Learning Business in Hebrew at Brandeis University
Each fall and spring, thousands of university students in the United States enroll in introductory business courses. They encounter the standard nomenclature and theories on consumer behavior and learn the structure of a business.
Some of these courses elicit excitement among the students. Others do not. Last January I was lucky enough to enter the world of business for the first time in a one-of-a-kind setting – an environment infused with Hebrew, creativity, and regular interaction with practitioners of the broad discipline we call business.
Since 2018, Dr. Sara Hascal has taught “Hebrew for Business: Doing Business in the Start-Up Nation.” The Brandeis University Hebrew Program Director and Associate Professor of the Practice of Hebrew has over eighty semesters of teaching under her belt. Her advanced Hebrew language courses have brought Israeli arts, media, and literature to life for hundreds of students.
“I see the Hebrew program as a business,” she tells me. “I always make different packaging for Hebrew. It is all about marketing.”
This philosophy is evident throughout Hascal’s classroom with eye-catching flyers advertising Hebrew course offerings each semester. It is also reflected in her creative pedagogy.
The course I took provided a solid foundation in business that is covered in any introductory course. We learned about consumer needs by reading Maslow. We studied market competition from Porter. And we put theories into practice through Shark Tank-style simulations.
“I think you all really succeeded in thinking about a specific product. To analyze it, think about the consumers, do market research, to present data and convince ‘investors’ in the class ‘to invest,’” Hascal told me.
These essentials were interwoven with an Israeli twist – both in Hebrew being the language of instruction, and in the course’s emphasis on international business culture. Hascal believes her students should walk away from the course aware of the nuances that distinguish the relatively relaxed Tel Aviv office environment from the more formal New York workplace.
We discussed these differences in communication, dress, and expectations. We also explored their sources. Hascal assigned select chapters of Dan Senor and Saul Singer’s 2009 book Start-up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle. Hascal explained the book’s educational value in her course: “From the chapters of the book we can understand better why Israel is called the start-up nation and how it succeeded – through passion, [and] through chutzpah” — which roughly means tenacity.
Hascal’s objective in designing this course was to create an interdisciplinary learning space. To achieve this, she seeks to attract “as many students to the program as possible. These students often have different majors: “You saw in the class anthropology, psychology, business, accounting, Judaic studies, theater….”
Hascal enjoyed hearing students enthusiastically share with her that they learned about theories in a psychology class that she introduced. She was equally thrilled when a student told her about how they learned about the “4 Ps” marketing model in a business class after our Hebrew class covered the content.
In addition to diverse academic backgrounds, Hascal’s class brought together Israelis and Americans. Regarding this unique feature, Hascal said, “A lot of times it is not so important if a student is Israeli, [or] is not Israeli…What is important is how much time you have to invest in a given project.”
She also explained to me that not every Israeli is fluent in the language of business. “It is true that [American students] learned new vocabulary words, but they were new for Israelis and Americans alike.”
The classroom was not just confined to lectures from Hascal – it welcomed business professionals to share their expertise each week. Hascal told us at the beginning of the semester that these are the people who comprise her social circle. “All of the speakers are my friends. Rami [my husband] comes from the world of high-tech. So my social circle outside of the classroom and university are friends [who] founded or work for start-ups in the U.S.”
Like Brandeis in general, the class attracted a variety of students. Brandeis appealed to first-year Guy Sternberg for its large Jewish community, which has been particularly important to him since October 7th. “I did not want to be in a place where I am not wanted and Brandeis is a place where I am completely accepted,” the Israeli pre-med student shared.
Despite studying Biology, Sternberg was excited to learn about business in Israel and more broadly. He wanted to understand how Israel achieved its reputation as the startup nation. Sternberg was also keen to acquire a foundation in business “because it can appear in all places.”
A bonus was the class’s small size. He pointed out, “Because the class is so small you can create personal connections with your classmates, and it is very comfortable to ask questions. You are not in a class of 100 students, you are in a class of 20 students.”
Like Sternberg, Esther Levin was excited to attend Brandeis due to its strong Jewish community. Though she had never before taken a business course, the senior was excited, as an American, to maintain the fluency in Hebrew she had during her gap year program.
In line with other business classes, this course incorporated regular collaboration. For Sternberg, this created a profound experience. “First of all, I learned about teamwork. I never worked in a team with people who knew Hebrew and English. It was very new to me.” Levin appreciated how the Israelis contributed to a relaxed, fun, and productive atmosphere.
Sternberg shared that “in the groups I worked in there was a ton of passion.” He appreciated having an unusual amount of agency in crafting creative ideas. “By the end of the semester, after presenting three times, Sara enabled us to feel very confident in ourselves,” Sternberg said.
Unsurprisingly, learning content in Hebrew was familiar to Sternberg. He agreed with Hascal that business is somewhat a language unto itself: “We all know how to speak Hebrew, but business vocabulary is a little more challenging.” Sternberg appreciated how each lecturer explained the content thoroughly to accommodate every student’s needs. “This made the class so impactful and made the content really stick.”
For the Israeli guests, all of whom reside in the U.S., it was a challenge to lecture on subjects that they often work with exclusively in English. One professional who faced this challenge was Dror Avieli, the Managing Director & VP of Customer Success at a blockchain technology company. Avieli “knew that the Hebrew level was different in class, and the level of understanding the worlds of technology and finance were also different” so he tried to simplify his presentation on Cryptocurrency and Blockchain.
Avieli has known Hascal for over fifteen years. He has spoken to her business class three times. Avieli introduced Hascal to another speaker, Yana Shechterman. The Organizational and Leadership Consultant and Part-time Professor at Northeastern University has spoken to this class twice – this year and in 2023.
Shechterman tried to create an atmosphere where students could ask her to speak slower and explain unfamiliar words. She enjoyed this opportunity to teach in Hebrew; she is used to lecturing in English.
More broadly, Shechterman loves teaching college students about organizational behavior. “I really like the interactions with the students,” she shared. “Both because I believe in what I have to offer, but also because I get a lot out of it. I learn a lot from you and then when I go to a workplace [to consult], and I work with a manager who recruited recent graduates, and she does not understand why [young professionals] behave in a certain way, I understand the young people.”
Avieli similarly values the opportunity to teach students and Hascal’s unique pedagogy. “I think what she is doing is amazing,” he said. “I know some of the other people who came to speak with you guys, and in the previous years. It brings real life into the classroom and in Hebrew so I really like it.”
Even though this course will not be offered until Spring 2027, Hascal already has ideas to enhance it. She hopes to invite alumni from the course to speak on a panel about their professional pursuits – several have already expressed interest. Hascal also wants to incorporate the topic of artificial intelligence in business into the curriculum. She hopes to one day co-teach a similar course in English with a professor from the business school.
In the meantime, her students are walking away excited by the world of business and inspired by Israel’s unique culture of innovation and creativity. “I learned from all the speakers, whether the presenter on Crypto, HR, or from the businesswoman who creates ice cream made from tehina [sesame paste]…” Sternberg said. “All of the presenters had a shared message: Israelis can come up with solutions for anything.”