It is based on international norms, with additional letters devised to accommodate differences between English Braille and the Hebrew alphabet.

Rabbi Brevis, who had lost his eyesight in his mid 20s, and who had developed a system of Hebrew braille for his personal use as a rabbinical student while attending the Jewish Institute of Religion from 1926 and 1929, was named chairman of the committee, and Leupold Dubov, the executive director of the Jewish Braille Institute of America, was appointed secretary.

In 1933, the committee voted unanimously to approve and sponsor Brevis' system for adoption as the International Hebrew Braille Code.

Brevis published a selection of readings from the Bible, Mishnah, and contemporary literature using this system in 1935 under the title A Hebrew Braille Chrestomathy.

In 1936,[1] the first Hebrew Braille book was published with sponsorship from the Library of Congress: a volume of excerpts from the Talmud and other sources.

Print digraphs with אְ‎ schwa (אֱ‎ ĕ, אֲ‎ ă, אֳ‎ ŏ, bottom row), and the matres lectionis (וּ‎ û, וֹ‎ ô, יִ‎ î) are derived in braille by modifying (lowering or reflecting) the base vowel.