לחוות For those who have attended the Mayanot Birthright trip, you may recall the name of the tour operator – הַחֲוָיָה הַיִּשְׂרָאֵלִית (hah-hah-vah-YAH hah-yees-rah-eh-LEET) – the Israel (more accurately, “the Israeli”) Experience. To experience is (lah-hah-VOHT). What happens to us happens to us. But how we respond to what happens to us –…
Ulpan La-Inyan midsummer classes We’ve got a midsummer session of our fun, relaxed and highly-effective conversational Hebrew classes, starting on July 25 and running through September 2. We’re offering a variety of levels at the AACI in both Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. I hope to see you in class! …
Special show for the Three Weeks As many of you know, I deliver a radio show once a week of Hebrew/Israeli music with some English explanation. The show is broadcast live at RustyMike Radio on Mondays from 3-4pm Israel time, and is rebroadcast the following Sunday early morning from 2-3am. In observance of…
לפקוח In English, we use the word open for virtually anything we’re opening. In Hebrew, there’s a special word for opening eyes. Whereas לִפְתּוֹח (leef-TOH-akh) is to open in the general sense – such as פָּתַחְתִּי אֶת הַבַּקְבּוּק (pah-TAKH-tee et hah-bahk-BOOK) – I opened the bottle; לִפְקוֹח (leef-KOH-akh) means to open eyes, as in פָּקַחְתִּי…
להרתם Even if you’re more or less fluent in Hebrew, there’s a good chance you don’t know this word. To enlist oneself or to devote oneself – say, to a cause – is (le-heh-rah-TEHM). For example, כָּל הַיְּלָדִים נִרְתָּמִים לַעֲזוֹר בַּבָּיִת (kohl hah-yeh-lah-DEEM neer-tah-MEEM lah-ah-ZOHR bah-BAH-yeet) – all the kids “are enlisting” to help in…
לקבל If you know a little Hebrew (for example, if you’ve taken Level 1 of Ulpan La-Inyan), you’re more than likely familiar with the word for to receive or to accept – (le-kah-BEHL). What you may not know, unless you’ve immersed yourself in Hebrew culture, is that to express the idea of accepting a person,…
לפגוע If you spent time in Israel between 2000 and 2005, you certainly know the Hebrew word for terror attack – פִּגּוּע (pee-GOO-ah). This word means, literally, an act of causing hurt. To hurt someone emotionally is (leef-GOH-ah). For example, לֹא רָצִיתִי לִפְגּוֹעַ בָּך (lo rah-TSEE-tee leef-GOH-ah bahkh) means I didn’t want to…
Class starts on July 25… and the discount ends today! (Thursday) Come join our nutty professors (just kidding – our teachers are super-hip) and learn to speak Hebrew in a way you’ve probably never before come across… that is, unless you’ve taken a course with us before, in which case you get more discounts. Today…
לתרום If you’re familiar with Jewish tradition and Jewish law, you probably know the word for contribution – תְּרוּמָה (troo-MAH). The root ת.ר.מ (t.r.m), which makes up the word תרומה, is itself actually derived from a more basic root – ר.ו.מ (r.w.m), which carries the basic meaning of height and loftiness. So a תרומה…
לתקשר If you’ve taken our Level 1 conversational Hebrew class, or if you have equivalent background in Hebrew, you know that one of the words for to call someone on the phone is לְהִתְקַשֵּׁר (le-heet-kah-SHEHR). The root of that word is ק.ש.ר (k.sh.r) – connection. So when you call someone, you’re connecting with them. This guy…
Special show for the Three Weeks As many of you know, I deliver a radio show once a week of Hebrew/Israeli music with some English explanation. The show is broadcast live at RustyMike Radio on Mondays from 3-4pm Israel time, and is rebroadcast the following Sunday early morning from 2-3am. In observance of…