לְהִתְכַּרְבֵּל Can’t read Hebrew yet? In Israel, the winter has returned. It’s raining this week, and it’s time to snuggle under the covers. The Hebrew word for that is לְהִתְכַּרְבֵּל , a reflexive-intensive verb of a four-letter root. It appears in Biblical Hebrew (origin uncertain), where its root means to enwrap oneself….
שַׁרְשֶׁרֶת Can’t read Hebrew yet? The Hebrew word for chain (Biblical as well as Modern) is שַׁרְשֶׁרֶת . Say it out loud a few times. As a chain is a string of connected loops (לוּלָאוֹת ), the word שרשרת itself conveys a sense of pieces being connected to one another – with two instances of שׁר…
אַתָּה חָמוּשׁ? Can’t read Hebrew yet? Suppose you’re a man entering a shopping mall in Tel Aviv. The security guard is likely to pose a question: אַתָּה חָמוּשׁ? He’s asking whether you’re carrying a weapon. חמוש is one of the terms for armed. חמוש is a masculine…
חֹמֶר לְשִׁנּוּן Review Material Can’t read Hebrew yet? Review, practice and test yourself on this week’s doses of Hebrew! Flashcards Game Test שַׁבָּת שָׁלוֹם, וְסוֹף שָׁבוּעַ נָעִים! Shabbat Shalom, and have a nice weekend!
מְיֻחָד Can’t read Hebrew yet? Built into the human brain is a remarkably accurate mechanism for recognizing and distinguishing human faces one from the other. I suppose that’s evidence that we’re all special. The Hebrew word for special is מְיֻחָד in the masculine and מְיֻחֶדֶת in the feminine. For…
כֵּנוּת, הֲגִינוּת, יֹשֶׁר Can’t read Hebrew yet? I’m approaching the end of my third Frank McCourt book, Teacher Man. McCourt’s stories keep me turning pages and laughing out loud, but what I love most about his writing is the candor and honesty that glows on every page. There a few words in Hebrew…
כִּפַּת הַסֶּלַע Can’t read Hebrew yet? The Dome of the Rock (what is it?) has featured prominently in the news recently. The Hebrew term for it is כִּפַּת הַסֶּלַע . The word כִּפָּה means dome. It’s also the word for yarmulke or Jewish skullcap, as this garment traditionally takes…
קַח רֶמֶז Can’t read Hehttps://archive.ulpan.com/yddh/brew yet? In an effort to avoid awkward moments, people sometimes attempt to communicate in more subtle ways, rather than making open and direct statements. If the receiving end of the communication doesn’t get it, the speaker might say get frustrated and say, “take a hint”… or,…
אֲנִי מַבְּסוּט Can’t read Hebrew yet? Hebrew and the local dialect of Arabic borrow lots of words from one another, especially in slang. Among several slang terms that mean happy, chillin’, etc is the word borrowed from Arabic, מַבְּסוּט (written مبسوط in Arabic). In Hebrew, it means roughly satisfied or just happy, often very much…
Can’t read Hebrew yet? חֹמֶר לְשִׁנּוּן Review Material Review, practice and test yourself on this week’s doses of Hebrew! Flashcards Game Test שַׁבָּת שָׁלוֹם, וְסוֹף שָׁבוּעַ נָעִים! Shabbat Shalom, and have a nice weekend!
מְפַקֵּד My cousin Yudi is the third Chabadnik to become a combat officer in the Israeli military. He is currently serving as a commander. The Hebrew word for military commander is מְפַקֵּדIts root is פ.ק.ד (p.k.d), the concept of turning attention to something: someone who commands causes those under him or her to turn…