יְרוּשַׁלְמִי Can’t read Hebrew yet? One of the things that make residents of this city unique is their response to snow. While Torontonians and New Yorkers and Parisians get on with their daily lives when it snows, Jerusalemites scramble for days before the cold white stuff starts coming down, stocking up…
גֵּרוּשִׁין Can’t read Hebrew yet? The Hebrew word for to expel or to banish is the (not surprisingly) active-intensive verb לְגָרֵשׁ . It’s the same word used already in Biblical Hebrew for the unfortunate circumstance where a man asks his wife to leave – when he divorces her. Since today divorce is seen…
עוֹד לֹא, עֲדַיִן לֹא, טֶרֶם Can’t read Hebrew yet? As in most languages, Hebrew has various registers – different words meaning something similar, but functioning in different contexts. For example, the expression not yet has a common expression – עוֹד לֹא or עֲדַיִן לֹא – and synonym for more educated-sounding effect…
לְהִתְרַבּוֹת Can’t read Hebrew yet? If you know a bit of Hebrew, you probably know the word for a lot or much – הַרְבֵּה – as in: אֲנִי רוֹצֶה לָדַעַת הַרְבֵּה עִבְרִית. I (a male) want to know a lot of Hebrew. The root ר.ב.ה (r.b.h) also finds…
חֹמֶר לְשִׁנּוּן Review Material Can’t read Hebrew yet? You spent time on your Hebrew this week. Use these review materials to make it yours to keep. Flashcards Game Test שַׁבָּת שָׁלוֹם, וְסוֹף שָׁבוּעַ נָעִים! Shabbat Shalom, and have a nice weekend!
פּוֹשֵׁעַ, פְּלִילִי Can’t read Hebrew yet? The Hebrew word for crime in general is פֶּשַׁע , as in: גִּבּוֹרֵי-עַל נִלְחָמִים בַּפֶּשַׁע. Superheroes fight (the) crime. Thus a criminal is a פּוֹשֵׁעַ (a male) or a פּוֹשַׁעַת (a female). Now that’s criminal as a noun. As an adjective,…
לְסָרֵב Can’t read Hebrew yet? The Hebrew word for to refuse is לְסָרֵב , an active-intensive verb. For example: אָנוּ שׁוֹמְרִים לְעַצְמֵנוּ אֶת הַזְּכוּת לְסָרֵב שֵׁרוּת לְכָל אָדָם. We reserve (to ourselves) the right to refuse service to anyone. Likewise, refusal is סֵרוּב , as in the…
לִתְמוֹךְ Can’t read Hebrew yet? If you’ve lived in Israel, you may have called your Internet service provider or your phone company and heard the recording in the directory say something like: לִתְמִיכָה טֶכְנִית, הַקִּישׁוּ שְׁתַּיִם. For technical support, press two. The word תמיכה means support, and it comes…
חַיּוּת Can’t read Hebrew yet? The word vitality, the force of life, comes from the same root as viva as in Viva, Las Vegas! – Live, Las Vegas! Likewise, the Hebrew word for vitality – חַיּוּת – comes from the root ח.י.ה (kh.y.h) meaning life. For example: יֵשׁ…
חֹמֶר לְשִׁנּוּן Review Material Can’t read Hebrew yet? You spent time on your Hebrew this week. Use these review materials to make it yours to keep. Flashcards Game Test שַׁבָּת שָׁלוֹם, וְסוֹף שָׁבוּעַ נָעִים! Shabbat Shalom, and have a nice weekend!
עֶגְלַת תִּינוֹק Can’t read Hebrew yet? The Hebrew word עֲגָלָה means carriage or wagon. You’ll find it in the supermarket, with: סְלִיחָה, זֹאת הָעֲגָלָה שֶׁלִּי. Excuse me, that’s my cart. You’ll also find it on the sidewalk, when strolling a baby along: אַתָּה גָּדוֹל מִדַּי בִּשְׁבִיל…