ulpan efrat

  having trouble seeing the print?   לְבָרֵךְ watch video for full lesson! Check Out Our Conversational-Hebrew Program

  having trouble seeing the print? לוּחַ Tradition has it that חַג הַשָּׁבֻעוֹת– the Shavuot festival – marks the anniversary of the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. And the Torah – הַתּוֹרָה– was given on tablets – not the kind you swallow (that’s a כַּדּוּר), but the kind made of stone.   The word the תורה uses for tablets is…

  having trouble seeing the print? לְפַנֵּק This one’s for you, Mom. In many countries all over the world, it’s Mothers Day – יוֹם הָאֵם, in Hebrew. Here’s a song by Arik Einstein dedicated to his mother. I venture to say it might be sung for most mothers. One of the lines in the song is: אִמָּא,…

  having trouble seeing the print?    שֵׁרוּת לָקוֹחוֹת watch video for full lesson! Check Out Our Conversational-Hebrew Program

  having trouble seeing the print? מְחֻבָּר, מְחֻבֶּרֶת highly recommended  for further vocabulary growth   in honor of today’s national holiday From the Biblical book of Psalms: יְרוּשָׁלִַם הַבְּנוּיָה כְּעִיר שֶׁחֻבְּרָה לָהּ יַחְדָּו. Built-up Jerusalem is as a city that was joined together with itself. In case we get lost in the obscurity of that statement, the…

  having trouble seeing the print? יַעַר גֶּשֶׁם A rainforest is a place of astounding beauty and biodiversity. Rainforests are also responsible for 28% of the world’s oxygen, according to Wikipedia. The Hebrew term for rainforest is a literal translation of the English – יַעַר גֶּשֶׁם, where יער means forest and גשם means rain. An example in context: לִפְעָמִים קוֹרְאִים לְיַעֲרוֹת הַגֶּשֵׁם “הָרֵאוֹת…

  having trouble seeing the print? מַזְגָן highly recommended  for further vocabulary growth   I stayed once in a Paris hotel for a few days in July. It was sweltering hot, and there was no air conditioner in the room. When I inquired why, the hotel staff told that it only gets that hot a few days…

  having trouble seeing the print? סְבִיבָה With summer coming in the northern hemisphere and air-conditioning (entry on that tomorrow) set to full blast in Israeli homes and vehicles, this week’s a good time to introduce some Hebrew terms about climate and environment. The Hebrew word for environment is סְבִיבָה. It’s a verbal noun of the root ס.ו.ב…

  having trouble seeing the print? לַחְזוֹר, לָשׁוּב watch video for full lesson! Check Out Our Conversational-Hebrew Program

  having trouble seeing the print? גַּאֲוָה highly recommended  for further vocabulary growth   Pride – what a contentious emotion. On the one hand, religions list it among the most grievous of sins or character traits. On the other hand, the gay community calls upon it as their staple state of being. This kind of pride is called, in…

  having trouble seeing the print? צֶדֶק After today’s events, one of the things on people’s minds in this part of the world is justice – צֶדֶק. Here’s an example of צדק used in the context of a different series of events, from the summer of 2011: הָעַם דּוֹרֵשׁ צֶדֶק חֶבְרָתִי! The people demand social justice! This three-letter…