תַּרְגִּישׁ חָפְשִׁי Can’t read Hebrew yet? Suppose you work in a large company, and the copy machine is in your office. A male coworker might politely say to you: אֶפְשָׁר לְצַלֵּם כַּמָּה מִסְמָכִים? May I copy (photograph) a few documents? To which you might respond: תַּרְגִּישׁ חָפְשִׁי….
בִּטָּחוֹן עַצְמִי Can’t read Hebrew yet? The feeling of confidence comes from a feeling of security with oneself. Thus Modern Hebrew chose to coin the term self confidence as בִּטָּחוֹן עַצְמִי – self security. Likewise, a person who is confident is literally someone who has self confidence. For example: יֵשׁ לָהּ…
גִּבּוֹר Can’t read Hebrew yet? Holocaust Day is officially termed יוֹם הַזִּכָּרוֹן לַשּׁוֹאָה וְלַגְּבוּרָה – Memorial Day for the Holocaust and the Heroism – in order to commemorate acts of Jewish resistance against the atrocities. While גְּבוּרָה means heroism, a (male) hero or brave one is a גִּבּוֹר . Here’s a Biblical example:…
אַנְטִישֵׁמִיּוּת Can’t read Hebrew yet? Tomorrow is יוֹם הַשּׁוֹאָה, Israel’s national Holocaust (Memorial) Day. As we have seen in the past few weeks, antisemitism is alive and well. The Hebrew term for this phenomenon is אַנְטִישֵׁמִיּוּת , which connects the Latin prefix anti– with Semite – שֵׁמִי (literally, a descendant of the…
חֹמֶר לְשִׁנּוּן Review Material Can’t read Hebrew yet? Review, practice and test yourself on this week’s doses of Hebrew! Flashcards Game Test שַׁבָּת שָׁלוֹם, וְסוֹף שָׁבוּעַ נָעִים! Shabbat Shalom, and have a nice weekend!
אִזּוּן, שִׁוּוּי מִשְׁקָל Can’t read Hebrew yet? One could argue that the lifestyle guidelines presented in the Torah are all about balance, especially in light of this week’s portion. The Hebrew word for balance when talking about non-physical things such as lifestyle is אִזּוּן It comes from the word for that organ that helps us keep our balance when…
לְהִתְפָּרֵעַ Can’t read Hebrew yet? For the Jews it’s been Passover, and for students around the world it’s been spring break. As parting advice for the latter, parents might tell their son: תַּעֲשֶׂה חַיִּים, אָבָל אַל תִּתְפָּרֵעַ יוֹתֵר מִדַּי. Have a good time (literally, make life), but don’t go too…
קָפֶה הָפוּךְ Can’t read Hebrew yet? There’s a line from a popular song from the nineties that goes, “I like my sugar with coffee and cream.” Even though they’re Jewish, I bet the Beastie Boys didn’t know that what they’re describing is pretty close to the Israeli version of cappuccino. ְקָפֶה הָפוּך,…
צַלְיָנוּת, עֲלִיָּה לָרֶגֶל Can’t read Hebrew yet? General Pilgrimage Various religions the word over recommend or require pilgrimages to holy sites. The generic term for pilgrimage in a given religion is צַלְיָנוּת , while a pilgrim is a צַלְיָן or a צַלְיָנִית , referring to a male or female, respectively. For example: מִילְיוֹנֵי צַלְיָנִים מֻסְלְמִים מַגִּיעִים…
הֲכָנוֹת Can’t read Hebrew yet? The word for to prepare something, in Hebrew, is the active-causative verb לְהָכִין . The root is כ.ו.נ (k.w.n), the same as many common Hebrew words including כֵּן – yes and נָכוֹן – correct. For example: הֵכַנְתִּי אֲרֻחַת עֶרֶב טְעִימָה מְאֹד. I prepared a very tasty dinner….
חֹמֶר לְשִׁנּוּן Review Material Can’t read Hebrew yet? Review, practice and test yourself on this week’s doses of Hebrew… ..and Watch the Video Lesson! Flashcards Game Test שַׁבָּת שָׁלוֹם, וְסוֹף שָׁבוּעַ נָעִים! Shabbat Shalom, and have a nice weekend!