v0.70 has introduced a "Keyboard Layout" feature. Sadly it doesn't have Hebrew and neither does Freedos. However, I've got my hands on HEBEGA.CPI (it was also previously attached in this topic) and used:

1keyb he 862 HEBEGA.CPI

It failed...and so did:

1keyb 862 HEBEGA.CPI

And so I used...

1keyb none 862 HEBEGA.CPI

It worked!
...but only in read mode. That is, I can see Hebrew in Hebrew programs, but I can't use DOSBox' language switching keys thus I can't write in Hebrew.

Actually, that's exactly identical to using the best solution until v0.70:

1withfont heb-mid.f14 program.exe

Any ideas why?

cpi doesn't contain a keyboard layout

First of all, it's a fact that I can use that CPI in Dosbox (see above command) to read Hebrew.

Secondly,

readme.txt wrote:

7. Keyboard Layout:
Both .CPI (MSDOS/compatible codepage files) and .CPX (freedos UPX-compressed codepage files) can be used.

Nice that you can quote the section about codepages (congrats)
but that doesn't put any more keyboard layouts in them.

Ok, I'm starting to get it - layouts are for writing and codepages are for reading. In that case, DOSBox lacks Hebrew in both departments.

Now, if someone makes a he.kl (I found none), maybe we can convince the admins to use it as well as HEBEGA.CPI, so in the next version we'll be able to just use "keyb he" for both writing and reading. I've tried to understand how to make a KL file but I don't manage to understand the instructions (they mainly say how to use the file and not how to actually prepare it).

It's interesting to note before Freedos' keyb there was mkeyb and it supported Hebrew, yet mkeyb was a write/layout only application. It didn't support codepages. I've managed to use it with DOSBox when I also use the aforementioned codepage command, but it uses only (the right) CTRL for both enabling/disabling Hebrew and I think it isn't RTL.

We're using the freedos keyb interfaces so you might have luck asking
them if it's planned.

Some day I will figure out this layout/codepage business! Since 0.65 I have sucessfully used the FreeDOS keyboard-program to get my Danish keyboard to work in DOSBox. Then, when 0.70 came out, I discovered that it had only partial support for Danish keyboards. So I unpacked the FreeDOS tools and tried to create the necessary file(s), but failed miserably. Soon I will have a setup ready where I can compile DOSBox from directly from source, and then I will be able to figure out what I am doing wrong. If I can get a Danish layout to work, then I might try my hands at Hebrew too.

You'll add a hebrew layout? Nice!
What's wrong with danish layouts?

Wrong? Apart from missing in DOSBox 0.70, they are fine.

lwc wrote:

However, I've got my hands on HEBEGA.CPI (it was also previously attached in this topic)

For those who need this file, you no longer need to hope it's still available in some ancient sites. FreeDOS' CPIDOS project has released their own ega17.cpx which covers Hebrew 862 (and ega18.cpx which covers Hebrew 856).

wd wrote:

lwc wrote:

Now, if someone makes a he.kl (I found none), maybe we can convince the admins to use it as well as HEBEGA.CPI, so in the next version we'll be able to just use "keyb he" for both writing and reading.

We're using the freedos keyb interfaces so you might have luck asking them if it's planned.

Hooray, the resurrected FreeDOS has added Hebrew support! It's important to note though that they refer to it as IL (i.e. Israel).

12/2011 Update:
After personally working with me on this, FreeDOS has started to include Hebrew in KEYBRD3.SYS.

Originally:
Unlike what they claim, their KPDOS library (KEYBRD3.SYS or otherwise) doesn't include Hebrew. So you need to create il.kl by getting il.key from their KPDOS library's source code and feed it to their KC compiler (kc.exe il.key il). A new file would be created with the name il.kl.

Once you put KEYBRD3.SYS (formerly il.kl) in the same folder as ega17.cpx, you'll be able to use *drum rolls, please*:

1keyb il 862 ega17.cpx

So can you include Hebrew in the next version?