Blog – Your Daily Dose of Hebrew

חֹשֶׁךְ מִצְרַיִם[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/חושך-מצרים-1.mp3″ /] A language’s more colorful expressions often come from the traditions and experiences of its culture. When Israelis want to say that it’s really, really dark, they don’t just say: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/חושך-מצרים-2.mp3″ /]מְאֹד, מְאֹד חָשׁוּךְ. Rather, they’ll invoke the ninth plague wrought upon the ancient Egyptians with the expression חֹשֶׁךְ מִצְרַיִם – darkness…

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!

תְּשׁוּקָה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/תשוקה-1.mp3″ /] Like English, Hebrew has several words for to yearn, to long for: לְהִתְגַּעְגֵּעַ[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/תשוקה-2.mp3″ /] is to long for or to miss someone, so that גַּעְגוּעִים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/תשוקה-3.mp3″ /] are longings. לְהִכָּסֵף[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/תשוקה-4.mp3″ /] the verb and כִּסּוּפִים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/תשוקה-5.mp3″ /] the noun are more flowery terms for this. And then there’s לְהִשְׁתּוֹקֵק[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/תשוקה-6.mp3″…

לַחְגּוֹר חֲגוֹרָה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לחגור-חגורה-1.mp3″ /] English has a couple of generic words for donning any article of clothing – to put on, to dress oneself in, to wear. Hebrew has a special verb for many different articles, sometimes deriving from the name of the article itself. For example, to put on a belt is לַחְגּוֹר חֲגוֹרָה[audioclip…

רִיטוּאַל, פֻּלְחָן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/פולחן-1.mp3″ /] Describing a ritual, Israelis might use either the word borrowed from English – רִיטוּאַל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/פולחן-2.mp3″ /], or the ancient Hebrew word borrowed from Aramaic – פֻּלְחָן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/פולחן-3.mp3″ /]. Here’s an example using the latter: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/פולחן-4.mp3″ /]הַמֶּחְקַָר עַל פֻּלְחָנִים פָּגָנִיִּם עָשׂוּי לִהְיוֹת מְרַתֵּק. Research about pagan rituals can be fascinating.

צָב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/צב-1.mp3″ /]   Strictly speaking, צָב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/צב-1.mp3″ /] refers to a tortoise – a land turtle – while צַב יָם[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/צב-2.mp3″ /] – literally, sea tortoise – is a turtle that swims. But Israelis tend to use צב for both. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/צב-3.mp3″ /]כְּשֶׁהָיִתִי יֶלֶד, מְאֹד אָהַבְתִּי אֶת צָבֵי הַנִּינְגָ’ה. When I was…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/haikar-1.mp3″ /]הָעִקָּר הַמַּחְשָׁבָה Your friend schleps all over town to find just the right movie poster with which to surprise you for your birthday. But he doesn’t know that you don’t like movie posters. When you open the gift, you might want to say it’s the thought that counts. In Hebrew, that’s הָעִקָּר הַמַּחְשָׁבָה[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 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/2015/03/lesamel-1.mp3″/]לְסַמֵּל Can’t yet read Hebrew? This Shabbat, Jews around the world will start reading the Book of Leviticus – סֵפֶר וַיִּקְרָא[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/lesamel-2.mp3″/], the book in the Torah that spells out the ritual sacrifice in the Temple. In an age when animal sacrifice had become difficult to relate to, Rabbi Samson Rafael Hirsch of 19th-century Germany…

  קַלְפִּי  listen and repeat Can’t read Hebrew yet?     The Hebrew word for ballot box – that box with a slot for the votes taking place today in Israel – is קַלְפִּי  listen and repeat. The word, borrowed from the Greek κάλπη (kalpi), first appears in Mishnaic Hebrew.    What about the word for…