Volunteer to give Hebrew lessons

Ron Drown wants to be involved in the community but he isn’t going to volunteer his time at a retirement home or collect canned goods for the homeless.

Starting June 12, he will be teaching Sephardic Hebrew classes in Bonita Springs to inspire people to read and understand the Bible.

“My intention is that everybody will go away knowing the basic vowels, sounds and how to read,” said Drown, 67, of Bonita Springs. “They will get a crash course in Hebrew.”

The course will be an intensive eight weeks of classes that will include writing, reading and speaking in what Drown calls the fundamentals of Christianity.

“I finally realized that the beginning of Christianity is Hebrew thought and culture so I started to study it myself and now I want to share that,” said Drown, who moved to Bonita Springs last year after having lived in the area 20 years ago.

Drown was a pastor in Indiana for more than 20 years and is now semi-retired but says he still has something to offer.

“The Hebrew language opens up a treasure trove of understanding into the works of the bible,” said Drown, who studied biblical Hebrew and Greek.

During his studies Drown translated “The Gospel of Mark” word for word from Hebrew to English and found new meaning.

“Once you learn Hebrew, you can reconnect to the old text and manuscripts in a new way. There is so much more meaning,” he said.

“I think that getting people involved in learning the basics of Hebrew on the kindergarten level will give them a better understanding of Christianity.”

That better understanding Drown hopes to achieve by having his daughter Martha Grass videotape each session.

Students who complete the course will be given the tape to take home along with a certificate.

“Ron likes to get to the beginning, or the foundation because the bible was originally written in Hebrew and this is the type of class,” said his wife, Ruth Drown, 68. "We will be getting to the roots of it and the class will teach adults a lot.”

Ruth Drown says the interest in Hebrew in Bonita Springs and the area is growing.

“We have met a lot of people around here that are interested in learning more and this is a great way to do it,” she said.