Published in late 1996 in Israel, the Hebrew edition of A Course in Miracles continues to be distributed primarily there, although it has begun to find its way into Hebrew-speaking communities in other parts of the world as well.

   Avi Yasur, who was primary Hebrew translator, is a native of Israel and lives in Tel Aviv, where all of the translating was done.

   "It took twelve years from when I started translating until we completed the entire translation," he says. It was a tremendous task for him and his team of translators, he explains, because a translator must have all the technical qualifications and know both languages and grammar equally well. Even more challenging for Avi and his team, which added immeasurably to the task, was that, "The Course was something completely different and extraordinary, as far as translating most material goes, because of its wording, material, and ideas."

   But for Avi, it was worth it all, because it was important for him that A Course in Miracles be made available in Hebrew.

   "You see, for me, Jews must learn to see Jesus as the loving, ecumenical teacher he appears to us in the Course," he explains, "not the way he has been often represented or misused or misperceived by others and other religions throughout the generations." At the same time Avi realizes that this is a hard thing for most Jews to see and accept. Eventually, however, he hopes that "the Course will enable us to create some kind of reconciliation between Judaism and Christianity, which were basically formed from the same root."

   Obviously, Avi believes strongly in this notion, which is the reason he devoted twelve years to the Course's translation into Hebrew, while continuing to teach and bring it to the attention of others. "This is certainly one of the major messages A Course in Miracles carries for Jews, and it's now available to them in the Hebrew edition," he proclaims.

   One of Avi's team members and translators, Efrat Sar-Shalom, is also dedicated to the idea of introducing a loving concept of Jesus to her fellow Jews, and not the misperceived one usually carried. In the nearly twelve years she worked with Avi in translation of the Course, she, too, hopes to help bring a reconciliation between Jews and Christians, as well as Arabs, through it—literally "a peace among them that would reach to other parts of the world and to other religions."