Braille wishes to express. This is because from the top, it is almost impossible to distinguish what is a bump outward and up towards you, and what is merely the hollow of a bump which is outward but on the reverse of the page! That's right! Bumps cannot be approached cavalierly or crassly. You can, of course, be that way with people or even printed letters on a page which predictably, even demurely, refrain from showing themselves through to the other side of the page. But you must be careful about bumps. How then can you get bumps to reveal themselves, to, so to speak, to speak!

Learning to Read Braille

First of all, though bumps will not do this to the glare from above, they will do this, not for the totally blind of course, but for the going blind or poor sighted, if they are looked at, shall I say perceived, and studied with real interest, from a viewer who will hold up the Braille Book so that the beholder will gaze at the bumps almost as if from the side. That means with deference. This works wonderfully well if the light is not harsh but dim, even diffused, each bump casting a tiny, soft shadow across the spaces between it and its fellow - or even upon its fellow. Then we can know for sure what is a bump above and pregnant with meaning and what is but the hollow of the bump which shall be gotten to some day on the reverse of the page.

How then are we to approach in a beneficial manner to these bumps? With loving touch. And here we have to understand that this is not an instantaneous doing, at least not for the most of us, but it is an art which can be practiced and attained.

Here then is how it's done. We use our right hand for reading. Going first, the pinky and then the ring finger of the right hand are laid in the space above the particular line to be read and then these two guide the hand rightwards . That's right! Even though Hebrew in its printed form is read right to left, that is leftwards, Hebrew Braille is willing to go the other way. At this time, then, the index finger is laid gently..very gently.. on the configuration of the six bumps to be known. For weeks, it will feel as if the index finger has been placed on the back of a caterpillar, producing a sensation of combined raw sensitivityand prickliness. But Braille does have the ability to sensitize us properly teaching us to "see through our finger", and in but from a few months to two years, each bump in concert with his fellows, have conquered us- and we are found reading!

Bump positioning (partial for examplifying)

Aleph - top left bump Bet - top and middle left bumps Gimel - top and middle left, top and middle right bumps Dalet - top left, top and middle right bumps Hay - top left and right, middle left bumps Vav - middle left, top, middle, bottom left bumps Zayin - Top and bottom left, middle and bottom right bumps Het - Top left and right, bottom left and right bumps

See Also

• Hebrew