having trouble seeing the print? מֻזְהָב, מֻכְסָף What is Ulpan La-Inyan? If you know some Hebrew, you’re probably familiar with the words for gold and silver – זָהָבand כֶּסֶף, respectively. (כסף is also the standard word for money.) But you may not know what to call something made of gold or made of silver. These are מֻזְהָבand מֻכְסָף, respectively, when referring…
having trouble seeing the print? תַּחְפּוֹשֶׂת Level 2 Review Course Starting This Tuesday in Jerusalem And here’s the video for Purim: Further build your Hebrew vocabulary with… with a special discount for YDDH enthusiasts like yourself
having trouble seeing the print? פּוּרִים what one student has to say about Ulpan La-Inyan I’m postponing the weekly video to Sunday, Purim day. For now, here’s a bunch of Purim terms that will enhance your Purim experience, wherever you are in the world. Enjoy! שַׁבָּת שָׁלוֹם, סוֹף שָׁבוּעַ נָעִים לְכֻלָּם… וּפוּרִים שָׂמֵחַ! Shabbat Shalom, a…
having trouble seeing the print? מִסְתּוֹרִי What is Ulpan La-Inyan? Yesterday, we saw the Hebrew root ס.ת.ר (s.t.r) in action, in the word for to conceal – לְהַסְתִּיר. We saw that the Talmud connects the root ס.ת.ר with the name of the biblical heroine of the Purim story, אֶסְתֵּר – Esther. Another application of ס.ת.ר is in the…
having trouble seeing the print? לְהַסְתִּיר Interact with YDDH on Facebook! The Talmud connects the name of the Purim story’s heroine, אֶסְתֵּר – Esther – with the concept of concealment, the root of which is ס.ת.ר (s.t.r). Here’s a Wikipedia article containing various explanations for the name of אסתר. Deriving from the ס.ת.ר root, we have the verb לְהַסְתִּיר –…
having trouble seeing the print? בְּגִידָה Interact with Your Daily Dose of Hebrew on Facebook! To betray is לִבְגּוֹד, in Hebrew. לבגוד is an active-simple פָּעַל verb, whose root is ב.ג.ד (b.g.d), the same as that for clothing. For example: הַבּוֹגְדִים בִּמְגִילַת אֶסְתֵּר the traitors in the Book of Esther בְּגִידָה, פֵּרוּשָׁהּ הֲפָרַת אֵמוּן. Betrayal means…
having trouble seeing the print? קָפוּא Interact with YDDH on Facebook! If you’re like me and like warm weather, raise your hand. The Hebrew word for frozen is קָפוּא. קפוא comes from the active-simple פָּעַל intransitive verb to freeze – לִקְפּוֹא. For example: הָאֲגָם קָפָא. The lake froze. and קָפָאתִי מִקּוֹר. I froze from (the) cold. Mind you, that’s to…
having trouble seeing the print? לְהַעֲלוֹת, לְהָרִים Hebrew courses in just a few days in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Rehovot A raise in (the) salary is a הַעֲלָאָה בַּמַּשְׂכּוֹרֶת. For the rest of the scoop on to raise, watch this week’s video: Further build your Hebrew vocabulary with… with a special discount for YDDH enthusiasts like yourself
having trouble seeing the print? חַיּוֹת בַּר Hebrew courses starting Sunday in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Rehovot My recent reading and watching of Life of Pi leaves me inspired to share with you a piece on the Hebrew expression for wild animals: חַיּוֹת בַּר. In Rabbinic literature, חַיָּה (coming from the word חָיmeaning living) refers specifically to a non-domesticated animal, while בְּהֵמָה refers to a…
having trouble seeing the print? קָצִין Hebrew courses starting Sunday in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv I’m taking the day off to attend my cousin’s טֶקֶס סִיּוּם קוּרְס קְצִינִים – officers’ graduation ceremony. That phrase provides a great example of how language picks up from its environment as the generations go by. Here’s the phrase broken down etymologically, in reverse chronological…
having trouble seeing the print? לְשַׂמֵּחַ Hebrew courses starting Sunday in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv My professor of Bible and Aramaic at Yeshiva University, Dr. Moshe Bernstein, taught me that 18th-century philosopher Immanuel Kant declared that it’s worth studying Hebrew for ten years just to read תְּהִלִּים ק”ד– Psalm 104. Jews all over the world read that…