למהר In some places, such as New York, London and Tel Aviv, things move super-fast. People are in a rush – הֵם מְמַהֲרִים (hem me-mah-hah-REEM) – literally, they are rushing or they rush. In other places, such as the absorption center where I’m spending Passover (Beit Alpha) and Ethiopia, time seems to stand still. People have…
לברוח Another colorful word that has to do with movement is לִבְרוֹח (leev-ROH-akh), to escape. The Jewish people (Israelites) in Egypt escaped with their bread not having enough time to rise. So too, I’ve escaped the hustle and bustle of the city to spend Passover with these guys in Beit Alpha: Salamlak…
לפסוע The Hebrew word for the Passover holiday is פֶּסַח (PEH-sakh); the word itself means passing over or skipping over, so that G-d skips over the homes of the Israelites on His way to smite the Egyptian firstborn. The Pascal sacrifice is named after this event, this movement by G-d. Hebrew verbs most typically have a…
קרבה The Hebrew root ק.ר.ב (k.r.b.) carries the core meaning of closeness. Coming up this week is the holiday Passover, which is named after the Pascal Sacrifice, קָרְבַּן הַפֶּסַח (kohr-BAHN ha-PEH-sakh). The word קרבן means, fundamentally, that which is brought close – in the Biblical case, something offered up to G-d on the altar. …
עצם The עֶצֶם (EH-tsem) means bone, but it also means essence. The 70s and 80s rock group that brought us the popular Bar-Mitzvah dance song, “Yo Ya,” also have a song called “פֹּה קָבוּר הַכֶּלֶב” (poh kah-VOOR hah-KEH-lev) – “This is Where the Dog is Buried.” I bring you this song because …
שירות, עבדות Over thousands of years, word meanings can change within a language. Actually, even over a generation they can (I challenge you to come up with two examples right now of English words whose meanings have changed over the last generation – write them in the “comments” section below). In today’s language,…
אחריות I. Thesis – תֵזָה (TEH-zah) On the one hand, G-d takes the Israelites out of the Egyptian bondage – חֵרוּת (heh-ROOT) – see yesterday’s post. II. Antithesis – אַנְטִיתֵזָה (AHN-tee-teh-zah) On the other hand, the phrase that Moses utters on behalf of G-d, “Let my people go…” (שַלַּח אֶת…
חינם, חירות, חופש If you’ve been to Jerusalem in the past couple of years, you may have eaten at a low-budget pizza parlor called פִּיצָה כִּמְעַט חִינָם (pizza keem-AHT hee-NAHM) – almost-free pizza. Their prices are actually much lower than those of their competitors. But they’re still not free. Not kosher…
יציאה The Hebrew root י.צ.א (y.ts.a) carries the concept of leaving or exiting. יְצִיאָה (ye-tsee-AH) most often refers to an exit, such as in this photo: But יציאה also refers to an exodus, such as יְצִיאַת מִצְרָיִם (ye-tsee-AHT meets-RAH-yeem – Egypt). Likewise, those who exited a particular land on their way to the…
להחמיץ You’re likely familiar with the Hebrew word for leavened food, חָמֵץ (hah-METS). During the Exodus, had the Israelites allowed their dough to rise, they would have missed out on a grand, once-in-history opportunity. some of the wonderful bread baked right here in Israel… not on Passover! The Modern Hebrew word…
זמרים Perhaps you’re heard the word מִזְמוֹר (meez-MOHR) – this refers to a poem that appears in the book of Psalms. The Modern Hebrew word for singer takes the three-letter root of מזמור, creating זָמָּר (zah-MAHR – a male) and זַמֶּרֶת (zah-MEH-ret – a female). הזמר, שלמה ארצי (the singer, Shlomo Artzi) …