פ.ת.ח. Perhaps you know the word לִפְתּוֹח (leef-TOH-ah) – to open. If you’re familiar with Jewish prayer, you more than likely know the verse פּוֹתֵחַ אֶת יָדֶךָ וּמַשְׂבִּיעַ לְכָל חָי רָצוֹן (poh-TEH-ah et yah-DEH-khah oo-mahs-BEE-ah le-KHOL khai rah-TSOHN) – You open your hand and satiate all those that live with favor. The Hebrew…
רמה In English, we call it the Golan Heights. In Hebrew, however, it’s רָמַת הַגּוֹלָן (rah-MAHT hah-goh-LAHN) – the Golan Height. Geographically, the Golan is a single plateau. Zevitan Wadi, a really cool place The Golan is one of Israel’s most popular hiking and tourist spots, and a most important military strategic point. …
בן אדם The full term for human being in Hebrew is בֶּן אָדָם (ben ah-DAHM) – literally, son of Adam. The term refers to males and females alike, such that you might correctly say הִיא בֶּן אָדָם טוֹב (hee ben ah-DAHM tohv) – she is a good person. Oftentimes, בן אדם gets shortened to simply…
תמיכה Perhaps you’ve called up one of Israel’s phone companies seeking technical support. The phrase in Hebrew for this is תְּמִיכָה טֶכְנִית (te-mee-KHAH TEKH-neet). You can also support a friend – לִתְמוֹךְ בְּחָבֵר (leet-MOKH be-khah-VEHR) – or an organization – לִתְמוֹךְ בְּאִרְגּוּן (leet-MOKH be-eer-GOON). Why this word now? Because this week’s Torah…
לטפח This is a nice word. Suppose you’ve got a garden full of greens and flowers. To really appreciate the garden (גִּנָּה – ghee-NAH) means to nurture it – לְטַפֵּחַ אֶת הַגינה (le-tah-PEH-akh et hah-ghee-NAH). Likewise, you might wish to nurture a boy – לטפח יֶלֶד (le-tah-PEH-akh YEH-led) – or a girl לטפח…
לקבל החלטה In English we talk about making a decision. In Hebrew, we talk about receiving or taking on a decision. The word for to receive is לְקַבֵּל (leh-kah-BEHL). The word for decision is הַחְלָטָה (hakh-lah-TAH); and to decide is לְהַחְלִיט (leh-hahkh-LEET). So I could say that I made a decision to eat yogurt every day – קִבַּלְתִּי הַחְלָטָה לֶאֱכוֹל יוֹגוּרְטְ כָּל יוֹם (kee-BAHL-tee hahkh-lah-TAH leh-eh-KHOHL…
אחיין, אחיינית Brother is אָח (ahkh); sister is אָחוֹת (ah-KHOHT). I would rate these as Level 2 words for Ulpan La-Inyan. Nephew is אַחְיָן (ahkh-YAHN), and niece is אַחְיָנִית (ahkh-yah-NEET). These are more likely to be encountered in a Level 3 or Level 4 discussion. For example, I would say, יֵשׁ לִי אחיינית חֲדָשָׁה (yesh lee…
דודים, סבים The Hebrew word for uncle is דּוֹד (dohd); the word for aunt is דּוֹדָה (doh-DAH – more commonly pronounced DOH-dah). Why? Because the word דוד itself means dear one – aunts and uncles are people close or dear to a child (i.e. close enough for love and gifst but usually distant enough so the…
מעסיק Perhaps you know the Hebrew word for a business – עֶסֶק (EH-sehk). If I were to state that he’s busy, I’d say, הוּא עָסוּק (hoo ah-SOOK); I were to say that a woman is busy, it would be, הִיא עֲסוּקָה (hee ah-soo-KAH). However, if I wanted to say, he’s preoccupied with something, I’d…
ק.ל.ט. Perhaps you’re familiar with the term מֶרְכַּז קְלִיטָה (mehr-KAHZ klee-TAH) – absorption center. Perhaps you’ve lived in one. The word קליטה comes from the root לִקְלוֹט, which means to absorb. The word is used in colloquial Hebrew to mean to get it, as in “Ah, now I get it!” – אָה, עַכְשָׁיו…
מס הכנסה The great American institution, the IRS, has an Israeli equivalent. It’s called מַס הַכְנָסָה (mahs hakh-nah-SAH) – literally, income tax. לְהַכְנִיס (le-hakh-NEES) is to insert or to cause to come in – so its noun form is הכנסה – income. מַס is a Biblical Hebrew word that means something to…