having trouble seeing the print? קְרִיצַת עַיִן Check out our world-class conversational Hebrew program: LOCAL courses in Israel DISTANCE courses online Yesterday I introduced the Hebrew word for to blink – לְמַצְמֵץ. I mentioned that that word has a synonym, לִקְרוֹץ. But whereas למצמץ meaning to blink is a modern creation from the Biblical-Hebrew word להציץ(to peek), a form…
having trouble seeing the print? הַסְלָמָה Check out our world-class conversational Hebrew program this week’s video In light of this past week’s events in southern Israel and Gaza, coupled with the appearance of the mystical, prophetic Jacob’s ladder – סֻלַּם יַעֲקֹב – appearing in the Torah portion to be read this Shabbat by Jews around the…
having trouble seeing the print? אֲרֹךְ-טְוָח Check out our world-class conversational Hebrew program With the military operation in Gaza that has just come to an end, Israel sought an end to the barrage of missiles and rockets not just for the next few months, but for the long term. The Hebrew expression for long-term is אֲרֹךְ טְוָח,…
having trouble seeing the print? חֵרוּם Check out our world-class conversational Hebrew program The Hebrew word for emergency is חֵרוּם. It first appears in recorded Hebrew in the Talmud, in the expression: בִּשְׁעַת חֵרוּם at a time of emergency Other Hebrew expressions used regularly today are: מַצָּב חֵרוּם an emergency situation בְּמִקְרֶה חירום in case of emergency…
having trouble seeing the print? Glossary for current events Your daily dose of Hebrew follows To help you better understand the Hebrew media, here’s a handy glossary. I hope you find it useful, and pass it on! Create sentences on our Facebook page using the terms from the glossary, and we’ll correct them…
having trouble seeing the print? אַזְעָקָה Check out our world-class conversational Hebrew program An alarm is something that sounds a warning. Modern Hebrew uses the Biblical root ז.ע.ק (z.a.k) meaning crying out, invoking the Aramaic form of the abstract noun of the active-causative הִפְעִיל verb form to create the word אַזְעָקָה. For example: אַזְעָקוֹת נִשְׁמְעוּ לְלֹא…
having trouble seeing the print? לְלֹא הֶרֶף Check out our world-class conversational Hebrew program Last week we saw the Hebrew expressions for consistently. “יְשוּעַת הַשֵּׁם כְּהֶרֶף עַיִן” “Divine salvation is as the blink of an eye.” Another useful expression is that for incessantly or continuously: לְלֹא הֶרֶף. The word הֶרֶף in this expression appears in Biblical Hebrew, where…
having trouble seeing the print? בְּעִקְבִיּוּת Check out our world-class conversational Hebrew program The root of the words having to do with consistency – ע.ק.ב (a.k.b), meaning heel – appears for the first time in the Torah portion to be read this Shabbat by Jews around the world, in which the third forefather, יַעֲקֹב (Jacob), in introduced. There are several…
having trouble seeing the print? אַחְרָיוּת Check out our world-class conversational Hebrew program The Hebrew word for responsibility is אחריות, first appearing in Mishnaic literature. surviving victim of this morning’s direct hit from Gaza onto Jewish cities For example: בְּנֵי אָדָם חַיָּבִים לַקַּחַת אַחְרָיוּת עַל חַיֵּהֶם, וּמְדִינוֹת עַל עֶצֶם קִיּוּמָם. People must take responsibility for their lives,…
having trouble seeing the print? מִנּוּן Check out our world-class conversational Hebrew program In English, food is given in servings, while medicine is given in doses. The Hebrew word for serving is מָנָה, deriving from the word לִמְנוֹת, an active-simple פָּעַל verb meaning to count (a synonym of לִסְפּוֹר, also a פעל verb). For example: אֲבַקֵּשׁ מָנָה סָלָט….
having trouble seeing the print? שְׁלוּלִית Check out our world-class conversational Hebrew program It’s finally been raining here in Jerusalem. The other night, dodging puddles as I walked through the neighborhoods of south Jerusalem, I couldn’t help but smile as I was reminded of this great song, written by Mira Meir and performed by Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, as well as…