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לברר   לְבָרֵר (le-vah-REHR) goes beyond the English usage of to clarify. In Hebrew, this word is also used to mean to make sure or to find out – such as in, תְּבָרְרִי מָתַי הַסֶּרֶט (te-vah-reh-REE mah-TAH-ee hah-SEH-reht) – Find out (speaking to a female) when the movie is.   The root of the word is ב.ר.ר – the…

להתחלק, לשתף   To share a thing with one or more people – such as rent for an apartment – is לְהִתְחַלֵּק (le-heet-hah-LEK).   To share a feeling or an experience, however, is לְשַׁתֵּף (le-shah-TEF). For example, רָחֵל שִׁתְּפָה אוֹתִי עַל הַטִּיּוּל שֶׁלָּהּ לְאֵירוֹפָּה (rah-HEL sheet-FAH oh-TEE ahl ha-tee-YOOL sheh-LAH le-ei-ROH-pah) – Rachel shared with me…

הפגנה   To my Level-5-ers – you’ve already had this lesson. Consider it review :).   The Hebrew word for demonstration – political or otherwise – is הַפְגָּנָה (hahf-gah-NAH).    To demonstrate or to display is לְהַפְגִּין (le-hahf-GHEEN). For example, הוּא מַפְגִּין עִנְיָן בַּלִּמּוּדִים (hoo mahf-GHEEN een-YAHN bah-lee-moo-DEEM) – he displays interest in (his/the) studies.   Today there…

שידור   The word שִׁדּוּר (shee-DOOR) means a broadcast, like the kind done over TV or the radio. A שידור חָי (shee-DOOR KHAH-ee) is a live broadcast.     לְשַׁדֵּר (le-shah-DEHR) means to broadcast. It follows the same grammatical structure as לְדַבֵּר (le-dah-BEHR) – notice that the two words have the same vowel points. And…

זהות   If you’ve lived in Israel or have taken Level 2 of Ulpan La-Inyan, you’re familiar with the term for ID card – תְּעוּדַת זְהוּת (teh-oo-DAHT zeh-HOOT).   The word זהות itself means identity. Its root is זֶה (zeh), which means this. Identity is “this-ness.”   Today, perhaps more so than ever, it’s critical that…

שלב, במה   There’s the stage that people perform on, and the stage that is similar in meaning to rung, level, etc.   The stage where plays and concerts take place is a בָּמָה (bah-MAH). Likewise, a director of a show, or a film for that matter, is a בַּמַּאִי (bah-MAH-ee). The plural is בָּמוֹת (bah-MOHT).  …

לרדוף   My house-mate Josh suggested this word. Josh grew up in the UK and now chases down terrorists – he’s a soldier in the IDF, preparing to be a commander. The Chapters of the Fathers (פִּרְקֵי אָבוֹת – peer-KAY ah-VOHT) lists appropriate ages for various milestones in the life of the Jewish male: 9 for…

ייחודי   I’ve been blessed to work with great people at Ulpan La-Inyan.   Caron our instructor, one of these such people, sent me this video clip, which I invite you all the watch. If you can’t see the clip, you’ll need to go to the Ktzat Ivrit blog. One of the key words in…