how to say “espionage” in Hebrew

ByAmi Steinberger

  רִגּוּל listen to this word pronounced       Ilan Grapel, a dual US-Israeli citizen interning in Cairo, is being accused of spying for Israel. http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-4081731,00.html It’s an international scandal – שַׁעֲרוּרִיָּה בֵּינְלְאֻמִּית (shah-ah-roo-ree-YAH BEH-een-leh-oo-MEET). Strangely, à propos this week’s Torah portion, the word for espionage in Hebrew is רִגּוּל (ree-GOOL). A spy is a מְרַגֵּל (meh-rah-GHEL) or,…

how to say “scandal” in Hebrew

ByAmi Steinberger

שַׁעֲרוּרִיָּה   This one’s for ליאת (Liat).    If you’ve got some Hebrew, the first word that may have come to mind for scandal is סְקַנְדָּל (skahn-DAHL).   But there’s another word: שַׁעֲרוּרִיָּה (shah-ah-roo-ree-YAH). This word appears in Biblical Hebrew and is derived from the adjective שֹׁעַר (SHOH-ahr), meaning vile. For example… אֵיזוֹ שׁערורייה! (EH-ee-zoh shah-ah-roo-ree-YAH)…