Your Daily Dose of Hebrew

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/עקב-אכילס-1.m4a” /]עֲקֵב אָכִילֶס, נְקֻדַּת תֻּרְפָּה The heel of the mythical Achilles was his weak point, the one place on his body that should his enemies harm it, they could defeat him. Both English and Hebrew use Achilles’ heel to refer to one’s point of vulnerability, their weak spot. In Hebrew, it’s עקב אכילס[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/עקב-אכילס-2.m4a” /]….

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מענה-1.m4a” /]תְּשׁוּבָה, מַעֲנֶה If you know the Hebrew word for question – שאלה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מענה-2.m4a” /], you probably also know the word for answer – תשובה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מענה-3.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מענה-4.m4a” /]לא לכל שאלה יש תשובה. Not every question has an answer. The root of תשובה is ש.ו.ב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מענה-5.m4a” /] meaning return: an answer to a question is a response…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להאט-1.m4a” /]לְהָאֵט You may know the Hebrew expression לאט לאט[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להאט-2.m4a” /] – slowly or little by little. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להאט-3.m4a” /]לאט לאט, אתם כבר תתרגלו לחיים כאן. Little by little, you guys will get used to living here. לאט comes from the root א.ט.ט[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להאט-4.m4a” /] meaning slow. In a variation of the active-causative הפעיל verb…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/צעד-צעד-1.m4a” /]צַעַד צַעַד The Hebrew expression for one at a time is אחד אחד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/צעד-צעד-2.m4a” /] – literally, one one. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/צעד-צעד-3.m4a” /]הילדים נכנסו לכיתה אחד אחד. The children entered the classroom one at a time. Now suppose you want to say something like one step at a time. That’s צעד צעד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/צעד-צעד-1.m4a” /] –…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/פתרון-1.m4a” /]פִּתְרוֹן If you’ve spent even a little time in Israel, you probably know the expression אין בעיה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/פתרון-2.m4a” /] – no problem! While בעיה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/פתרון-3.m4a” /] means problem, פתרון[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/פתרון-1.m4a” /] (pronounced correctly as means פִּתְרון[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/פתרון-1.m4a” /] and almost unanimously as פִּתָּרון[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/פתרון-4.m4a” /]) means solution. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/פתרון-5.m4a” /]לאכילת היתר של ראש…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/קבענו-1.m4a” /]קָבַעְנוּ I use date not only in the romantic sense, but also in the broader sense to include things like lunch dates and play dates. To say it’s a date in Hebrew, use the word קבענו[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/קבענו-1.m4a” /] – literally, we’ve set. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/קבענו-2.m4a” /]יום שלישי בקפה גרג בקניון הדר – קבענו! Tuesday at Cafe…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ללכת-לבית-הכנסת-1.m4a” /]לָלֶכֶת לְבֵית הַכְּנֶסֶת, לְהִתְפַּלֵּל The literal meaning of to go to synagogue (or shul, as many Jews say) in Hebrew is ללכת לבית הכנסת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ללכת-לבית-הכנסת-2.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ללכת-לבית-הכנסת-3.m4a” /]אנחנו הולכים לבית הכנסת בעוד שעה. We’re going to shul in an hour. בית הכנסת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ללכת-לבית-הכנסת-4.m4a” /] means the synagogue, while בית כנסת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ללכת-לבית-הכנסת-5.m4a” /] means…

אֲרוּחַת חַג, סְעוּדַת חַג[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ארוחת-חג-1.m4a” /] The predominant word for meal in Modern Hebrew is ארוחה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ארוחת-חג-2.m4a” /], related to the word אורח[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ארוחת-חג-3.m4a” /] meaning guest, both words deriving from the root א.ר.ח[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ארוחת-חג-4.m4a” /] meaning path or way. But ארוחה does not appear in Biblical Hebrew except for a couple of instances. Neither does סעודה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ארוחת-חג-5.m4a” /],…

חֹמֶר לְשִׁנּוּן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/review-1.mp3″ /] 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 . Scatter . Gravity . Test [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/review-2.mp3″ /]שבת שלום, וסוף שבוע נעים! Shabbat Shalom, and have a nice weekend!

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/אתה-חי-בסרט-1.m4a” /]אַתָּה חַי בְּסֶרֶט Someone makes you an offer that in their mind you can’t refuse – but you can, and easily. You might say to them, “dream on” (well, in the 90’s you might have), indicating that they’re are living in a dream world and are totally wrong in their judgment. A Hebrew…

Note: Monday’s dose had a typo: מעטמי ביטחון – for security reasons – should read מטעמי ביטחון[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להפיק-2.m4a” /]. [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להפיק-3.m4a” /]לְהָפִיק סֶרֶט Those versed in Talmud will surely recognize the Hebrew root פ.ו.ק[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להפיק-4.m4a” /] meaning come out, so that in the causative הפעיל verb form, להפיק[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להפיק-5.m4a” /] means to bring out or to produce (in the Talmud’s Aramaic…