Post this to Twitter and you'll get a bunch of responses!

If no one knows here, I can forward to my BIL.

Call the local Jewish Community Center.

I did a translation and got יפהפה קוק

You probably better ask someone directly.

I think Hebrew is written right to left, so something to think about.

dedtired is correct it is written from right to left as are many of the languages that originate from that part of the world.

Dedtired and Maifleur, I hadn't thought of that. Although if I wrote it the way the translation stated, I would think it would be correct.

Murraysmom, that certainly is a different translation. I got mine from two separate sources, and then double-checked by going to a Hebrew-to-English site. Hmm . . . this is so different from the romance languages, where we can often guess if we're on the right track. :-)

Michael, that's an idea--thanks. I think there's a Jewish Community Center about 30 miles from here. If I can find someone who goes online it would be helpful.

Lindsey, I don't Tweet. :-)

I don't know if this is true but a Jewish friend once told me that few Jews can speak or read Hebrew. He said that depending on the sect, services and prayers can be in Hebrew in whole or in part but the congregation participates aloud using sounds transliterated phonetically with latin alphabet (as is used for English) and translated into English alongside so that the meaning is understood.

If that's the right story, what you may need to find is not necessarily a Jew but rather an Israeli.

It's written correctly as you have it- I can recognize the word for beautiful which is the word on the left (as with most languages, the adjective comes after the noun. ) So the right to left is correct as you have it. I just don't know for sure the first word and I don't follow what you mean about apostrophe character.

Aprilneverends should be able to verify 100%.

Thank you, Salonva. The "apostrophe" I referred to is in the word on the left. Looking at the letters in that word, left to right, it comes after the second letter. I didn't see anything on the chart that resembles it.

Elmer, that may be true, and if necessary I guess I could appeal to any Israeli members I could find on a photography website I used to frequent. But an elderly friend (he's gone now) translated my great-grandparents' gravestones for me, and he told me rabbis are a good resource.

Most JCC's teach Hebrew, another source is Seminaries. I've know lots of Jewish people and they had basic reading/writing skills in Hebrew. And yes, Hebrew is written right to left.

:) do you mean the one that sort of looks like a 9? That is a complete letter as you have it. Transliterating- Yofeh is beautiful and that letter is the F sound. Now that I see the formal writing you have in the chart, that is just fancy shmancy.

Right after (to the right of) the letter that looks like a 9 is something that looks like an apostrophe to me. Yes, the version in the chart is pretty fancy. I have a thing for lettering. :-)

I have a Russian seminary near me, but that's all. I've used the Russian alphabet to translate some gravestones phonetically.

Salonva, I think the character Alisande is referring to is to the right of the “one that sort of looks like a 9”. If you think of the word on the left as having three characters, it’s the third one (reading left to right). Do you not see it resembles an apostrophe?

OOOOOKAY. Now I see, Yes the letter itself is like an apostrophe. In the chart you have of the alphabet, it is in the second row exact middle letter. It is Yud.

Alisande, you checked by using a Hebrew to English translation. I used an English to Hebrew translator. I guess it could be written in different ways or just lost in translation.

Perfect--thank you!! Now all I have to do is design the mat. :-)

Just a little update: I wrote the letters in calligraphy, in the size I need for the mat. I was unsure of one them, which can vary in width depending on whether it's used in a noun or a verb. I photographed my letters and emailed the image to a temple in a neighboring county. The next day I received a response from a helpful rabbi who told me what I needed to change.

When I finish hooking the mat I'll post a picture at the KT. But this will take a while. Meanwhile, thanks again!

Yes, thanks for the update. I love a project that gets you help from strangers!! I can't wait to see the finished product. It's so nice when people are helpful.