The Hebrew alphabet consists entirely of consonants, though some can function as vowels. Vowels are indicated with a system of dots and dashes next to the letters, but these are usually omitted except in Bibles and children’s books. It is common for words, especially foreign words, to be spelled in more than one way; the Abu’l`afia Synagogue has five different spellings of its name on its signs. The accent is usually on the last syllable; most of the exceptions are segolates (words in which …