having trouble seeing the print? חַיּוֹת בַּר Hebrew courses starting Sunday in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Rehovot My recent reading and watching of Life of Pi leaves me inspired to share with you a piece on the Hebrew expression for wild animals: חַיּוֹת בַּר. In Rabbinic literature, חַיָּה (coming from the word חָיmeaning living) refers specifically to a non-domesticated animal, while בְּהֵמָה refers to a…
having trouble seeing the print? קָצִין Hebrew courses starting Sunday in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv I’m taking the day off to attend my cousin’s טֶקֶס סִיּוּם קוּרְס קְצִינִים – officers’ graduation ceremony. That phrase provides a great example of how language picks up from its environment as the generations go by. Here’s the phrase broken down etymologically, in reverse chronological…
having trouble seeing the print? לְשַׂמֵּחַ Hebrew courses starting Sunday in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv My professor of Bible and Aramaic at Yeshiva University, Dr. Moshe Bernstein, taught me that 18th-century philosopher Immanuel Kant declared that it’s worth studying Hebrew for ten years just to read תְּהִלִּים ק”ד– Psalm 104. Jews all over the world read that…
having trouble seeing the print? מַרְהִיב Ulpan La-Inyan in Jerusalem Last night I watched Academy Award Best-Picture nominee, Life of Pi. I was more impressed with the existential, religious and deeply-human aspects of the film; nevertheless, the special effects were spectacular. One Hebrew word for spectacular is מַרְהִיב. This active-causative הִפְעִיל verb derives from the root ר.ה.ב (r.h.b)….
having trouble seeing the print? עוֹרֵךְ דִּין, עוֹרֶכֶת דִּין Ulpan La-Inyan in Ramat Beit Shemesh This week’s video: Here’s the article from the Academy of the Hebrew Language mentioned in the video. It’s in Hebrew – if you’re up for the challenge, give reading it a shot! If not, use Google Translate. …
הַחְלָמָה מְהִירָה, רְפוּאָה שְׁלֵמָה This entry is for Jeremy H. and for Savta. It’s flu season in Israel, and the hospitals have been overfull recently with flu patients. The traditional Jewish way of wishing someone a speedy recovery is saying רְפוּאָה שְׁלֵמָה, which means, literally, a complete healing. But a more common expression in…
having trouble seeing the print? מִי וָמִי Ulpan La-Inyan for Gap-Year Programs Growing up in Los Angeles, I used to get excited about the Oscars. Now, living in Jerusalem, I’m a lot more excited about the who’s who in the new Knesset. The Hebrew term for an illustrious who’s who is list מִי וָמִי – literally, who and who. …
having trouble seeing the print? לִרְכּוֹשׁ Beginners Hebrew CoursesStarting in Jerusalem – Tel Aviv Yesterday, we saw the Hebrew word for shopping – קְנִיּוֹת– which comes from the verb, to buy – לִקְנוֹת. In English, we have the everyday verb to buy, as well as higher-register verbs to purchase and to acquire. Hebrew is no different: while לקנות is the everyday verb, לִרְכּוֹשׁa…
having trouble seeing the print? קְנִיּוֹת Conversational-Hebrew classes in Jerusalem – Tel Aviv RBS – Rehovot – everywhere else Whereas שׁוֹפִּינְגis still the term that refers to that activity that my mother loves so much, shopping for clothes, Israelis call general shopping – like for food and electronics – קְנִיּוֹת. קְנֵה פָּחוֹת, חְיֵה יוֹתֵר buy less, live more (picture taken at a bus stop…
having trouble seeing the print? קוֹל Conversational-Hebrew classes in Jerusalem – Tel Aviv RBS – Rehovot – everywhere else There’s something special about sound: This one’s for Rabbi Simcha Frischling, founder and director of The Call of the Shofar. Further build your Hebrew vocabulary with… with a special discount for YDDH enthusiasts like yourself
having trouble seeing the print? עָתִיד Conversational-Hebrew classes in Jerusalem – Tel Aviv RBS – Rehovot – everywhere else In a smart branding move, Yair Lapid named his resoundingly popular political party יֵשׁ עָתִיד – Atid rhymes with Lapid, thus linking the idea of hope for a bright future with the winning man himself. The word עָתִיד, in Modern…