Your Daily Dose of Hebrew

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/בריאות-הנפש-1.m4a” /]בְּרִיאוּת הַנֶּפֶשׁ When I was in psych school, I would read about דיכאון[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/בריאות-הנפש-2.m4a” /] – depression and get depressed. I’d hear a lecture about התמכרויות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/בריאות-הנפש-3.m4a” /] – addictions and start searching for my own. As the Lubavitcher Rebbe said, טראכט גוט, וועט זיין גוט[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/בריאות-הנפש-4.m4a” /] – in Hebrew, תחשוב טוב, יהיה טוב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/בריאות-הנפש-5.m4a”…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/נפש-בריאה-1.m4a” /]נֶפֶשׁ בְּרִיאָה בְּגוּף בָּרִיא The Hebrew word נפש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/נפש-בריאה-2.m4a” /] carries a spiritual connotation, as it means soul or essence: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/נפש-בריאה-3.m4a” /]נפש האדם עוצמתית ביותר. The human soul is extremely powerful. But the word can also mean something perhaps less spiritual, though no less powerful: the mind. Thus a healthy mind in a healthy body, in Hebrew,…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/כישוף-1.m4a” /]כִּשּׁוּף Whereas a not-very-nice term in English to describe a not-very-nice woman likens her to a dog, one such term in Hebrew likens her to a witch – מכשפה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/כישוף-2.m4a” /] (more commonly pronounced with an ah vowel at the beginning of the word – מַכשפה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/כישוף-3.m4a” /]). The root of מכשפה is כ.ש.פ[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/כישוף-4.m4a” /],…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מראה-1.m4a” /]מַרְאָה, רְאִי Non-human and non-animal things in English have no grammatical gender. You wouldn’t say “she’s a nice shirt” or “he’s a big house.” Most other Western and Middle-Eastern languages do have such gender assignments, and Hebrew is no exception. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מראה-2.m4a” /]היא חולצה יפה. It’s a nice shirt. and [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מראה-3.m4a”…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שפיות-1.m4a” /]שְׁפִיּוּת The biblical story tells of the foreign prophet בלעם[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שפיות-2.m4a” /] (Balaam): [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שפיות-3.m4a” /]וַיֵּלֶךְ שֶׁפִי and he walked relaxedly (alternative translation: up to a bare hill) Mishnaic Hebrew takes שפי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שפיות-4.m4a” /] to imply a state of physical… or mental calmness – sanity, in contrast to a state of mental disturbance – insanity. In Hebrew, שפיות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שפיות-1.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 . Space Race . Test [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/review-2.mp3″ /]שַׁבָּת שָׁלוֹם, וְסוֹף שָׁבוּעַ נָעִים! Shabbat Shalom, and have a nice weekend!

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/כללי-המשחק-1.m4a” /]כְּלָלֵי הַמִּשְׂחָק The Hebrew word for game is משחק[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/כללי-המשחק-2.m4a” /], of the root שׂ.ח.ק[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/כללי-המשחק-3.m4a” /], which means play. This root is very similar in both sound and meaning to the root צ.ח.ק[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/כללי-המשחק-4.m4a” /] meaning laugh. As opposed to a law which is a חוק[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/כללי-המשחק-5.m4a” /], a rule is a כלל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/כללי-המשחק-6.m4a” /], and rules are כללים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/כללי-המשחק-7.m4a” /]. Thus you…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לפצח-קוד-1.m4a” /]לְפַצֵּחַ קוֹד If you’ve spent Shabbat with Israelis, you may know the word פיצוחים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לפצח-קוד-2.m4a” /]. This colloquial term refers to sunflower seeds, pistachio nuts and other edibles that require the cracking – פיצוח[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לפצח-קוד-3.m4a” /] of a shell – a low-fat chewing activity that Israelis love, especially on the weekend. Likewise, לפצח[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לפצח-קוד-4.m4a”…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/תקע-1.m4a” /]תֶּקַע We saw yesterday that a socket is a שקע[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/תקע-2.m4a” /]. That which goes into a שקע, a plug, is a תקע[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/תקע-1.m4a” /]. The word תקע forms the root ת.ק.ע[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/תקע-3.m4a” /] meaning stuck: a תקע gets stuck into a שקע. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/תקע-4.m4a” /]יש תקע, אבל אין שקע. There’s a plug, but no…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שקע-1.m4a” /]שֶׁקַע חַשְׁמַלִּי The Hebrew word for outlet or socket is שקע[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שקע-2.m4a” /]. The word’s three letters form the root ש.ק.ע[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שקע-3.m4a” /], which means to sink: a שקע is sunken into a wall. To refer specifically to an electrical outlet, the expression is שקע חשמלי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שקע-1.m4a” /]. For example, if you need to charge your phone,…

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 . Space Race . Test [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/review-2.mp3″ /]שַׁבָּת שָׁלוֹם, וְסוֹף שָׁבוּעַ נָעִים! Shabbat Shalom, and have a nice weekend!