having trouble seeing the print? שִׁמּוּשִׁי Level 4 Hebrew course opening in Tel Aviv this Sunday! If you’re conversant in Hebrew, you most likely know the Hebrew word for to use something – לְהִשְׁתַּמֵּש (leh-heesh-tah-MESH), as in הִיא מִשְׁתַּמֶּשֶׁת בָּעֵט עַכְשָׁו (hee meesh-tah-MEH-shet bah-ET ahkh-SHAHV) – she is using the pen now. The root is ש.מ.ש…
having trouble seeing the print? לִהְיוֹת לְ… Further build your Hebrew vocabulary with… There is no one-to-one translation of to become into Hebrew. Here are instead several options to express it, each with a slightly different connotation. 1. …לִהְיוֹת ל (lee-h-YOHT leh…) – literally, to be to… This the most literary form, the one found…
having trouble seeing the print? שִׁפּוּטִי The Torah portion to be read this Shabbat by Jews around the world is called מִשְׁפָּטִים (meesh-pah-TEEM), literally, ordinances or rules. The root of this word is שׁ.פ.ט (sh.p.t), meaning judgment. To judge, in both the legalistic sense and in the interpersonal sense, is לִשְׁפּוֹט (leesh-POHT), while a שׁוֹפֵט (shoh-FET) is…
having trouble seeing the print? לְהִתְאוֹשֵׁשׁ Enter code “ULI” for an exclusive Ulpan La-Inyan discount. To “get better” from an illness is לְהַבְרִיא (leh-hahv-REE) or לְהַחְלִים (leh-hahkh-LEEM). But recovery doesn’t have to be from an illness – it could be from a shock or a spiritual low as well. The Hebrew word for to recover is לְהִתְאוֹשֵׁש (leh-heet-oh-SHESH),…
having trouble seeing the print? אוֹפַנּוֹעַ Further build your Hebrew vocabulary with… The Hebrew root נ.ו.ע (n.w.a) means movement, so that the Modern-Hebrew word מָנוֹע (mah-NOH-ah) means motor – something that gets things moving. by filtran Combine מנוע with the word for the Biblical Hebrew word for wheel – אוֹפַן (oh-FAHN), and you get אוֹפַנּוֹע (oh-FAH-noh-AH) –…
having trouble seeing the print? שְׁתִיָּה, מַשְׁקֶה חָרִיף If you’ve taken our Level 1 course or otherwise have a bit of Hebrew background, you know that the simple פעל verb לִשְׁתּוֹת (leesh-TOHT) means to drink, and perhaps also that שְׁתִיָּה (sheh-tee-YAH) is the generic word for a drink, in Modern Hebrew. In Biblical Hebrew,…
having trouble seeing the print? חַד Enter code “ULI” for an exclusive Ulpan La-Inyan discount. Yesterday we saw the Hebrew word for stapler. Another item that might rest on your desk is a pencil sharpener – מְחַדֵּד עֶפְרוֹנוֹת (meh-khah-DED ef-roh-NOHT), literally, a sharpener of pencils, where מחדד means sharpener. by Rilind Hoxha מחדד comes from the root ח.ד.ד (kh.d.d),…
having trouble seeing the print? מְהַדֵּק The Hebrew word for stapler is מְהַדֵּק (meh-hah-DEK), of the Mishnaic-Hebrew root ה.ד.ק (h.d.k) meaning to press; a stapler is a device that presses together pieces of paper. להדק is an active-intensive פיעל verb. Another Modern-Hebrew word of the same root is הֶדֶק (HEH-dek), meaning the trigger of a gun. The Hebrew…
having trouble seeing the print? לְהַשְׁלִיךְ, לְהַקְרִין Further build your Hebrew vocabulary with… There are parts of ourselves that we find unpleasant and wish we could forget about. But our unconscious mind doesn’t allow for that, so we end up seeing those parts of ourselves in others. We all do it – it’s…
having trouble seeing the print? צִיּוּר Enter code “ULI” for an exclusive Ulpan La-Inyan discount. As a child, I loved to draw. So did my Hebrew teacher, my father. So among my first verbs growing up was to draw in English and לְצַיֵּר (leh-tsah-YEHR) in Hebrew. לצייר also means to paint a picture (not a building – that’s…
having trouble seeing the print? לְהָגִיב If you’ve received an email before that you’ve forgotten or neglected to reply to, raise your hand. I, for one, know that you’re not alone. by Coletivo Mambembe To reply or to respond in Hebrew is לְהָגִיב (leh-hah-GHEEV). It can mean to reply to a message or to respond to someone else’s…