5 Elections, 3 Years: Inside Israel’s Knesset

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/להרשות-לעצמי-#.m4a” /]אֲנִי לֹא יָכוֹל לְהַרְשׁוֹת לְעַצְמִי To afford something, such as a new car or a failing grade on an exam, in Hebrew, is to allow oneself – להרשות לעצמו[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/להרשות-לעצמי-#.m4a” /] (literally, to allow himself). Here it is when speaking to a female: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/להרשות-לעצמי-#.m4a” /]את יכולה להרשות לעצמך רכב כזה? Can you afford a…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/מפתיע-#.m4a” /]מַפְתִּיעַ You may know the Hebrew word for a surprise – הפתעה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/מפתיע-#.m4a” /], as in: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/מפתיע-#.m4a” /]זאת מסיבת הפתעה, אל תגלו לו! It’s a surprise party, don’t (you guys) tell him! הפתעה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/מפתיע-#.m4a” /] derives from the הפעיל verb להפתיע[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/מפתיע-#.m4a” /] – to surprise.  Likewise, something surprising is מפתיע[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/מפתיע-#.m4a” /] (something…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להשפיע-1.m4a” /]לְהַשְׁפִּיעַ Earlier this week we saw the word for abundance – שפע[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להשפיע-2.m4a” /]. Imagine a basket overflowing with fruit – that’s abundance. Plugging the word שפע into the active-causative verb form – overflowing to the point where it affects others – we get the word להשפיע[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להשפיע-1.m4a” /] – to influence (to flow into). For example: [audioclip…