Blog – Your Daily Dose of Hebrew

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מזומן-1.m4a” /]כֶּסֶף מְזֻמָּן In the Torah portion to be read by Jews around the world this Shabbat, Abraham purchases מערת המכפלה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מזומן-2.m4a” /] – the Cave of the Patriarchs – with מטבע עובר לסוחר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מזומן-3.m4a” /] – a currency accepted by all merchants. Today there is no gold-standard coin that can be used in Singapore as…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/רצח-1.m4a” /]רֶצַח Recently, I posted an entry about the Hebrew term for suicide terrorist – מחבל מתאבד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/רצח-2.m4a” /]. Someone contacted me asking that I change the entry to reflect that such people should be termed homicide terrorists instead. While I agree in principle, this blog is here to teach Hebrew as it is commonly spoken, so I did not…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/סודי-1.m4a” /]סוֹדִי Perhaps you know the Hebrew word for secret – סוד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/סודי-2.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/סודי-3.m4a” /]בוא, דני, אספר לך סוד. Come, Danny, I’ll tell you a secret. That which is secret or confidential is סודי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/סודי-1.m4a” /], so that top secret is סודי ביותר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/סודי-4.m4a” /] – literally, most secret. Likewise, confidentiality is סודיות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/סודי-5.m4a” /]. For…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/נושא-רגיש-1.m4a” /]זֶה נוֹשֵׂא רָגִישׁ The Hebrew word for sensitive is רגיש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/נושא-רגיש-2.m4a” /] in the masculine and רגישה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/נושא-רגיש-3.m4a” /] in the feminine. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/נושא-רגיש-4.m4a” /]היא רגישה לגלוטן. She is sensitive to gluten. No only people, but topics too can be sensitive, so that a sensitive topic is נושא רגיש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/נושא-רגיש-5.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/הסכם-שלום-1.m4a” /]הֶסְכֵּם שָׁלוֹם A peace agreement, like that between Israel and the Palestinians that has been in process for dozens of years, is called a הסכם שלום[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/הסכם-שלום-1.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/הסכם-שלום-2.m4a” /]טרם הגענו להסכם שלום. We haven’t yet reached a peace agreement. הסכם[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/הסכם-שלום-3.m4a” /] is related to the active-causative verb להסכים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/הסכם-שלום-4.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 Game 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/להזדקן-1.m4a” /]לְהִזְדַּקֵּן The Hebrew word for old age is זקנה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להזדקן-2.m4a” /], while an elderly man is זקן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להזדקן-3.m4a” /] and an elderly woman is זקנה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להזדקן-4.m4a” /]*. To age or to get old is the reflexive-intensive verb להזדקן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להזדקן-1.m4a” /]. Here’s an example from Arik Einstein’s song, עוף גוזל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להזדקן-5.m4a” /] – Fly Away, Little…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מחבל-מתאבד-1.m4a” /]מְחַבֵּל מִתְאַבֵּד The expression suicide bomber aptly described the terrorists of the second Intifada in Israel of the early 2000s. Today’s attackers are just as willing to die in order to murder Jews, but they tend to use knives and cars instead of bombs. The Hebrew equivalent of suicide bomber applies to both brands of terrorist: מחבל מתאבד[audioclip…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שעון-קיץ-1.m4a” /]שְׁעוֹן קַיִץ While in English we refer to certain times, such as Israel time (currently GMT+2) and daylight savings time, in Hebrew we refer to these using the word שעון[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שעון-קיץ-2.m4a” /] – clock, so that we have: שעון ישראל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שעון-קיץ-3.m4a” /] Israel time and שעון קיץ[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שעון-קיץ-4.m4a” /] summer time (daylight-savings time) For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שעון-קיץ-5.m4a”…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/גשם-שוטף-1.m4a” /]יוֹרֵד גֶּשֶׁם שׁוֹטֵף In Hebrew, we call a downpour גשם שוטף[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/גשם-שוטף-2.m4a” /] – literally, flowing or washing rain. It’s raining in Hebrew is יורד גשם[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/גשם-שוטף-3.m4a” /] – literally, rain is coming down. So it’s pouring rain or, if you will, it’s raining cats and dogs, is יורד גשם שוטף[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/גשם-שוטף-1.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/גשם-שוטף-4.m4a” /]אתמול ירד גשם…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/כאן-1.m4a” /]פֹּה, כָּאן, הִנֵּה A subscriber asked me recently about the different words for here in Hebrew. While פה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/כאן-2.m4a” /] goes back to Biblical Hebrew, the use of כאן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/כאן-3.m4a” /] only began in Mishnaic times, and probably arrived from a foreign language such as Aramaic.  But they are used interchangeably to mean here, as in: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/כאן-4.m4a” /]יש…