All of Brother Elihai's publications are based on thousands of recording hours, containing hundreds of conversations made by native Arabic speakers. At this time, Brother Elihai is completing the Speaking Arabic series of books and recordings (consisting of 4 books and 5 CDs), a self-instruction course in Spoken Eastern Arabic. Brother J. Elihay was born in France in 1926. Following six years of study in philosophy, theology, Bible, and history at the Studium of the Dominican Fathers in France (Saint Maximin), he became a member of the order of the Little Brothers of Jesus. Brother Elihai dedicated his life to the documentation, study, and teaching of Spoken Eastern Arabic. He has published numerous works, including dictionaries, textbooks and study aids, all aimed to help non-Arabs to speak Arabic.