דָּרוּךְ How you can help a family of orphans A phrase in this morning’s front-page article on Ynet translates, literally, “The world is following with tenseness the developments in the Middle East…” – הָעוֹלָם עוֹקֵב בִּדְרִיכוּת אֲחַר הַהִתְפַּתְּחוּיוֹת בַּמִּזְרַח הַתִּיכוֹן (hah-oh-LAHM oh-KEV bee-dree-KHOOT ah-KHAHR hah-heet-paht-khoo-YOHT bah-meez-RAHKH hah-tee-KHOHN). דריכות means tenseness or preparedness. To use the adjective form,…
הַסָּקָה, חִמּוּם The Hebrew word for heat or warmth (and fever) is חוֹם (khohm). To heat something is לְחַמֵּם (leh-khah-MEM), a פיעל (pee-EL) verb. The act of heating is חִמּוּם (khee-MOOM). For example, a תָּנוּר חימום (tah-NOOR khee-MOOM) is a space heater, or literally, a heating oven. But there’s another, more common word, that refers to heating as we know…
לְדַיֵּק Last night I went to my first Ethiopian Jewish wedding. I had a blast. I like a down-to-earth atmosphere; here all the formalities were overshadowed by probably about a thousand people – many teens and young adults – talking enthusiastically and dancing with such celebration that I felt like a native as I started…
יָלִיד If you already know some Hebrew, you certainly know the Hebrew word for boy – יֶלֶד (YEH-led) and the word for girl – יַלְדָּה (yahl-DAH). You may also know the word for born as in, He was born – נוֹלַד (noh-LAHD). To say someone is a native of a particular place, you’d use the word יָלִיד (yah-LEED) for a…
בִּלְתִּי צָפוּי Suppose you’re sitting on the sofa one stormy evening covered in a warm blanket, reading a book, when suddenly there’s an unexpected knock on the door. Expected or foreseen in Hebrew is צָפוּי (tsah-FOO-ee), from the root צ.פ.ה (ts.p.h), meaning watching. It’s the same root as in הָר הַצּוֹפִים (hahr hah-tsoh-FEEM) – Mount Scopus – the site…
נִסָּיוֹן You’re likely to come across this word not so much in everyday speech, but rather through the media, specifically by watching and listening to the news in Hebrew. To make an attempt, or to try (and not to try a new food – that’s to taste), in Hebrew, is לְנַסּוֹת (le-nah-SOHT). An attempt or a trial is…
צוּק When I used to take groups of American religious-Zionist teens for four-day hikes in the Israeli desert, I didn’t do it alone. Not only did I have a staff of dedicated counselors with me and the support of the organization that made our trip possible (Bnei Akiva), but we also had as backup and…
נָדִיב The Hebrew root נ.ד.ב (n.d.v) is the concept of generosity. The name נָדָב (nah-DAHV) is a common one among Israeli boys and men. This week’s Torah portion, read by Jews around the world tomorrow morning, tells about the Children of Israel pooling their resources together to build the Tabernacle, “each man whose heart so…
Some people are fun. Some people are nice. And some people inspire others towards good just by being themselves. Such a person who inspires others thus is called, in Hebrew, an אָדָם עֶרְכִּי (ah-DAHM ehr-KEE) – literally, a person of value. Of course, every human being has value, and every human being is of quality….
At the end of today’s dose, you’ll find an opportunity to help people in Israel with mental disabilities. Mental retardation is a condition that affects individuals and families in every ethnic group and every nation on the planet, including Israel. The Hebrew word for retardation is פִּגּוּר (pee-GOOR), derived from the verb לְפַגֵּר…
Suppose you’re walking in the downtown district in your home town, and you pass by a smelly garbage bin that in Israel we call צְפַרְדְעִים (tse-fahr-de-EEM) – frogs. See why we call them frogs? You might wish to move away from the stench. In Hebrew, to move away from something is לְהִתְרַחֵק מִמַּשֶּׁהו (le-heet-rah-KHEK…