having trouble seeing the print? לִמְצוֹא חֵן בְּעֵינֵי… Get talking… in Hebrew.Our Level 1 course starts Sunday, November 20 in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv A sweet elderly couple living next door to me invited me to a dinner they were having in honor of their grandson, who was just Bar Mitzvah today. As is accustomed, I…
having trouble seeing the print? טִבְעוֹנִי Get talking… in Hebrew. Class starts THIS SUNDAY in four locations with Ulpan La-Inyan. The Torah portion being read tomorrow by Jews the world over is that of נֹח (NOH-ahkh) – Noah – which tells the story of destruction and renewal, closeness and separation… as well as vegetarianism and, well, meat-eating. In…
having trouble seeing the print? שִנָּנִית Get talking… in Hebrew. Class starts THIS SUNDAYin four locations with Ulpan La-Inyan. Ever run out of dental floss? I did this week… and my dental hygienist might give me a scolding if I don’t replace it soon. The Academy of the Hebrew Language came up with an…
having trouble seeing the print? קָסוּם Get talking… in Hebrew. Class starts THIS SUNDAY in four locations with Ulpan La-Inyan. Upon returning from visiting family abroad, I became enchanted again with Jerusalem. One might say it’s a magical city – עִיר קְסוּמָה (eer keh-soo-MAH). I write קסומה instead of קָסוּם (kah-SOOM), since a city is a feminine noun in…
having trouble seeing the print? לִרְזוֹת Get talking… in Hebrew. Class starts next Sunday, October 30 around the country with Ulpan La-Inyan. Yesterday I wrote about the tendency to gain weight – לְהַשְׁמִין – over the holidays. As Ktzat Ivrit subscriber Debby pointed out to me, professionals and people being more polite are likely to use לַעֲלוֹת…
having trouble seeing the print? לְהַשְׁמִין Get talking… in Hebrew. Class starts next Sunday, October 30 around the country with Ulpan La-Inyan. The Jewish holiday season is now over both in Israel and abroad. And just as in other cultures and religions, Jews have a tendency to gain weight over the holidays….
having trouble seeing the print? תְּלוּת Get talking… in Hebrew. Class starts October 30 around the country with Ulpan La-Inyan. After observing the הוֹשַׁעֲנָא רַבָּה (hoh-shah-NAH rah-BAH) service this morning and looking forward to the prayer for rain tomorrow, I’ve been thinking about how much we humans depend upon water and rain – for…
having trouble seeing the print? בְּטוּב טַעַם Get talking… in Hebrew. Class starts October 30 around the country with Ulpan La-Inyan. For weeks, there’s cement, wood planks and metal shards all over. But over the next few months, the place starts to look like a house, and eventually the interior designer waves her magic…
having trouble seeing the print? לִדְחוֹת Events and appointments get postponed all the time. The Hebrew word for to postpone is לִדְחוֹת (leed-KHOHT) – a simple verb – while to be postponed is לְהִדָּחוֹת (leh-hee-dah-KHOHT), a “nifal” verb. For example, הַטִּיּוּל נִדְחָה בְּשָׁבוּע (hah-tee-YOOL need-KHAH beh-shah-VOO-ah) – the trip was postponed by a week. Word of caution:…
having trouble seeing the print? אֵין דָּבָר עוֹמֵד בִּפְנֵי הָרָצוֹן The human will is capable of more than its bearers realize. They say we use only ten percent of our brains’ capacity… which means that our potential for more is enormous. We catch a glimpse of this potential when we encounter stories such…
having trouble seeing the print? אִשְׁפּוּז One of the key terms of the holiday of סֻכּוֹת, huts (or Tabernacles) (soo-KOHT), which began already in Israel*, is אֻשְׁפִּיזִין (oosh-pee-ZEEN). This Aramaic word refers to the spiritual guests that are said to visit Jewish families celebrating in their סוכות. It’s also the name of a funny, heartwarming glimpse into the…