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…
having trouble seeing the print? בִּיוֹלוֹגְיָה יַמִּית Check out our world-class conversational Hebrew program The Hebrew word for biology is בִּיוֹלוֹגְיָה. There is an actual term for the field, but hardly anyone uses it: חֵקֶר תַּהֲלִיכֵי הַחַיִּם – literally, the study of the processes of life. The Hebrew word for marine, when used to describe something such as…
having trouble seeing the print? הַכֶּסֶף מְדַבֵּר Check out our world-class conversational Hebrew program Some Hebrew expressions translate directly from the English. One such example is the concept that אַבְרָהָם teaches in the Torah portion to be read this Shabbat by Jews around the world, in which he insists on paying for מְעָרַת הַמַּכְפֵּלָה – The Cave of…
having trouble seeing the print? תַּחֲרוּת Check out our world-class conversational Hebrew program The Modern-Hebrew word for competition and competitiveness is תַּחֲרוּת, whose (reflexive-intensive הִתְפַּעֵל) verb form – to compete – is לְהִתְחָרוֹת . An example: אוֹבָּמָה וְרוֹמְנִי הִתְחָרוּ בְּתַחֲרוּת צְמוּדָה. Obama and Romney competed in a tight competition. In Modern Hebrew, the words sound benign. But their…
having trouble seeing the print? שָׂמֵחַ עַד הַגַּג Check out our world-class conversational Hebrew program Barack Obama (along with his family) is now over-the-moon ecstatic with joy. A Hebrew expression that befits him now is שָׂמֵחַ עַד הַגַּג. It means, literally, happy to the roof. Bear in mind that joy in Hebrew is a verb (an active-simple…
having trouble seeing the print? לְהַצְבִּיעַ Check out our world-class conversational Hebrew program Yesterday we encountered the Hebrew word for elections – בְּחִירוֹת . But just as election and vote are two different words in English, בחירות has a counterpart as well. The active-causative הִפְעִיל verb, לְהַצְבִּיעַ, is related to the word for finger, אֶצְבַּע , the root of both being…
having trouble seeing the print? בְּחִירוֹת Check out our world-class conversational Hebrew program The Hebrew word for to choose is לִבְחוֹר , an active-simple פָּעַל verb of the root ב.ח.ר (b.kh.r). Thus a choice is a בְּחִירָה , and choices or elections are בְּחִירוֹת. For example: מָחָר יִתְקַיְּמוּ הַבְּחִירוֹת בְּאַרְצוֹת הַבְּרִית. Tomorrow the elections will take place in the United States. …
having trouble seeing the print? אֹרֵחַ Check out our world-class conversational Hebrew program video version! The Torah portion to be read this Shabbat by Jews around the world features several models of hosting, from Abraham’s open tent to the gripping story of Sodom and Gomorrah, in which angels disguised as passers-by herald the…
having trouble seeing the print? בֹּשֶׂם Check out our world-class conversational Hebrew program The Hebrew word for perfume is בֹּשֶׂם, going back to the Biblical word for a substance giving off a pleasant smell. Cologne is מֵי בֹּשֶׂם (meh-ee BOH-sem), meaning pleasant-smelling water, much like the French eau de toilette. But most Israelis refer to cologne, just…
having trouble seeing the print? לְהִתְפָּרֵק Check out our world-class conversational Hebrew program before Hurricane Sandy לְהִתְפָּרֵק is a reflexive-intensive הִתְפַּעֵל verb. It means literally to come apart or to fall apart. For example: הָאַרְמוֹן בַּחוֹל הִתְפָּרֵק. But this word is also used in a non-literal sense to refer to that activity of coming home after a long day at work and… well, collapsing or unwinding: אַחֲרֵי יוֹם…
having trouble seeing the print? טֶלֶפוֹן נַיָּד Check out our world-class conversational Hebrew program The Hebrew word for mobile – describing something portable or that moves from place to place – is נַיָּד (nah-YAHD). So a mobile telephone is a טֶלֶפוֹן נייד. The word טלפון (TEH-leh-phohn) itself does have a proper Hebrew term invented by the Academy of the…