8 Hebrew Words That Show You’re Over-Cleaning for Passover
The momentous holiday of פסח[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/פסח-תשעט-#.m4a” /] (Passover) can bring with it lots of joy, bonding and a sense of liberation. But along with all the fun it can also bring aggravation and a sense of bondage… especially if cleaning for it gets overdone.
Here are a few handy Hebrew terms that you can use as a barometer for whether פסח cleaning has gone a bit over the top.
1. אָבָק[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/פסח-תשעט-#.m4a” /]
אבק[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/פסח-תשעט-#.m4a” /] is the Hebrew word for dust.
As the Lubavitcher Rebbe said (in so many words):
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/פסח-תשעט-#.m4a” /]אבק זה לא חמץ, והילדים הם לא קרבן פסח.
Dust is not Chametz (leavened bread), and the kids are not the Pascal sacrifice.
2. לִצְבֹּעַ[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/פסח-תשעט-#.m4a” /]
לצבוע[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/פסח-תשעט-#.m4a” /], a simple פעל verb from the root צ.ב.ע[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/פסח-תשעט-#.m4a” /] meaning color, means to paint.
For example:
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/פסח-תשעט-#.m4a” /]יש אנשים שצובעים כל שנה את הבית לקראת פסח.
There are people who paint their house every year before Passover.
Their children joke that soon there won’t room in the house anymore as the rooms get smaller each year.
3. רְשָׁתוֹת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/פסח-תשעט-#.m4a” /]
The word רשת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/פסח-תשעט-#.m4a” /] means net (the internet is sometimes called הרשת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/פסח-תשעט-#.m4a” /]), but it also refers to the screen on your door or window, the thing that keeps out most of the bugs.
For example:
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/פסח-תשעט-#.m4a” /]בדרך כלל אין חמץ ברשתות.
There usually isn’t any Chametz on the screens.
4. סֻלְיָה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/פסח-תשעט-#.m4a” /]
Here’s a word that’s super-easy to remember because of how close the two sound to each other: the sole of a shoe, in Hebrew, is סוליה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/פסח-תשעט-#.m4a” /].
For example:
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/פסח-תשעט-#.m4a” /]אם יש חמץ בסוליה, החרקים כבר יאכלו אותו.
If there’s Chametz in your (the) (shoe-)sole, the insects will eat it.
Incidentally, sole and סוליה sound alike because they book come from the same Latin word, solea.
5. מִקְלַחַת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/פסח-תשעט-#.m4a” /]
I know people who brush their teeth in the shower – במקלחת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/פסח-תשעט-#.m4a” /], but eat there they won’t.
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/פסח-תשעט-#.m4a” /]המקלחת זה לא מקום שמכניסים בו חמץ.
The shower is not a place where people bring Chametz.
6. תִּקְרָה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/פסח-תשעט-#.m4a” /]
The Hebrew word for ceiling – תקרה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/פסח-תשעט-#.m4a” /] – comes from the word קורה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/פסח-תשעט-#.m4a” /] meaning beam (such as that with which houses are built..
For example:
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/פסח-תשעט-#.m4a” /]אם אתה יכול לאכול על התקרה, אתה יכול גם לבדוק שם בשביל חמץ.
If you can eat on the ceiling, you can also check there for Chametz.
7. חַיּוֹת מַחְמַד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/פסח-תשעט-#.m4a” /]
The basic rule for what constitutes חמץ[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/פסח-תשעט-#.m4a” /] (Chametz) is that if a dog won’t eat it, it’s not חמץ.
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/פסח-תשעט-#.m4a” /]כלבים וחיות מחמד אחרות אינם חמץ.
Dogs and other pets are not Chametz.
חיות מחמד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/פסח-תשעט-#.m4a” /] – pets – means literally animals of delight. You don’t need to wash them for פסח.
8. זְכוּכִית מְגַדֶּלֶת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/פסח-תשעט-#.m4a” /]
A magnifying (enlarging) glass, in Hebrew, is זכוכית מגדלת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/פסח-תשעט-#.m4a” /], as in:
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/פסח-תשעט-#.m4a” /]אם התחלת להשתמש בזכוכית מגדלת, סימן שאפשר להפסיק לחפש אחר החמץ.
If you’ve started to use a magnifying class, it’s a sign that you can stop searching after the Chametz.
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/פסח-תשעט-#.m4a” /]חג פסח שמח!
Happy Passover Holiday!
