Author: Ami Steinberger

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מפחיד-1.m4a” /]מַפְחִיד The Hebrew word for fear is פחד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מפחיד-2.m4a” /]. For example, one might react to hearing a loud motorcycle storming by right in front of them with: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מפחיד-3.m4a” /]איזה פחד! How scary! (what fear!) פחד is a three-letter word, which means it is primed to function as a root. Thus we have…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ליצן-1.m4a” /]לֵיצָן Since the recent cinematic version of Stephen King’s It has turned clowns into objects of fear, I feel it is my duty to bring back the genuine smile to the clown experience by teaching you the Hebrew word for it – ליצן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ליצן-1.m4a” /] – and linking you to a favorite Israeli children’s…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להתנהג-1.m4a” /]לְהִתְנַהֵג To behave is to conduct oneself in a certain way. Thus Modern Hebrew draws upon the Biblical root נ.ה.ג[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להתנהג-2.m4a” /] meaning to conduct, to drive (such as a chariot) and creates the reflexive התפעל verb להתנהג[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להתנהג-1.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להתנהג-3.m4a” /]הוא מתנהג בצורה פראית! He behaves in a wild manner! Other…

חֹמֶר לְשִׁנּוּן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/review-1.mp3″ /] Review Material Can’t read Hebrew yet? You spent time on your Hebrew this week. Use these review materials to make it yours to keep. Flashcards . Scatter . Gravity . Test [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/review-2.mp3″ /]שבת שלום, וסוף שבוע נעים! Shabbat Shalom, and have a nice weekend!

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/חפצים-1.m4a” /]חֲפָצִים The word for Hebrew word for object is חפץ[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/חפצים-2.m4a” /], though that three-letter root originally meant desire, as in: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/חפצים-3.m4a” /]…כי חפץ בבת יעקב… (בראשית ל”ד, י”ט) …for he desired the daughter of Jacob… (Genesis 34:19) So the object of desire came to be known as a physical object or simply a thing. Thus…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/לארוז-1.m4a” /]לֶאֱרוֹז The Hebrew word for to pack is לארוז[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/לארוז-1.m4a” /], of the root א.ר.ז[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/לארוז-2.m4a” /]. Though they are of the same root, I don’t believe there is a semantic relationship between packing and rice – אורז[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/לארוז-3.m4a” /]. לארוז is a simple verb. Here’s an example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/לארוז-4.m4a” /]ארזת גם את המזוודה שלי? Did…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מזוודה-1.m4a” /]מִזְוָדָה The Hebrew word for suitcase, מזוודה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מזוודה-1.m4a” /], appears first in the Mishnah. Its non-Biblical-Hebrew root is ז.ו.ד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מזוודה-2.m4a” /]. Here’s the word in context: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מזוודה-3.m4a” /]קניתי מזוודה חדשה כי הישנה התקלקלה. I bought a new suitcase because the old one got ruined. and [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מזוודה-4.m4a” /]הגיטרה מהדהדת בתוך המזוודה. The guitar…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להדהד-1.m4a” /]לְהַדְהֵד Last week we saw the Hebrew word for echo – הד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להדהד-2.m4a” /]. To resonate – to feel the vibe of a sound (or a feeling) emitted elsewhere – is the active-intensive פיעל verb להדהד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להדהד-1.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להדהד-3.m4a” /]מה שאמרת מהדהד אצלי. What you (a male) said resonates with me….

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/אצלי-1.m4a” /]אֶצְלִי I used French in the title because English doesn’t really have this word, although some American Jews with a Yiddish-speaking heritage do have a word for this – by – as in Can I stay by you? which, in standard English, is May I stay with you/at your place? אצל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/אצלי-2.m4a” /] incorporates possession and/or location….

חֹמֶר לְשִׁנּוּן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/review-1.mp3″ /] Review Material Can’t read Hebrew yet? You spent time on your Hebrew this week. Use these review materials to make it yours to keep. Flashcards . Scatter . Gravity . Test [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/review-2.mp3″ /]שבת שלום, וסוף שבוע נעים! Shabbat Shalom, and have a nice weekend!

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/הד-1.m4a” /]הֵד Appearing only once in the Bible, the Hebrew word for echo is הד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/הד-1.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/הד-2.m4a” /]החדר מרווח, אבל אני שומעת הד. The room is spacious, but I (a female) hear an echo. הד is probably of the Biblical-Hebrew root ה.ד.ד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/הד-3.m4a” /] meaning loud noise, and thus related to the…