Blog – Your Daily Dose of Hebrew

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/דרישות-1.m4a” /]דְּרִישׁוֹת In Biblical Hebrew, לדרוש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/דרישות-2.m4a” /] means to seek out, usually a person or a piece of evidence. In Mishnaic times, rabbis began to seek out meanings within texts – the process of מדרש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/דרישות-3.m4a” /] – Midrash (in Arabic, the parallel root درس – d.r.s – means study). In Modern Hebrew, לדרוש means primarily to demand – to seek…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אני-מרוצה-מזה-1.m4a” /]אֲנִי מְרֻצֶּה מִזֶּה Suppose you’ve bought a nice, expensive new pair of shoes. The boutique shop where you bought them has stellar customer service, so they call you up and ask whether you’re happy with your purchase. An Israeli such store would ask literally whether you are satisfied or pleased – מרוצה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אני-מרוצה-מזה-2.m4a” /] if you’re…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אני-מבקש-ממך-1.m4a” /]אֲנִי מְבַקֵּשׁ מִמְּךָ I used to think it was only my mother who would say things like I’m asking of you, (my father is Israeli and always spoke with me in Hebrew) until I started using the expression myself. So much for a generational gap. The Hebrew expression is a variation of אני…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/תעביר-את-המלח-1.m4a” /]תַּעֲבִיר אֶת הַמֶּלַח The common way of saying to pass by something, in Hebrew, is לעבור ליד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/תעביר-את-המלח-2.m4a” /]. In this phrase, לעבור[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/תעביר-את-המלח-3.m4a” /] is a simple verb. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/תעביר-את-המלח-4.m4a” /]עברתי ליד הבית שלכם אתמול. I passed by your house yesterday. (spoken to more than one person) To pass an object – to…

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   Blast from the Past Crossword Puzzle! [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/2014/10/לחץ-חברתי-1.m4a” /]לַחַץ חֶבְרָתִי The Hebrew word for pressure is לחץ[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לחץ-חברתי-2.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לחץ-חברתי-3.m4a” /]הוא נמצא תחת הרבה לחץ. He’s under a lot of pressure. and [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לחץ-חברתי-4.m4a” /]הכנתי את העוף בסיר לחץ. I prepared the chicken in a pressure cooker. Peer pressure, in Hebrew, is לחץ חברתי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לחץ-חברתי-1.m4a” /] – literally, social pressure….

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לשאוף-1.m4a” /]לִשְׁאוֹף To breathe is לנשום[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לשאוף-2.m4a” /]. And the specific actions of to inhale and to exhale are לשאוף[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לשאוף-1.m4a” /] and לנשוף[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לשאוף-3.m4a” /], respectively. As former US President Bill Clinton once said: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לשאוף-4.m4a” /]התנסיתי פעם או פעמיים עם מריחוואנה… אבל… לא שאפתי. I experimented with marijuana a time or two… but… I didn’t inhale. לשאוף…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להדליק-1.m4a” /]לְהַדְלִיק With חנוכה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להדליק-2.m4a” /] (Hanukka) coming up soon, this word is timely. להדליק[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להדליק-1.m4a” /] – to light – is related to the word דלק[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להדליק-3.m4a” /] meaning fuel. להדליק means to light something or to fire up its power – to turn on. A few examples: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להדליק-4.m4a” /]אמא כבר הדליקה נרות. Mom already lit candles. [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להדליק-5.m4a” /]אבא, תדליק…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להזיק-1.m4a” /]לְהַזִּיק The students of Mishnah and Talmud among you will almost certainly recognize the Hebrew word for to damage or to harm: להזיק[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להזיק-1.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להזיק-2.m4a” /]לא התכוונתי להזיק לך. I didn’t mean to harm you (a male). This active-causative verb derives from the root נ.ז.ק[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להזיק-3.m4a” /], which itself spells the word…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אחי-1.m4a” /]אָחִי In Biblical Hebrew, adding an ee sound to the end of a word means that that thing is mine. For example, ביתי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אחי-2.m4a” /] is my house – my בית[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אחי-3.m4a” /] (house). In Modern Hebrew, we tend to use שלי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אחי-4.m4a” /] instead to express possession, so that my house is הבית שלי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אחי-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   Blast from the Past Crossword Puzzle! [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!