יְקוּם Can’t read Hebrew yet? Biblical Hebrew uses the word יְקוּם to mean substance or existence – coarsely, stuff. For example, in the story of the Flood, G-d says: …וּמָחִיתִי אֶת כָּל הַיְּקוּם אֲשֶׁר עָשִׂיתִי מֵעַל פְּנֵי הָאֲדָמָה… …and I will wipe out all the substance that I made from the…
מַעֲבָר Can’t read Hebrew yet? Getting back to the routine is a transition. The Hebrew word for transition is מַעֲבָר . It literally means passage, as a transition is a passage from one state of being to another. For example: יֵשׁ שְׁלֹשָׁה מַעֲבָרֵי גְּבוּל בֵּין יִשְׂרָאֵל לְיַרְדֵּן. There are three border…
טֶבַע הָאָדָם, הַטֶּבַע הָאֱנוֹשִׁי Can’t read Hebrew yet? In observance of the Jewish holidays, I took off some time from blogging. Now it’s back to the routine, with a dose of Hebrew that brings themes of the holidays together with themes of the Torah portions being read these weeks by Jews around…
קִשּׁוּט Can’t read Hebrew yet? The Hebrew word for to decorate first appears in the Mishnah, where it refers to people adorning themselves, using the reflexive verb לְהִתְקַשֵּׁט . Since then, the word has taken on the meaning of decorating objects as well, employing the active-intensive verb, לְקַשֵּׁט . The word…
פְּרִי Can’t read Hebrew yet? The Hebrew word for fruit very closely resembles the English word, though the Online Etymological Dictionary doesn’t see the connection. The Hebrew word is פְּרִי , and like in English, is used both literally: תַּפּוּחַ הוּא פְּרִי. An apple is a fruit. and figuratively:…
עֲלֵה תְּאֵנָה Can’t read Hebrew yet? A leaf in Hebrew is עָלֶה . For example: יֵשׁ הַרְבֶּה עָלִים עַל הָאֲדָמָה. There are lots of leaves on the ground. A fig leaf is עֲלֶה תְּאֵנָה , both in the literal sense as well as in the sense borrowed from the biblical Garden…
חֹמֶר לְשִׁנּוּן 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 צוֹם קַל! Have an easy fast!
סָגוּר! Can’t read Hebrew yet? סָגוּרmeans literally closed, but it is also used informally to mean decided and confirmed, as in: אָז נִפָּגֵשׁ בִּשְׂדֵה הַתְּעוּפָה. סָגוּר! So we’ll meet at the airport. Done deal! As does its English equivalent, !סגור comes from the business expression לִסְגּוֹר עִסְקָה – to close a deal …
מַלָּח Can’t read Hebrew yet? The Hebrew word for sailor, appearing already in Biblical Hebrew, is מַלָּח For example: הַמַּלָּחִים עוֹבְדִים עַל הַסְּפִינָה. The sailors are working on the ship. With an ah-AH vowel sequence and an emphasized second root letter, מַלָּח follows the sound pattern of the names of other professionals,…
מִשְׁאָלָה Can’t read Hebrew yet? The simple word for a request is בַּקָּשָׁה , so that the common Hebrew term for please – literally, with request – is בְּבַקָּשָׁה . But a wish is more than a simple request, as it expresses hopes and dreams. The Hebrew word for a wish is מִשְׁאָלָה , of the…
קָשֶׁה Can’t read Hebrew yet? The Hebrew word for hard both in the physical and metaphorical senses is קָשֶׁה . For example: יֵשׁ הַרְבֵּה סוּגֵי גְּבִינוֹת קָשׁוֹת. There are many types of hard cheeses. and קָשֶׁה לָצוּם. It’s hard (difficult) to fast/ Fasting is hard. A…