10 Hebrew Words for Purim

1. תַּחְפּוֹשֶׂת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/פורים-#.m4a” /] – costume

A costume in Hebrew is תחפושת, while more than one costume is תחפושת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/פורים-#.m4a” /]. To get dressed up is להתחפש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/פורים-#.m4a” /], as in:

באיזו תחפושת את מתחפשת?[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/פורים-#.m4a” /]

Which costume are you (a female) getting dressed up in?

A mask is מסכה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/פורים-#.m4a” /].

2. מְגִילַּת אֶסְתֵּר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/פורים-#.m4a” /] – the Book of Esther

In Hebrew, ספר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/פורים-#.m4a” /] means book. So why isn’t the Book of Esther called ספר אסתר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/פורים-#.m4a” /]? Because this special story is traditionally handwritten on one very long piece of parchment that gets rolled up like the letters sent in ancient times. Such a letter – a scroll – is called a מגילה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/פורים-#.m4a” /] – megillah – of the root ג.ל.ל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/פורים-#.m4a” /] meaning rolling. Using the same root, the rolling hills of northern Israel are called הרי הגליל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/פורים-#.m4a” /] – the mountains of the Galilee.

]3. רַעֲשָׁן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/פורים-#.m4a” /] – gragger

Tradition has it that every time the name of the villain Haman is heard during the public reading of מגילת אסתר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/פורים-#.m4a” /], people (children, mostly) make a lot of noise. There’s even a special noise-making instrument developed for the occasion – the gragger in Yiddish, or in Hebrew, רעשן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/פורים-#.m4a” /], which derives from רעש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/פורים-#.m4a” /] – noise.

4. אוֹזְנֵי הָמָן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/פורים-#.m4a” /] – hamantaschen

If you say the word hamantaschen to an Israeli, chances are they’ll look at you with a blank stare. But Israelis eat the same traditional Purim cookies as Jews in the Diaspora – they’re just called a different name: אוזני המן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/פורים-#.m4a” /] – literally, Haman’s ears.

5. מִשְׁלוֹחַ מָנוֹת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/פורים-#.m4a” /] – gifts of food

One of the activities of Purim day is sending gifts of food to one’s friends – משלוח מנות איש לרעהו[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/פורים-#.m4a” /]. Gifts of food – משלוח מנות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/פורים-#.m4a” /] – means literally delivery of meals (well, portions). 

Though this phrase comes straight from the ancient מגילת אסתר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/פורים-#.m4a” /], each word is used in everyday Modern Hebrew.

For example:

מאז הקורונה הוא עובד במשלוחים.[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/פורים-#.m4a” /]

Since Covid he’s been working in deliveries.

And

יש לנו שלוש מנות עיקריות לבחירה.[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/פורים-#.m4a” /]

We have three main courses to choose from.

6. מַתָּנוֹת לָאֶבְיוֹנִים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/פורים-#.m4a” /] – gifts for the poor

Another Purim activity is giving gifts (of money) to the poor. This is called מתנות לאביונים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/פורים-#.m4a” /], where מתנות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/פורים-#.m4a” /] is the common word in both ancient and contemporary Hebrew for gifts, and אביונים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/פורים-#.m4a” /] is a biblical word for poor people. The word used today (as well as in the Bible, as a synonym for אביונים) is עניים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/פורים-#.m4a” /].

7. עַרְבוּת הֲדָדִית[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/פורים-#.m4a” /] – mutual responsibility

While אחריות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/פורים-#.m4a” /] means responsibility in the general sense (as well as warranty), ערבות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/פורים-#.m4a” /] means responsibility in the sense of having each other’s back. To make the term even clearer, Hebrew adds the word הדדית[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/פורים-#.m4a” /] – mutual.

For example:

מצוות היום מצביעות על כך שפורים הוא חג של ערבות הדדית.[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/פורים-#.m4a” /]

The mitzvahs of the day point to the fact that Purim is a holiday of mutual responsibility.