לְהִתְכַּבֵּד Can’t read Hebrew yet? Providing guests with tasty refreshments is a way of honoring them. Thus the Hebrew expression for refreshments is כִּבּוּד – literally, honoring. For example: שַׂמְתֶּם אֶת הַכִּבּוּד עַל הַשֻּׁלְחָן? Have you (plural) put the refreshments on the table? When the guests arrive,…
תְּשׂוּמֶת לֵב Can’t read Hebrew yet? In English we talk about paying attention, directing our attention to something. Meaning the same, Hebrew invokes the metaphor of placing our heart on something – לָשִׂים לֵב . For example: שַׂמְתִּי לֵב שֶׁהִיא מַגִּיעָה לְפֹה כָּל בֹּקֶר. I noticed that she comes…
לְהַפְשִׁיל אֶת הַשַּׁרְווּלִים Can’t read Hebrew yet? When there’s work to do, we call it “rolling up our sleeves” to “get our hands dirty,” in English. The Hebrew expression for rolling up (the) sleeves is לְהַפְשִׁיל אֶת הַשַּׁרְווּלִים , where להפשיל means to roll up or to roll back (source in Mishnaic Hebrew, probably from Aramaic) and שַׁרְווּל means sleeve. For…
לִטְרוֹף Can’t read Hebrew yet? In Biblical times, Hebrew speakers used the active-simple verb לִטְרוֹף – to devour – in its literal sense. But since wild animals are not as common in our neighborhoods today, Modern-Hebrew speakers typically use לטרוף in reference to eating something with extraordinary vigor. For…
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, וְחֲנֻכָּה שָׂמֵחַ! Shabbat Shalom, and happy Hanukkah!
בְּכוֹרָה Can’t read Hebrew yet? You may know the Hebrew word for firstborn, בְּכוֹר . Modern Hebrew calls upon the word בכור to produce a word for the more contemporary concept of a debut – בְּכוֹרָה . For example: הָיִנוּ בְּמוֹפַע הַבְּכוֹרָה שֶׁלָּהּ. We were at her debut performance. …
הַחְיָאָה Can’t read Hebrew yet? Even if you have no background in Hebrew, chances are you’ve heard the expression !לַחַיִּים before, meaning to life! To produce a word for cardiopulmonary resuscitation, CPR, Modern Hebrew invokes a word related to לחיים, the active-causative verb לְהַחֲיוֹת – to revive or to make…
רָזֶה, דַּק Can’t read Hebrew yet? When speaking about a person, the word for thin is רָזֶה for a male, and רָזָה for a female. For example: הִיא עָשְׂתָה דִּיאֶטָה וְעַכְשָׁיו הִיא מְאֹד רָזָה. She went on a diet and now she is very thin. When speaking about an object, however, the…
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!
בֵּית סֹהַר, כֶּלֶא Can’t read Hebrew yet? The most common Hebrew word for jail or prison is בֵּית סֹהַר , as parents sometimes threaten their children: אִם לֹא תִּתְנַהֵג יָפֶה, יָשִׂימוּ אֹתְךָ בְּבֵית הַסֹּהַר. If you don’t behave nicely, they’ll put you in (the) jail. (to a son) The origin of…
לְיַשֵּׁב Can’t read Hebrew yet? There’s the simple verb, to sit – לָשֶׁבֶת . And there’s its intensive form, to settle something else – לְיַשֵּׁב . Both come from the root י.שׁ.ב (y.sh.b) meaning sitting. For example: הַסִּינִים יִשְּׁבוּ אֶת טַיווָאן. The Chinese settled Taiwan. and אוּלַי הוּא יַצְלִיחַ לְיַשֵּׁב אֶת הַסּוּגְיָה הַזֹּאת….