לשבות You’re all familiar with the Hebrew word שָׁבָּת (Shabbat, Shabbos, whatever), or its English equivalent, Sabbath (as in Black Sabbath). The root of the this word is .ש.ב.ת (sh.b.t.), which is also used in the word שְׁבִיתָה (shvee-TAH), or a strike. This word is so common in Israel that I consider it core…
כי In Ulpan La-Inyan, we teach that the word כִּי (kee) means because. This is true. However, it’s got more than one meaning… especially in Biblical Hebrew (check out Dr. Russel Jay Hendel’s piece showing the seven meanings of כי). Think about the English word that (one of the meanings of כי). In English,…
לנמנם Suppose you’re a high-school student sitting in class (or an employee who’s just come off the weekend), and you’re dozing off. Suppose your teacher (or your boss) were to ask you, “are you sleeping?!” You might answer, לֹא, אֲנִי רַק מְנַמְנֵמ/ת (loh, ah-nee rahk me-nahm-NEHM/ET – “et” for a female) – no, I’m just…
המזרח התיכון Yesterday’s entry featured the Hebrew term for the Middle East – המזרח התיכון. I explained that the phrase literally means “the east of the middle” in English. This is wrong. It was late at night… forgive me 🙂 When two words in a phrase have the הַ (hah – the)…
המזרח התיכון The word תִּכוֹן appears in the Bible as the middle-beam crossing the מִשְׁכָּן (meesh-KAHN – the holy tabernacle). The word מִזְרַח (meez-RAH), also appearing in the Bible, comes from the root ז.ר.ח. (z.r.h.). This root represents the sun rising, which occurs in the east. Placed in sequence, הַמזרח הַתיכון (ha-meez-RAH…
There are those who think that Iran poses an existential threat to Israel. In Hebrew, we call this אִיוּם קִיּוּמִי (ee-YOOM kee-yoo-MEE). The truth is, it does. Modern-day Haman (Achmawhatshisname) may have the capacity to blast us out of the Middle East (and thus destroy the world). But the G-d of Israel has more to…
ח The letter ח”ת (het) is pronounced by most Hebrew speakers today the same way the כ is pronounced – like a kh sound (not found in Modern English). In some Jewish communities (North African, Yemenite), however, it is still pronounced just above the throat, with no voice – like a scratchy “h” sound. This…
Putting it together… Give gifts of food to your friends. It’s a great conversation starter… and it’s a win-win situation, making everyone feel warm and fuzzy. This is one of the mitzvahs of Purim day. So if you’ve been following the blog throughout this past week, here’s a useful sentence that puts it all together:…
פורים The Hebrew name for the upcoming Festival of Lots is פּוּרִים (poo-REEM, more commonly pronounced in Israel as POO-reem). The name comes from the ancient Persian word for lots, puru. Lots of words in the Megillah come from ancient Persian and Babylonian, such as the names of the main characters. Play today’s dose of…
חברים Friends are good to have. Attachment is what makes the world go ‘round. The Hebrew word for friend is חָבֵר (hah-VEHR – referring to a male) or חָבֵרָה (hah-veh-RAH – referring to a female). The plurals are חֲבֵרִים (hah-veh-REEM) and חֲבֵרוֹת (hah-veh-ROHT). Use the term to refer to a friend of the same sex…
לשמח The Hebrew word for happy is שָׂמֵחַ (sah-MEH-ah), or שְׂמֵחָה (smeh-HAH) for a female who is happy. To make someone else happy is לְשַׂמֵּחַ (le-sah-MEH-ah). For example, it’s a mitzvah לְשַׂמֵּחַ חָתָן וְכַלָּה (le-sah-MEH-ah hah-TAHN ve-khah-LAH) – to cause a groom and bride to be happy. Play today’s dose of Hebrew below!Be sure to…