לְהִתְנַשֵּׁק Can’t read Hebrew yet? Yesterday we saw the various Hebrew words for hug. Today we’ll look at kissing, which has a similar grammar. The root of kissing – נ.שׁ.ק (n.sh.k) – is the same as that of a weapon – נֶשֶׁק – not because of the “kiss of death”, but probably because…
לְהִתְחַבֵּק Can’t read Hebrew yet? The Hebrew root ח.ב.ק (kh.b.k) means embracing. There’s to hug someone else (active-intensive verb) – לְחַבֵּק – as in: הָאֵם חִבְּקָה אֶת הַיֶּלֶד כְּשֶׁהוּא נִבְהַל מֵהַכֶּלֶב. The mother hugged the child when he was frightened from the dog. And there’s to hug when two…
שַׁחַר Can’t read Hebrew yet? The morning prayer in Judaism is called שַׁחֲרִית , as it is derived from the word for dawn, שַׁחַר . In Hebrew, we talk about the dawn as it is a physical object like the sun and say that the dawn rises, as in: הֵם יָצְאוּ לַקְּרָב לִפְנֵי שֶׁעָלָה…
חֹמֶר לְשִׁנּוּן 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 Game Test שַׁבָּת שָׁלוֹם, וְסוֹף שָׁבוּעַ נָעִים! Shabbat Shalom, and have a nice weekend!
שְׁאִיפוֹת Can’t read Hebrew yet? The English word aspiration finds its roots in the Latin word spirare – to breathe. Likewise, the Hebrew word for to aspire is the same as that of to inhale – the active-simple verb לִשְׁאוֹף . And an aspiration is a שְׁאִיפָה . For example: לַבַּחוּרָה הַזֹּאת יֵשׁ שְׁאִיפוֹת…
לְהִתָּקַע Can’t read Hebrew yet? The rain may be a blessing, but most people don’t like getting stuck in it for too long. The Hebrew word for to get stuck is לְהִתָּקַע . Using the above example: נִתְקַעְתִּי בַּגֶּשֶׁם. I got stuck in the rain. להיתקע is a…
לְנַחֵשׁ Can’t read Hebrew yet? The Hebrew word for to guess is the active-intensive verb לְנַחֵשׁ . For example: אִם אַתָּה לֹא יוֹדֵעַ בְּוַדָּאוּת, תְּנַחֵשׁ. If you (a male) don’t know for sure, guess. This word can be found in Biblical Hebrew, though it refers to predicting events –…
אֲנִי מְתָאֵר לְעַצְמִי Can’t read Hebrew yet? In English, when we make an assumption and create a potential scenario, we might say “I imagine,” as in: I imagine the neighbors think I’m crazy. In Hebrew, this form of I imagine is אֲנִי מְתָאֵר לְעַצְמִי – literally, I describe to myself: When we…
תֹּאַר Can’t read Hebrew yet? The Hebrew root ת.א.ר (t.a.r) means description, as in the active-intensive verb לְתָאֵר – to describe. Thus an academic degree – the description of a person’s education – is a תֹּאַר . For example: יֵשׁ לוֹ כְּבָר תֹּאַר רִאשׁוֹן, וְהוּא כָּרֶגַע לוֹמֵד לִקְרַאת תֹּאַר שֵׁנִי. He already…
חֹמֶר לְשִׁנּוּן 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 Game Test שַׁבָּת שָׁלוֹם, וְסוֹף שָׁבוּעַ נָעִים! Shabbat Shalom, and have a nice weekend!
לַהֲרוֹג Can’t read Hebrew yet? Here’s one of the most ancient of words in the Hebrew language, going back to that primeval account of a brother in rage, the story of Cain and Abel. לַהֲרוֹג means to kill. For example: הַסַּרְטָן הָרַג אֹתָהּ. The cancer killed her. and לַהֲרוֹג וְלִרְצוֹחַ…