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!
יַיִן מְיֻשָּׁן Can’t read Hebrew yet? The Biblical Term In Biblical times, good aged wine might have been called יַיִן יָשָׁן נוֹשָׁן , as some sweet wines are called today. נוֹשָׁן means having become old. The word is derived from the נִפְעַל verb form and the root י.שׁ.נ (y.sh.n)…
זָקֵן, יָשָׁן, וכו. Can’t read Hebrew yet? In English, we might call a person old (albeit not very politely) just as we might call a tree old. In Hebrew, we’ve got different terms for old people, animals and things. זקן, זקנה An old or elderly person might be called זָקֵןif he’s a man and זְקֵנָהif…
מוֹרֶה דֶּרֶךְ, מַדְרִיךְ טִיּוּלִים Can’t read Hebrew yet? If you’re stuck in the wilderness without a GPS, a מצפן (compass) might serve you well. But if you don’t have either of these (or don’t know how to use them), you might be aching for someone to show you the way…
מַצְפּוּן Can’t read Hebrew yet? When Modern Hebrew created a word for the physical object called a compass – מַצְפֵּן , of the root צ.פ.נ (ts.p.n) meaning north as well as hidden – it employed the same root to create a term for the non-physical entity that guides people towards their destiny. The Hebrew word for conscience is מַצְפּוּן . For…
Can’t read Hebrew yet? מַצְפֵּן A working compass always points north. Thus the makers of Modern Hebrew invoked the Biblical word for north – צָפוֹן – when they created tailored a word for this invention of modern times. מַצְפֵּן is the Hebrew word for compass. For example: הַמַּצְפֵּן יַדְרִיךְ…
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!
לַעֲשׂוֹת שְׁמִינִיּוֹת בָּאֲוִיר Can’t read Hebrew yet? When someone makes a great extra effort to get something done, especially for someone else, we might say that they’re jumping through hoops or going the extra mile. In Hebrew, we call this making figure eights in the air: לַעֲשׂוֹת שְׁמִינִיּוֹת בָּאֲוִיר . …
תֵּרוּצִים Can’t read Hebrew yet? The Hebrew word for excuse is תֵּרוּץ . It comes from Babylonian Aramaic of the Talmud, where it refers to the solution to a problem. For example: הַיֶּלֶד אַלּוּף בְּהַמְצָאַת תֵּרוּצִים. The boy is an expert (a champion) in inventing excuses. Likewise, to…
לָתֵת Can’t read Hebrew yet? We’re conducting a survey to help us understand the needs of Hebrew learners like yourself.If you’d take a few minutes to fill out this survey, we’d really appreciate it! Jewish law ordains that Jews give charity on a regular basis. But Purim is the only holiday in today’s…
רַעֲשָׁן Can’t read Hebrew yet? We’re conducting a survey to help us understand the needs of Hebrew learners like yourself.If you’d take a few minutes to fill out this survey, we’d really appreciate it! Last night and today, Jews around the world are celebrating the salvation and thriving of the Jewish people…