לְהָזִיעַ Can’t read Hebrew yet? Exercise is particularly gratifying when we sweat, because this proves to ourselves that we’ve actually worked out. At least that’s my experience. The Hebrew word for to sweat is לְהָזִיעַ . It’s an active-causative verb of the root ז.י.ע (z.y.a). For example: רָקַדְתִּי כָּל כָּךְ…
רִיצָה Can’t read Hebrew yet? With the Tel Aviv marathon this week and the Jerusalem one next month, now’s a good time to do a piece on running – רִיצָה . Look at the second letter in ריצה (reading from right to left). It’s a י , which functions much like…
סִיסְמָה Can’t read Hebrew yet? Yesterday’s dose introduced the Hebrew term for username – שם משתמש . But a username isn’t enough to get into a membership site. You need a password too. The Hebrew word for password is סִיסְמָה . It’s the same word as slogan. סיסמה first appeared in…
שֵׁם מִשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ Can’t read Hebrew yet? If you’re like me and you sometimes forget your username or password on one of the dozens of websites you’ve joined, raise your hand. The Hebrew term for username is a direct translation of the English – שֵׁם מִשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ – where שם means name and משתמש means…
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!
Can’t read Hebrew yet? מַקְהֵלָה Music sung solo can be fantastic. Still, there’s something special about many voices converging in unison, in melody and harmony. The Hebrew word for choir is מַקְהֵלָה . Its root is ק.ה.ל (k.h.l), the ancient Hebrew root meaning public and community. It’s also the root…
Can’t read Hebrew yet? בַּעֲלֵי חַיִּים In Yiddish, a person unwilling to be controlled is א וידלע חייע (literally, a wild animal), where חייע is a Yiddishized form of the Hebrew word חַיָּה – animal. Spelling seems to vary. I’m no expert on Yiddish. To refer to living…
Can’t read Hebrew yet? קְרִיאַת חוֹבָה I just finished reading ‘Tis, the second of Frank McCourt’s three memoirs. I read his first book Angela’s Ashes this past summer, and I’ve just started Teacher Man. These books comprise the story of a perennial student of life. Spiced with pain, humor and understanding, this is his great legacy. …
Can’t read Hebrew yet? דִּבּוּרִית אָזְנִיּוֹת are headphones, but wearing אזניות with wires while driving in Israel will earn you a big fat ticket. Here, drivers may talk on the phone only if they’ve got a hands-free (and cordless) device, attached to the car itself. This device is…
Can’t read Hebrew yet? אָזְנִיּוֹת When I walk around Jerusalem learning Arabic with my language lessons, I make sure people see that I’m wearing headphones (or a Bluetooth), so that they don’t think I’m crazy talking to myself. The Hebrew word for headphones or earphones is אָזְנִיּוֹת , deriving from the…
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!