charlie brown said:
I would also recommend a visit to shabbat.com where you can look for an opportunity to spend a Shabbat with a jewish family. Nothing else can come close to experiencing judaism in real life! (And maybe you can share your aunt’s kugel recipe with your hostess! 🙂 )
Shabbat.com – check it out!
About learning Hebrew:
Unless you live in Israel (in which case you would need Hebrew even if you weren’t Jewish !) you really don’t have to learn how to speak Hebrew. The main thing you would want to concentrate on is learning how to read. And then write. As you probably know by now, we speak a mixture of English, Hebrew and Yiddish
(to quote a song:
To originate a language, a new way to talk and speak
Is a most imposing challenge, a monumental feat
And most are doomed to failure, before they even start
But in the hallowed halls, of Yeshivos far and wide Our young men have discovered a new way to verbalize
And a dash of Aramaic; a linguistic potpourri
that’s called…
Yeshivishe Reid Yeshivishe Shprach…)
so speaking Hebrew is not a must. However, Siddurim (Prayer Books) and most Seforim (Books) are printed in Hebrew. There are many with translations but eventually you will want to Daven (pray-Yiddish) in Hebrew.
There are three written forms of Hebrew used today: “Print”, “Script” and “Rashi (Rashi – Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (1040-1105 C.E.) who wrote a very famous commentary on The Bible and Talmud)”. Print is used in (most) Seforim and printed text. Script, how we all write! And Rashi is used for commentaries.
That is a “very” basic introduction.
If you have specific questions on a particular issue or topic, I would suggest to start a thread so it could be discussed properly. But if you have a basic question or what a translation of a word, post it here and we will try to help you!
As others mentioned, you should find a Rabbi (also sometimes called Rav) who can “take your hand” (as you probably noticed by now, we don’t shake hands with the opposite gender) and really guide you. Also, if you end up going to a family for Shabbos, you can get close to the women of the family and she can be a friend and mentor! The CR is a fabulous place, but a “live” person is 1000 times better!