having trouble seeing the print? כְּבַד שְׁמִיעָה, קְשֶׁה שְׁמִיעָה listen and repeat Last week I posted about the Hebrew words for blind, deaf and mute. Responding to the post, my student and friend Ruti asked whether the terms in Hebrew provoke the same politically-correct sensitivity as they do in English. My answer is that it depends…
having trouble seeing the print? מַסְטוּל, מְסֻמָּם listen and repeat Despite political differences, Jews and Arabs have been exchanging cultural ideas and linguistic features for generations, so that much of Hebrew slang comes from Arabic (here’s a partial list). One word borrowed is that for high or drunk: מַסְטוּל listen and repeat when referring…
having trouble seeing the print? אִלֵּם listen and repeat The Torah portion to be read this Shabbat by Jews around the world depicts the great leader Moses… who was also hard of speaking. The Hebrew word for a mute is אִלֵּם listen and repeat when referring to a male, and אִלֶּמֶת listen and repeat when referring to…
having trouble seeing the print? עוֹלָמִי listen and repeat Today, Christians around the world are celebrating the well-known and beloved holiday, Christmas. one Jew’s answer to the popularity of Christmas One gift that Christianity has delivered to the world is an emphasis on kindness. Here’s how to say global kindness in Hebrew:…
having trouble seeing the print? הָאֶחָד וְהַיָּחִיד listen and repeat The English expression the one and only translates to Hebrew literally – הָאֶחָד וְהַיָּחִיד listen and repeat when referring to a male, and הָאַחַת וְהַיְּחִידָה listen and repeat when referring to a female. For example: אֲנִי שָׂמֵחַ לְהַצִּיג אֶת הָאַחַת וְהַיְּחִידָה, רִיטָה. I’m happy to present…
having trouble seeing the print? שְׁכוּנָה listen and repeat On the streets of Israel you’ll hear people using the word שְׁכוּנָה listen and repeat– literally, neighborhood (related words discussed here) – to refer to something disappointingly amateurish. How did this expression come to be? Einat Kedem explains that the source lies in contrasting two levels of soccer (football) games: professional and neighborhood (less…
having trouble seeing the print? חוֹבְבָנִי listen and repeat Don’t yet read Hebrew? Learn now, for free! The Hebrew word for an amateur is חוֹבְבָן listen and repeat when referring to a male and חוֹבְבָנִית listen and repeat when referring to a female. Likewise, something amateur or amateurish is חוֹבְבָנִי listen and repeat in the masculine and חוֹבְבָנִית listen and repeat in the feminine. …
יְשׁוּעָה, גְּאֻלָּה, הַצָּלָה listen and repeat With the Torah portion to be read this week by Jews around the world being the first of סֵפֶר שְׁמוֹת listen and repeat (Exodus), and with the heroics displayed by many during the snowstorm in Israel this past week, now’s a good time to introduce the terms for salvation. …
having trouble seeing the print? לְשַׁלֵּם listen and repeat Don’t yet read Hebrew? Learn now, for free! The Hebrew word for to pay – לְשַׁלֵּם listen and repeat– comes from the same root as that of the word שָׁלוֹם listen and repeat – hello, goodbye and, more famously, peace. The root is שׁ.ל.מ (sh.l.m), and the unifying…
having trouble seeing the print? יַחֲסִית, בְּאֹפֶן יַחֲסִי listen and repeat Don’t yet read Hebrew? Learn now, for free! Last week I posted a dose on relatives, so here’s a dose on a related word – relatively. אַלְבֶּרְט אַיינְשְׁטַיין, אָבִיהָ שֶׁל תּוֹרַת הַיַּחֲסוּת Albert Einstein, father of the theory of relativity…
having trouble seeing the print? סִיּוּט, חֲלוֹם בַּלָּהוֹת listen and repeat Don’t yet read Hebrew? Learn now, for free! In English, we use the word nightmare in both the literal sense of a bad dream, and in the figurative, emphatic sense of a difficult event or series of events. So too in Hebrew, where…