Rashi Script in Google Docs!!!!

Rashi Script for Google Docs

Forgive the overuse of exclamation points, but GOOGLE DOCS HAS RASHI SCRIPT!!!

This is huge!

This was perhaps the last reason I continued to prepare worksheets in Word, and now Google has Rashi script. This is certainly a game-changer for teachers of Jewish texts.

How To Get It

The font (Noto Rashi Hebrew) can be loaded through the Google Docs Add-On Extensis Fonts.

See this previous post to learn how to add it to your Google Docs toolkit.

Hebrew Fonts in Extensis Add-On

Once you have added Extensis to your Add-Ons,  type or paste some text into Google Docs. I have grabbed the first Rashi on Chumash from Sefaria.

Highlight the text.

Go to Add-Ons in the Google Doc Menu bar and choose Extensis Fonts. Click Start.

Scroll down to Noto Rashi Hebrew. Click on it.

Your text should now be in Rashi script. 

The new font, Noto Rashi Hebrew, should now appear in your font list, ready to use whenever you need it.

Two caveats: The tzadi is oddly stylized. Stop kvetching. I am sure with enough exposure, we can all get used to it. [UPDATE: I discovered over shabbat that this is Steinsaltz's Rashi script.]

The Tzere Workaround

The second caveat is, as mentioned in the comments, that the tzere is really unrecognizable.

The workaround (admittedly a bit of a pain, but a worthwhile trade-off in my opinion if you need to use Google Docs with Rashi and nequdot) is as follows:

In Hebrew typing mode, place your cursor after the offending tzere, and hit backspace. This will delete the vowel. 

Go to the font list in the menu bar and change the font to one of the following (other fonts may work too; this is the result of my own experimenting):

Miriam Libre

Courier New

Tahoma.

Type the tzere (older PCs: Caps Lock, Shift+5; Chromebooks and some newer PCs, AltGr+M)

Repeat as necessary.

For more information on Hebrew and Google Docs, see my other posts:

Setting Hebrew on a Chromebook

Hebrew Fonts in Google Docs

Hebrew Vowels (Niqud) for Chromebooks

Right to Left Non-Printing Character for Docs

Also search the tag "Hebrew" on this blog.