לְשׂוֹחֵחַ I did this spiel this morning on the air with Adam. לְדַבֵּר (leh-dah-BEHR) is probably the first word that comes to mind, if you know some Hebrew. That’s the generic word for to talk or to speak. But as widely used as לדבר is, it carries a tinge of harshness –…
שָׂמַחְתִּי לְהַכִּיר If you know a bit of Hebrew, you’re almost certain to have used the phrase נָעִים מְאֹד – nice to meet you, or literally, very pleasant (nah-EEM meh-OHD). That’s what one normally says at the moment of introduction to someone new – let’s call her שָׁרִית (sah-REET). Now…
מַטָּס I just looked up the sister-entry to this one, turns out it’s been over a year! That took me by surprise… I’m referring to my entry on the flotilla – מַשָּׁט (mah-SHAHT) that tried making its way to Gaza in June 2010. Anyway, this entry refers to the…
לְהִזָּהֵר, לָגוּר If you’ve had conversations in Hebrew with children, you probably know how to say, be careful! (literally, caution!) – זְהִירוּת (zeh-hee-ROOT). “Beware! Dog in yard!” To be careful is לְהִזָּהֵר (leh-hee-zah-HEHR). It’s a verb of the נפעל (neef-AHL) variety – not really active or passive, or even reflexive. There’s another way…
לָלֶכֶת לַיָּם If you know a bit of Hebrew, these words probably aren’t new to you. So consider this a lesson in idiom. In English we talk about going to the beach. If that were translated literally to Hebrew, it would be לָלֶכֶת לַחוֹף (lah-LEH-khet lah-KHOHF). But often expressions are not…
נוֹחַ This one’s for Abi S, who asked to know the difference between comfortable and convenient in Hebrew. Truth is, we use the same word for both: נוֹח (NOH-ahkh). For example, you could say either: נוֹחַ לִי עַל הַסַּפָּה (NOH-ahkh lee ahl hah-sah-PAH) – I’m comfortable (literally, it’s comfortable for me) on the sofa. or תֵּשַׁע…
מֵידָע If you know some basic Hebrew, look at the word above and try to spot its root. The שֹׁרֶש or root (SHOH-resh) of the word מֵידַע (meh-ee-DAH) is י.ד.ע (y.d.a), the concept of knowledge. Using that root, מידע means information. In contrast, the word for data is נְתוּנִים (neh-too-NEEM) – literally, givens….
אֱמוּנִים, נֶאֱמָנוּת In elementary school at Emek Hebrew Academy, we used to say, “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America…” Since today is the independence day of the United States, I think it appropriate to highlight one of the words in that expression. Allegiance to a cause,…
הֲפָקָה Yesterday around the Shabbat table at the absorption center in Beit Alpha, someone asked me whether as a child I dreamed of teaching Hebrew and running an ulpan. I replied that I actually dreamed of becoming a film director. As a kid, I used to make short films with friends…
הֲפָקָה Yesterday around the Shabbat table at the absorption center in Beit Alpha, someone asked me whether as a child I dreamed of teaching Hebrew and running an ulpan. I replied that I actually dreamed of becoming a film director. As a kid, I used to make short films with friends…
חֻקָּה In honor the 4th of July (come celebrate it this Monday with AACI in Jerusalem!)… and this week’s Torah portion It took eleven years for the United States to ratify a constitution that would represent “the people.” Israel, after 63 years, has yet to ratify one. Two Jews, three opinions;…