[NFBJ] Hebrew braille on refreshable braille devices

Wed Aug 26 16:28:11 UTC 2026

It depends on the device/screen reader that you are using and what version of LibLouis it is using. For instance, Iphones and JAWS are both behind the current version of LibLouis. So even though the Hebrew tables have been improved, they may not have made it to your device for some time.

Sarah Blake LaRose, D.Min.
sarah at sarahblakelarose.com
http://www.sarahblakelarose.com

-----Original Message-----
From: NFBJ <nfbj-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Daveed Mandell via NFBJ
Sent: Wednesday, August 26, 2026 5:27 AM
To: in Judaism NFB <nfbj at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Daveed Mandell <daveedmandell at gmail.com>; in Judaism NFB <nfbj at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [NFBJ] Hebrew braille on refreshable braille devices

hello, Stewart

At the time that I requested this, Hims was not interested. Neither the office in Austin, Texas, nor its headquarters in South Korea, were willing to assist in this matter. They also didn’t think it would be easy to install the Israeli firmware in a unit that was purchased elsewhere, such as in North America. 

Sarah says that the LibLouis tables aren’t very reliable. However, I’ve been led to understand that many LibLouis tables have recently been substantially updated and improved. I’m wondering how we can test them to find out.

Daveed

Sent from my iPhone

On Aug 20, 2026, at 2:19 PM, Stewart Prost via NFBJ <nfbj at nfbnet.org> wrote:

Daveed,
You were asking good questions. One thought I had is maybe directing your questions to the NFB‘s computer science division. You might find people there that are technically advanced enough to be able to offer solutions.
I’m wondering if there’s a way to, for example, buy a braille sense six or the current model from Selvas In the US and have the Israeli firmware installed on it. Just some thoughts.

*Stewart Prost*
Phone: 757-572-6891
Fax: 757-210-7504
Email: sprost82 at gmail.com

On Thu, Aug 20, 2026 at 2:33 PM mlevy--- via NFBJ <nfbj at nfbnet.org> wrote:

> I think we should all unite behind Duxbury and work with them.
> 
> It's not just how good their software is.
> It's also that they listen to us.
> 
> JBI doesn't.
> 
> Davka doesn't.
> 
> CSBCARE has too many other projects going.
> 
> Eventually
> 
> WE THE USERS
> 
> Should start our own tech Hebrew braille support company.
> 
> That's down the road a few years.
> 
> Also, nowadays een Torah scholars look to modern Israeli heroes and 
> poets for support.
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NFBJ <nfbj-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Sarah Blake LaRose 
> via NFBJ
> Sent: Thursday, August 20, 2026 2:04 PM
> To: in Judaism NFB <nfbj at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Sarah Blake LaRose <sarah at sarahblakelarose.com>
> Subject: Re: [NFBJ] Hebrew braille on refreshable braille devices
> 
> It depends on what the devices are using for braille support. For 
> instance if they are using LibLouis the tables will be moderately 
> useful but different from if they are using Duxbury. Duxbury has both 
> American Hebrew and Israeli Hebrew support. But the device may not be 
> set up to allow you to switch between the two. Most devices are using 
> LibLouis which does not have both American and Israeli Hebrew support. 
> The Hebrew tables in Lib Lewis are in my opinion rather messy and may 
> not give the results you are used to.
> Sarah Blake LaRose, D.Min.
> http://www.sarahblakelarose.com
> 
> The Lord bless you and keep you.
> 
> On Aug 20, 2026, at 12:56 PM, mlevy--- via NFBJ <nfbj at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Consult CSBCARE and any Israeli blind people you know.CSBARE
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NFBJ <nfbj-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Daveed Mandell via 
> NFBJ
> Sent: Thursday, August 20, 2026 12:02 PM
> To: nfbj at nfbnet.org
> Cc: Daveed Mandell <daveedmandell at gmail.com>
> Subject: [NFBJ] Hebrew braille on refreshable braille devices
> 
> 
> Shalom:
> 
> Does anyone use a refreshable Braille device to read and write Hebrew 
> Braille? I am not talking about reading BRF files. I'm talking about 
> reading and writing Hebrew Braille from scratch.
> 
> For instance, devices manufactured by Selvas have incomplete Braille 
> tables for Hebrew. I noticed that the input table contains fewer signs 
> than the output table. I also noticed that US computer Braille appears 
> to be required to read and write Hebrew, which is ridiculous.
> 
> For several years I have reached out to this company asking them to 
> work with the Israeli developers of firmware provided with their  
> devices sold in Israel. The firmware provides complete tables for 
> Hebrew, in addition to English, Russian and Arabic.
> 
> Incidentally, Selvas devices sold elsewhere, such as the BrailleSense 
> 6, do not provide Arabic. However, I have just discovered that Arabic 
> without vowels appears to be included in the Hebrew braille output 
> table, which is really strange. One can read Arabic without vowels, 
> although I don't think the representation is completely accurate. One 
> cannot write uncontracted Arabicboth with and without  vowels, and 
> contracted Arabic, because there are no actual Arabic tables.
> 
> The only way one can write Hebrew on these devices is without vowels.
> Hebrew with vowels can be read, but it does not conform at all with 
> the Hebrew braille code. Because Hebrew is my second language, I am 
> able to figure it out, but frankly, it is a mess!
> 
> I would like to hear about other people's experiences reading Hebrew 
> on various refreshable Braille devices, such as Braille BT, or any 
> other devices, such as those from Humanware and Orbit. One should be 
> able to easily read and write Hebrew Braille, both with and without 
> vowels. One should also be able to write bilingual and/or multilingual documents.
> 
> For instance, writing two Drashot (sermons) for my Congregation this 
> year took hours to accomplish, because of the awkward way in which 
> Hebrew is represented. At first, I had to write the English in 
> computer Braille and add the Hebrew as an afterthought. I then figured 
> out that I could write the English in contracted UEB, and then switch 
> codes to Hebrew. Still, the process was clumsy at best. I had to send 
> the sermns to the Congregation's collection afterward, and the format 
> was awful. I had to get sighted assistance to fix it.
> 
> One of my big concerns is that language support on refreshable Braille 
> devices is one of the weakest links, as far as refreshable braille 
> devices are concerned. All refreshable Braille devices should contain 
> all Braille language tables, so that anyone could choose the 
> language(s) they wish to use. There are literally hundreds of tables 
> in both Duxbury and  LibLouis Braille translation software. They 
> should all be available on every refreshable Braille device. Humanware 
> now provides them. I would also like to see manufacturers of 
> refreshable Braille devices come up with a way to allow for automatic 
> detection of various languages, so that one could read bilingual or multilingual documents with ease.
> 
> Kol tuv,
> 
> Daveed
> 
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