Your Daily Dose of Hebrew

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לשפשף-מרפקים-1.m4a” /]לְשַׁפְשֵׁף מַרְפֵּקִים The Hebrew word for elbow is מרפק[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לשפשף-מרפקים-2.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לשפשף-מרפקים-3.m4a” /]דפקתי את המרפק במשקוף, איזה כאב! I bumped my elbow on in the doorway, what pain! Likewise, the English expression to rub elbows – to mingle with someone of desirable social standing – is לשפשף מרפקים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לשפשף-מרפקים-4.m4a” /] in Hebrew. For…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שוקיים-1.m4a” /]שׁוקָיִם In this post I’m not discussing the kind of calf that grazes – that’s an עגל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שוקיים-2.m4a” /]. Rather, I’m following yesterday’s post about the upper-body limb, moving now to the lower. רגל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שוקיים-3.m4a” /] is the word that refers to the whole leg and foot, from the pelvis downward. But just as English…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/זרוע-1.m4a” /]זְרוֹעַ Though יד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/זרוע-2.m4a” /] refers not only to the hand but also to the entire limb stretching out from the shoulder to the fingertips, the Hebrew word זרוע, sometimes called זרוע היד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/זרוע-3.m4a” /], refers specifically to the arm. You may recognize it from the Biblical verse: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/זרוע-4.m4a” /]אוֹ הֲנִסָּה אֱלֹהִים לָבוֹא לָקַחַת לוֹ…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שרירי-1.m4a” /]שְׁרִירִי The Hebrew word for muscle is שריר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שרירי-2.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שרירי-3.m4a” /]מתחתי שריר ברגל, אני לא רוצה לזוז. I pulled (stretched) a muscle in my (the) leg, I don’t want to move. Likewise, someone muscular is שרירי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שרירי-1.m4a” /] if he’s a male, and שרירית[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שרירי-4.m4a” /] if she’s a female. For…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/תקשורת-1.m4a” /]תִּקְשֹׁרֶת Another useful Hebrew root is ק.ש.ר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/תקשורת-2.m4a” /] meaning tying or binding, so that a bond is a קשר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/תקשורת-3.m4a” /], as is the knot in your shoelaces. One of the applications of ק.ש.ר is the word for the act of tying people together in ideas, or communication – תקשורת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/תקשורת-1.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/תקשורת-4.m4a” /]יש…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להכתיב-1.m4a” /]לְהַכְתִּיב Yesterday we saw a couple of words formed from the very useful Hebrew root כ.ת.ב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להכתיב-2.m4a” /] meaning writing. Another application of that root is להכתיב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להכתיב-1.m4a” /] – to dictate. להכתיב falls into the category of active-causative verbs. Generally speaking, these verbs take a basic act and add a causative quality to it. For example, the…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/התכתבות-1.m4a” /]הִתְכַּתְּבוּת, תִּכְתּוֹבֶת My first serious exposure to the French language was at Yeshiva University, where I took a class on the poets Baudelaire, Rimbaud and Mallarme and encountered the poem, Correspondances. French at the time was quite elusive to me – one of the only concrete things I learned was that in English we end the word with…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/סוף-טוב-1.m4a” /]סוֹף טוֹב הַכֹּל טוֹב Née sous la plume de Shakespeare, l’expression tout est bien qui finit bien est devenue commune. Il m’arrive même parfois, après une dure semaine, lorsqu’enfin, d’une façon ou d’une autre les choses sont rentrées dans l’ordre, de me surprendre à souffler à haute voix :  סוף טוב הכול טוב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/סוף-טוב-1.m4a”…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מייל-1.m4a” /]דֹּאַר אֶלֶקְטְרוֹנִי, מֵיְיל The proper Hebrew term for email (well, it’s half Hebrew) is דואר אלקטרוני[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מייל-2.m4a” /] – literally, electronic mail. The term is abbreviated in writing to דוא”ל. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מייל-3.m4a” /]שלחתי לה את הקובץ בדוא”ל. I sent her the file via email. But the word used far more commonly is simply מייל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מייל-4.m4a”…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מקרא-1.m4a” /]מִקְרָא If you’re familiar with traditional Jewish literature, you probably know the common term for the Bible – תנ”ך[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מקרא-2.m4a” /], which stands for תורה, נביאים וכתובים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מקרא-3.m4a” /] – Torah, Prophets, (Holy) Writings. But you may not be familiar with another term that refers to the Bible… or, more literally, Scripture. The term is מקרא[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!