how to say “Women of the Wall” in Hebrew
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נְשׁוֹת הַכֹּתֶל
The Women of the Wall have been making the news on a monthly basis (at the opening or head of the (Jewish) month – רֹאשׁ חֹדֶשׁ) for the past while.
) for the past while.Their official Hebrew name, a direct translation, is נְשׁוֹת הַכֹּתֶל
Now, the phrase נשות הכותל (where כותלrefers to the Western Wall) combines two nouns in a dependent relationship (סְמִיכוּת) yielding a phrase of two words, whereas in English we would insert the word of between them. If we were to employ the Hebrew word for of or for – שֶׁל– we’d have the phrase:
refers to the Western Wall) combines two nouns in a dependent relationship (סְמִיכוּת) yielding a phrase of two words, whereas in English we would insert the word of between them. If we were to employ the Hebrew word for of or for – שֶׁל– we’d have the phrase:הַנָּשִׁים שֶׁל הַכֹּתֶל
literally, the women of the wall
You may have noticed that the word for women, when in the combined phrase, has a feminine וֹת-ending, while in the separated phrase, it has a masculine ים-ending.
ending, while in the separated phrase, it has a masculine ים-ending.Here’s the lowdown:
נָשִׁיםis the plural form of אִשַּׁה– woman – when it stands alone, as in the above phrase הנשים של הכותל.
is the plural form of אִשַּׁה– woman – when it stands alone, as in the above phrase הנשים של הכותל.When נשים appears in a combined phrase, it follows either one of two forms: נְשֵׁיor נְשׁוֹת, the former with a masculine ending and the latter with a feminine ending.
or נְשׁוֹת, the former with a masculine ending and the latter with a feminine ending.Either form is acceptable and both are attested in Biblical Hebrew, though נשות is the preferred one among Israelis today. Hence נשות הכותל.
