having trouble seeing the print? בְּיָד רְחָבָה Watch a demo video of one of our Hebrew courses. Class starts October 30 around the country. Register by October 11 to save NIS 200. Languages in general often make use of concrete images to express abstract ideas – we call this figurative language. Here’s a…
having trouble seeing the print? נֶזֶם Watch a demo video of one of our Hebrew courses. Class starts October 30 around the country. Register by October 11 to save NIS 200. Last week I introduced the Hebrew word for anklet and bracelet – צָמִיד (tsah-MEED). I said that the word doesn’t appear as such in Biblical Hebrew,…
having trouble seeing the print? מִדַּבֵּק Watch a demo video of one of our Hebrew courses. Class starts October 30 around the country. Register by October 11 to save NIS 200. This one’s a tricky one, I’ve found. The way to translate contagious disease into Hebrew is מַחֲלָה מִדַּבֶּקֶת (mah-khah-LAH mee-dah-BEH-ket). The latter word refers to contagious. If…
having trouble seeing the print? צָמִיד Watch a demo video of one of our Hebrew courses. Class starts October 30 around the country. Register by October 11 to save NIS 200. The root Hebrew root צ.מ.ד (ts.m.d) is the concept of juxtaposition – of two things, or people, being next to each other. It appears…
having trouble seeing the print? גְּבִירוֹתָי וְרַבּוֹתָי Watch a demo video of one of our Hebrew courses. Class starts October 30 around the country. Register by October 11 to save NIS 200. The Hebrew way of saying ladies and gentlemen, in Hebrew, is גְּבִירוֹתָי וְרַבּוֹתָי (gheh-vee-roh-TAH-ee veh-rah-boh-TAH-ee). While a גְּבִירָה is a lady…
having trouble seeing the print? לְתַיֵּק Watch a demo video of one of our Hebrew courses. Class starts October 30 around the country. Register by October 11 to save NIS 200. A basic Hebrew word is that for a handbag or knapsack: תִּיק (teek). Going from the concrete to the abstract, a handbag becomes a case –…
having trouble seeing the print? חָכָם מֵעֵבֶר לִשְׁנוֹתָיו This one’s for Wayne, who asked me what he might call his female friend who is wise beyond her years. The Hebrew translation of that English observation and compliment, wise beyond her years, is literal: חֲכָמָה מֵעֵבֶר לִשְׁנוֹתֶיה (khah-khah-MAH meh-EH-vehr lee-shnoh-TEH-hah). Wise beyond his years is חָכָם מֵעֵבֶר לִשְׁנוֹתָיו…
having trouble seeing the print? לְהַנִּיחַ In this week’s Torah portion (in דברים כ”ו, י – Deuteronomy 26:10), the Israelite bringing the first fruits of his portion in the Land of Israel, in reverent gratitude to G-d, is instructed to place down – לְהַנִּיח (leh-hah-NEE-ahkh) – his basket on the floor of the Temple. לְהַנִּיח…
יֹפִי You might be familiar with colloquial Hebrew the expressions, how nice! – אֵיזֶה יֹפִי (EH-ee-zeh YOH-fee!), and the one-word, great! – יופי! The word יופי literally means beauty, as in שֶׁקֶר הַחֵן וְהֶבֶל הַיֹּפִי – charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting (SHEH-kehr hah-KHEN veh-HEH-vel hah-YOH-fee), from the Biblical book of מִשְׁלֵי (meesh-LEH-ee) – Proverbs. יופי is…
having trouble seeing the print? עִכּוּב Watch a demo of one of our Hebrew courses. Class starts October 30 around the country. Suppose you’ve boarded a Tel-Aviv-bound bus in Jerusalem for a 12:30 lunch meeting nearby Rabin Square. You didn’t know about work being done on the highway, which lengthens your trip by half an…
having trouble seeing the print? סִרְטוֹן Perhaps you know the Modern Hebrew word for movie or film – סֶרֶט (SEH-ret). The word made its first appearances in the Hebrew language a few thousand years ago, in the bodies of Jewish literature known as the Mishnah (מִשְׁנָה – meesh-NAH) and the Midrash (מִדְרָש – meed-RAHSH). In those…