having trouble seeing the print? מָסָךְ Check out Ulpan La-Inyan’s winter course offerings! The flat object emanating light, text and images you’re probably looking at right now, a monitor, is called in Hebrew a מָסָך (mah-SAHKH). This word goes all the way back to the Torah, in which a מסך – a…
having trouble seeing the print? לָגֶשֶׁת Check out Ulpan La-Inyan’s winter course offerings! About a year ago I did an entry on drawing close to someone, לְהִתְקָרֵב (leh-heet-kah-REV). That word means not only to draw close emotionally, but also to physically shorten the distance between two people, or one person and an object –…
having trouble seeing the print? תְּלַת-מֵמַד Check out Ulpan La-Inyan’s winter course offerings! Modern Hebrew borrows words from Aramaic for many official and legal terms. Using the word three as an adjective is one such case, as in the phrase meaning three-dimensional space: תְּלַת-מֵמַד (tlaht meh-MAHD). תלת is the Aramaic word for Hebrew’s three – שָׁלֹש (shah-LOHSH). Note that…
having trouble seeing the print? מְעַבֵּד מָזוֹן check out Ulpan La-Inyan’s winter course offerings ah-voh-DAH eev-REET Jewish (“Hebrew”) Labor Part 1 of the term To work or to labor is a simple action, at least grammatically speaking. The word for to work in Hebrew is לַעֲבוֹד (lah-ah-VOHD), a simple (פעל) verb. Intensifying the action of working, those reviving…
having trouble seeing the print? שְׁלֵמוּת Check out Ulpan La-Inyan’s winter course offerings This one’s for my friend Mark in Palo Alto. Jewish tradition associates the number seven with nature, while the number eight is connected with that which transcends nature. The number eight is also associated with wholeness. The word for that…
having trouble seeing the print? נִיצוֹץ Announcing our mid-winter session! נִיצוֹץ (nee-TSOHTS) means spark in the physical sense, but the word is used far more often to refer to that spark of life, what some might call a divine spark, within us all – without exception. The word is an onomatopoeia, just like the English word crackle. …
having trouble seeing the print? חֲנֻכִּיָּה Become a fan of ours on Facebook! The word מְנוֹרָה (meh-noh-RAH) in the Torah happens to refer to a specific lamp of great religious significance, but contrary to what Jews in the Diaspora might believe, the word מנורה in Hebrew is really just a regular old lamp. Its root is נ.ו.ר (n.w.r), the same…
having trouble seeing the print? פָּמוֹט New Hebrew Conversation Group for Young Adults AACI Jerusalem, 7:30-9pm, once a week for 8 weeks sicha.ulpan.com Jews all around the world are lighting נֵרוֹת חֲנֻכָּה (neh-ROHT khah-noo-KAH) – Hanukkah candles – this week. Tonight, they’ll be adding another couple of candles in honor of שַׁבָּת (shah-BAHT), the Jewish Sabbath. A candlestick is a…
having trouble seeing the print? מַזְכֶּרֶת Become a fan of ours on Facebook! Lots of Jewish families in predominantly-Christian countries have adopted the custom of giving gifts during חֲנֻכָּה (khah-noo-KAH) – Hanukkah. For those of you traveling during these special days – Jewish or Christian (or otherwise) – and wish to pick something up on your…
having trouble seeing the print? לְזַכֵּךְ Become a fan of ours on Facebook! The other day, I introduced the basic word for to purify – לְטַהֵר (leh-tah-HEHR). The word connotes a breath of fresh air, clarity and relief, and is a variation of the word for pure itself, טָהוֹר. The root ט.ה.ר (t.h.r) is related to other roots…
having trouble seeing the print? לְטַהֵר Become a fan of ours on Facebook! There are two relatively common Hebrew words for to purify. לְטַהֵר (leh-tah-HEHR), an active-intensive פיעל (pee-EL) verb, communicates the idea of causing something to go from unclean, sometimes shameful to spiritually and physically pure. The word is used in both a spiritual/religious context…