Think Mossad. Think KGB. Think… travel agencies.
An agent of any human kind is a סוֹכֵן (soh-KHEN) or a סוֹכֶנֶת (soh-KHEH-net) if she’s a female – there are סוֹכְנֵי נְסִיעוֹת – travel agents (sohkh-NEH-ee neh-see-OHT), סוֹכְנֵי מוֹסַד – Mossad agents (sohkh-NEH-ee moh-SAHD), etc.
An agency is a סוֹכְנוּת (sohkh-NOOT). The Jewish Agency is הַסּוֹכְנוּת (hah-sohkh-NOOT).
having trouble seeing the print? מוּטָב מְאֻחָר מֵאֲשֶׁר לְעוֹלָם לֹא listen and repeat Learn to Speak Hebrew…With Us Yesterday my great-uncle had his בַּר מִצְוָה ( listen and repeat) – Bar Mitzvah. Yes, my great uncle. He’s 82. Because when he was 13, he was in Auschwitz, where they didn’t do בר מצווה ceremonies. En…
הָאָדָם הַקַּדְמוֹן listen and repeat Can’t read Hebrew yet? Some of you may recall the 1992 movie Encino Man. It’s about a frozen caveman who is dug up in a suburban backyard and helps two high school seniors become the most popular kids in school. I recently watched the movie again and relived…
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/כפות-#.m4a” /]כַּפּוֹת While דקלים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/כפות-#.m4a” /] refers to palm trees, the palms themselves are כפות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/כפות-#.m4a” /], just like כפות ידיים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/כפות-#.m4a” /] means palms of the hands and כפות רגליים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/כפות-#.m4a” /] refers to the bottoms of our feet. A single palm is כף[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/כפות-#.m4a” /] (same word as tablespoon), as in the children’s song: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/כפות-#.m4a” /]בוא…
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/גאות-ושפל-#.m4a” /]גֵּאוּת וְשֵׁפֶל The expression גאות ושפל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/גאות-ושפל-#.m4a” /] refers to the tide that one finds where water meets land. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/גאות-ושפל-#.m4a” /]מחזור גאות ושפל הוא תופעה טבעית. The cycle of the tide is a natural phenomenon. Metaphorically, גאות ושפל also refers to the highs and lows of life, as in: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/גאות-ושפל-#.m4a”…
having trouble seeing the print? דְּרִישַׁת שָׁלוֹם Suppose you’d like to send regards to a guy named Michael. In Hebrew, you’d say, תִּמְסוֹר דְּרִישַׁת שָׁלוֹם לְמִיכָאֵל (teem-SOHR deh-ree-SHAHT shah-LOHM leh-mee-khah-EL) – literally, send/pass a demand of peace to Michael (assuming the one being spoken to is a male). Sounds a bit demanding… until we realize…
