having trouble seeing the print? אֵין דָּבָר, בַּקְּטַנָּה Deadline Today for Mid-Fall Jerusalem Level 5 and Tel Aviv Level 3 Register Now! Someone spills wine on your new white shirt. It’s an accident. Knowing that the stain will probably come out in the laundry, you might say to them in English, no…
having trouble seeing the print? שָׂרָה Learn to Speak Hebrew… With Us See review material at the end of today’s dose. The Hebrew name שָׂרָה – Sarah or Sara in English – appears prominently in the Torah portions of these weeks, climaxing with the title of the portion to be read this Shabbat…
having trouble seeing the print? לָדַעַת, לְהַכִּיר Learn to Speak Hebrew… With Us We know that the human brain has two hemispheres, left and right, that process information in two more or less distinct ways: rationally and emotionally – left and right, respectively. Modern Hebrew, perhaps unwittingly, employs this distinction in featuring two different words…
having trouble seeing the print? מְקוֹמִי, מקוֹמִית Learn to Speak Hebrew… With Us Today Israelis are voting for the local municipalities – הָרָשֻׁיּוֹת הַמְּקוֹמִיּוֹת . The Hebrew word for local is מְקוֹמִי in the masculine and מְקוֹמִית in the feminine. These words are an adjective form of the noun מָקוֹם meaning…
having trouble seeing the print? מַה אַתָּה אוֹמֵר? בְּחַיֶּיךָ! אֲנִי לֹא מַאֲמִין! Learn to Speak Hebrew… With Us In English, we have several ways of expressing disbelief and surprise: you don’t say!, no way!, I don’t believe it!, etc. Here are some in Hebrew. 1. מה אתה אומר…
having trouble seeing the print? לָשִׁיר Learn to Speak Hebrew… With Us Perhaps you’re familiar with the biblical poem, Song of Solomon or Song of Songs. The first two words of that poem comprise its title in Hebrew: שִׁיר הַשִּׁירִים – literally, the Song of Songs. learn Hebrew through Israeli songs at… music.ulpan.com The Hebrew word for…
having trouble seeing the print? גִּבּוֹר-עַל Learn to Speak Hebrew… With Us I took a course in Jewish education a number of years ago, in which we discussed how to portray the Biblical forefathers to young Jewish students: as superhuman, or as normal, flawed people who nevertheless strove for and achieved greatness….
having trouble seeing the print? לִקְנוֹת זְמַן, לְהַרְוִיחַ זְמַן Learn to Speak Hebrew… With Us To buy time means to put off an event until circumstances change in one’s favor. Hebrew translates this concept in two ways, one literal: לִקְנוֹת זְמַן to buy time and one approximate: לְהַרְוִיחַ זְמַן…
having trouble seeing the print? נְקֻדַּת מַבָּט Learn to Speak Hebrew… With Us The most commonly-used Hebrew term for perspective or point of view is נְקֻדַּת מַבָּט . The term means literally point of view: נקודת is the form of נְקֻדָּה – point – when connected to another noun in an “of relationship” (construct-סְמִיכוּת …
having trouble seeing the print? לְהִסְתַּכֵּל (עַל) Learn to Speak Hebrew… With Us Despite the excessive visual profanity and the often distasteful way he conducts himself, I’m a fan of Sacha Baron Cohen. When I saw Borat in Los Angeles a few years ago, I was apparently the only Jew in…
having trouble seeing the print? לִנְעוֹל נַעֲלַיִם Learn to Speak Hebrew… With Us In English, we have one word to cover the act of donning a variety of types of apparel: to wear. In Hebrew, we have different verbs for different articles of clothing. To wear shoes is לִנְעוֹל נַעֲלַיִם . As you can…