Your Daily Dose of Hebrew

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לסגור-פינות-1.m4a” /]לִסְגּוֹר פִּנּוֹת To tie up loose ends means to bring a project to completion, taking care “to dot the i’s and cross the t’s.” Hebrew’s equivalent is לסגור פינות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לסגור-פינות-1.m4a” /] – literally, to close corners (this expression apparently exists in English as well). If you’ve taken our Level 1 course, you’ll recognize in לסגור פינות the words סגור[audioclip…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/בעלות-1.m4a” /]בְּעָלוּת The Hebrew word for husband is בעל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/בעלות-2.m4a” /], a word that denotes mastery: a husband, historically, was the owner of his house and the master of his wife (there is also a sexual connotation to בעל). Since the owner aspect of this word implies a power hierarchy, many Israelis prefer other terms for husband such as רֵעַ[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/בעלות-3.m4a” /]…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/השתתפות-עצמית-1.m4a” /]הִשְׁתַּתְּפוּת עַצְמִית I’m not a finance guy – at least not naturally. Growing up, when someone would use words like dividend and deductible, I’d go blank and try to change the subject. Today I know that deductible refers to the money an insurance policy does not cover – the money a person has to pay as participation in covering…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/קניין-רוחני-1.m4a” /]קִנְיָן רוּחָנִי Yesterday we saw the words רכוש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/קניין-רוחני-2.m4a” /] and נכס[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/קניין-רוחני-3.m4a” /] meaning property. Another word is קניין[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/קניין-רוחני-4.m4a” /] – more specifically, that which has been acquired. You may recognize its root in the active-simple verb לקנות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/קניין-רוחני-6.m4a” /] – to buy. Though in biblical times קניין was a common word for property, today…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/נכס-1.m4a” /]נֶכֶס The concept of property has several words in Hebrew. רכוש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/נכס-2.m4a” /] generally refers to objects that a person has acquired – using another word, possessions. נכס[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/נכס-1.m4a” /] refers to a property – something of substantial value that might also produce value, such as real estate or a business. For example: [audioclip…

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/שבתון-1.m4a” /]שַׁבָּתוֹן The Hebrew word for sabbatical is שבתון[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שבתון-1.m4a” /], or when talking about a sabbatical year, שנת שבתון[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שבתון-2.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שבתון-3.m4a” /]בשנה הבאה אנחנו יוצאים לשנת שבתון בניו יורק. Next year we’re going out for a sabbatical (year) to New York. You may recognize שבתון from Bnei Akiva or USY,…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להכות-12.m4a” /]לְכַבּוֹת שְׂרֵפָה You may know the basic Hebrew word for fire – אש [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לכבות-שריפה-2.m4a” /] – perhaps from the first reading lesson in our Level 1 course. Another word for fire, in particular an unwanted one – a blaze – is שריפה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לכבות-שריפה-3.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לכבות-שריפה-4.m4a” /]יש שריפה ביער! There’s a fire in the forest! To…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להכות-1.m4a” /]לִשְׁבּוֹת, לְהַכּוֹת Yesterday we saw the Hebrew word for a strike – שביתה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להכות-2.m4a” /]. This noun comes from the active-simple verb לשבות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להכות-3.m4a” /] – to strike or to refrain from work. But what about to strike another person – to hit? That’s the active-intensive להכות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להכות-4.m4a” /]. Here’s an example from the biblical story of Moses: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להכות-5.m4a”…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שביתה-1.m4a” /]שְׁבִיתָה With even the airport closing about once a year due to disgruntled employees, the word for strike is core vocabulary in Hebrew. The word is שביתה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שביתה-1.m4a” /]. You may recognize as its root the word שבת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שביתה-2.m4a” /] – the Sabbath: שבת is the day of rest, the day when the workers “go on strike.”…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/הנחה-1.m4a” /]הֲנָחָה As failing to recognize a discount could mean paying too much for a product, this word is core vocabulary. In Hebrew, a discount is הנחה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/הנחה-1.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/הנחה-2.m4a” /]הנחה של 50% על כל פריט בחנות! 50% discount on every item in the shop! The root of הנחה is נ.ו.ח[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/הנחה-3.m4a” /] meaning resting…