having trouble seeing the print? שְׁכוֹל War and bereavement have been, unfortunately, a part of life since the dawn of humanity. It is no wonder, then, that Biblical Hebrew has a salient word for bereavement – שְׁכוֹל (sheh-KHOHL). A related word is שַׁכּוּל – bereaved (shah-KOOL). For example, בְּיוֹם הַזִּכָּרוֹן הָעָם עוֹמֵד בְּסוֹלִידָרִיּוּת עִם הַמִּשְׁפָּחוֹת הַשַּׁכּוּלוֹת…
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/פסגת-ההר-1.m4a” /]פִּסְגַּת הָהָר One of Jerusalem’s northern neighborhoods, close to the university on הר הצופים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/פסגת-ההר-2.m4a” /] (Mt. Scopus), is פסגת זאב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/פסגת-ההר-3.m4a” /] – Pisgat Zeev. This means literally, Zeev’s (mountain) Peak or Zeev’s Summit. Unattached to another word, peak or summit is פסגה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/פסגת-ההר-4.m4a” /]. For example hikers or competitive business people might say: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/פסגת-ההר-5.m4a”…
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לשפר-ולשמר-1.m4a” /]לְשַׁפֵּר וּלְשַׁמֵּר The Aramaic word for beauty is שופרא[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לשפר-ולשמר-2.m4a” /], of the root ש.פ.ר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לשפר-ולשמר-3.m4a” /]. Hebrew uses this root as well – especially Modern Hebrew, where the active-intensive verb לשפר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לשפר-ולשמר-4.m4a” /] means to improve something – to make something more beautiful, better. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לשפר-ולשמר-5.m4a” /]אתם צריכים לשפר את המשחק שלכם. You guys need…
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/כבד-#.m4a” /]כָּבֵד The Hebrew word כבד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/כבד-#.m4a” /] means heavy both in the literal sense, as in: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/כבד-#.m4a” /]אתה תצליח להרים את זה, יעקב, זה לא כבד. You’ll be able to pick this up, Jacob, it’s not heavy. …as well as in the figurative sense, as in the opposite of light-hearted: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/כבד-#.m4a” /]מה…
שָׂמַחְתִּי לְהַכִּיר If you know a bit of Hebrew, you’re almost certain to have used the phrase נָעִים מְאֹד – nice to meet you, or literally, very pleasant (nah-EEM meh-OHD). That’s what one normally says at the moment of introduction to someone new – let’s call her שָׁרִית (sah-REET). Now…