having trouble seeing the print? מִשְׁלַחַת Conversational Hebrew Starting Soon… REGISTER NOW! The word מִשְׁלַחַת means delegation. It comes from the word לִשְׁלוֹחַ, an active-simple verb, meaning to send, of the root שׁ.ל.ח (sh.l.kh). For example: הַמִּשְׁלַחַת הַיִּשְׂרָאֵלִית הִגִּיעָה לַפִילִיפִּינִים. The Israeli delegation arrived at the Philippines. A synonym is נְצִיגוּת …
having trouble seeing the print? אֲנִי לֹא פְרָאיֶיר (פְרָיֶר) Conversational Hebrew Starting Soon… REGISTER NOW! A more accurate translation of the phrase אֲנִי לֹא פְרָאיֶיר is I’m no sucker, but the word sucker has fallen out of favor, having become somewhat foreign to English speakers in its meaning of someone naive, who easily taken advantage of….
having trouble seeing the print? פִּתּוּי Conversational Hebrew Starting Soon… REGISTER NOW! The Torah portion to be read this Shabbat by Jews around the world tells the story of Joseph, who is sold by his brothers and eventually is given a job as caretaker in the home of a minister of Egypt… whose wife…
having trouble seeing the print? פָּרָה Ancient Israel was the nexus of its world, the crossroads of trade routes running from Assyria in the north to Egypt in the south… and from India in the East to Mauretania (ancient Morocco) in the west. A popular mode of long-term transportation in those days was by…
having trouble seeing the print? לְהִשְׁתָּעֵל If you’re like me and you’ve got a cough that is taking its sweet time to go way, raise your hand. The Hebrew word for to cough is לְהִשְׁתָּעֵל , a reflexive-intensive verb of the root שׁ.ע.ל (sh.a.l) meaning depth and hollowness – when we cough, we exhale air rapidly and…
having trouble seeing the print? חִנּוּךְ, הַשְׂכָּלָה In English, we might talk about grammar-school education, high-school education and a college education, but we use only one noun – education – and add an adjective to get more specific about the level. Hebrew, however, uses two distinct words for two levels of education: חִנּוּךְ refers to education received at home or…
having trouble seeing the print? חָי בְּסֶרֶט Conversational Hebrew Classes Starting Soon… REGISTER NOW! Philosophers and fashion gurus alike argue over whether art imitates life, or whether life imitates art. Regardless of the majority, there certainly are people who model their lives after the movies, to a greater or lesser extent. Often such imitation…
having trouble seeing the print? מִפְגָּשׁ Conversational Hebrew Starting Soon… Also in Modiin! REGISTER NOW! See review material at the end of today’s dose! Last week we defined the Hebrew word מִפְגָּשׁ as referring to an informal meeting or a gathering of friends. There’s another, more dramatic meaning to the word: encounter. …
having trouble seeing the print? צַוָּאר Conversational Hebrew Starting Soon… REGISTER NOW! In the Torah portion to be read this week by Jews around the world, the Hebrew word for neck – צַוָּאר– appears prominently, especially in Midrashic interpretations of the Biblical text. Now, צוואר is a masculine noun, as are several other…
having trouble seeing the print? שָׁלִיחַ Conversational Hebrew Starting Soon… Also in Modiin! REGISTER NOW! For those of you who have been to Chabad houses in various parts of the world, or have contacted the Jewish Agency or Nefesh B’Nefesh about making aliyah, the word שָׁלִיחַ – emissary – may ring a bell. In Modern Hebrew,…
having trouble seeing the print? עָצוּב, עֲצוּבָה The Hebrew word for sad is עצוב in the masculine and עצובה in the feminine. For example: כְּשֶׁאֲנִי קוֹרֵא עַל טַיְפוּן הַייאֶן, אֲנִי מַרְגִּישׁ עָצוּב. As I read about Typhoon Haiyan, I feel sad. עצוב comes from the Biblical root ע.צ.ב (a.ts.b) meaning pain, displeasure and grief. It…