על האש A מַנְגָּל (MAHN-gahl) is a barbecue… but the word comes from Arabic. Rather, the proper (well, maybe not really proper) way to say it in Hebrew is עַל הָאֵש (ahl hah-ESH), which means, literally, on the fire. The really proper way to say it is מַצְלֶה (mahts-LEH), coming from the word לִצְלוֹת (leets-LOHT)…
לחגוג You probably know the word חַג (hahg) – holiday, in the religious sense. To celebrate is לַחְגּוֹג (lah-GOHG). Here’s a video שחוגג sixty years of Israel’s independence (two years dated). In my mind, it celebrates the diversity of Jews in Israeli society, that, after thousands of years of separation and the widest…
עצמאות The Hebrew word עַצְמָאוּת (ahts-mah-OOT) comes from the root ע.צ.מ (a.ts.m.), which carries the basic meaning of essence or that which stands out. An independent political entity stands out as unique in the world; it waves a flag of its own: Incidentally, these are the colors on the Ulpan La-Inyan website. …
זיכרון Tomorrow is יוֹם הַזִּכָּרוֹן (yohm hah-zee-kah-ROHN), Israel’s Memorial Day (literally, Day of Remembrance). In the States, some people have a somber Memorial Day, but the vast majority see it as an excuse for a getaway, a barbecue, or a shopping spree. Not so in Israel. יום הזיכרון (the root ז.כ.ר., in this context, is…
.ע.ר.ב I’m again in the Ethiopian-Jewish absorption center Beit Alpha, and it’s right before Shabbat. In Hebrew, Sabbath Eve or the day right before the Sabbath, is called עֶרֶב שַׁבָּת (EH-rev shah-BAHT) – the eve of Sabbath. How do you say west in Hebrew? מַעֲרָב (mah-ah-RAHV). If you look closely, you’ll see that it’s got the…
יום You probably know that יוֹם (yohm) means day. You also probably know that the Book of Genesis (סֵפֶר בְּרֵאשִׁית – SEH-fehr beh-reh-SHEET) presents the story of creation in a six-day sequence – and that this contradicts modern science… at least on an initial reading. On top of that, the second chapter of…
ה If you know a bit of Hebrew, you probably know the Hebrew equivalent of the English definite article, the. It’s הַ (hah), and at times הָ (also “hah”, but pronounced a bit differently by some speakers) or הֶ (heh). What you may not have noticed is that almost always in the letter…
שינוי Aside from being the name of a short-lived left-of-center Israeli political party, the word שִׁנּוּי (shee-NOO-ee) means a change. Sometimes it takes a long time for a שינוי to appear. However, sometimes, שינוי takes place in an instant. Where in English you might say, it’s warm today, for a change, in…
אדישות Apathy can be dangerous, especially regarding things like the Holocaust and people like Gilad Shalit (גִּלְעַד שָׁלִיט). Apathy tends to go against the basic human need/function of love. The Hebrew word for apathy is אֲדִישׁוּת (ah-dee-SHOOT). You might describe a man as אָדִיש (ah-DEESH) or a woman as אֲדִישָׁה (ah-dee-SHAH). See if…
כאב In Level 1 of Ulpan La-Inyan we teach the verb, it hurts (זֶה כּוֹאֵב – zeh koh-EHV). The word for ache or pain is כְּאֵב (keh-EHV). Holocaust Day (today), or יוֹם הַשּׁוֹאָה (yohm hah-shoh-AH) in Hebrew (means literally, the day of the disaster or conflagration), is a יוֹם כְּאֵב לְאוּמִי (yohm keh-EHV le-oo-MEE) – a…
לשלוף One of my favorite Hebrew verbs is לִשְׁלוֹף (leesh-LOHF) – to draw, as in, to draw a sword. That’s the meaning found in the Bible. But I can also pull a rabbit out of a hat… or a word from my memory – אֲנִי שׁוֹלֵף אֶת הַמִּלָּה מֵהַזִּכָּרוֹן (ah-NEE shoh-LEFF et hah-mee-LAH…