אֲנַחְנוּ לֹא מְשַׁדְּרִים עַל אֹתוֹ גַּל Can’t read Hebrew yet? In English, we talk about people thinking differently by invoking metaphors such as not quite seeing eye to eye, or not being on the same page. Hebrew invokes the metaphor of broadcasting: .אֲנַחְנוּ לֹא מְשַׁדְּרִים עַל אֹתֹו גַּל We don’t broadcast on…
כּוֹכַב לֶכֶת Can’t read Hebrew yet? For a while, Hebrew speakers would simply call a planet פְּלָנֶטָה . That is, until the makers of Modern Hebrew came up with a better term: כּוֹכַב לֶכֶת, or a walking star. כוכב לכת brings together the old and the new, beautifully illustrating two facts:…
קָהָל Can’t read Hebrew yet? The Hebrew word for audience is quite an ancient one, as Moses would address the audience – הַקָּהָל – of the wandering People of Israel for forty years in the desert. A modern example: הַקָּהָל מַקְשִׁיב. The audience is listening. The root ק.ה.ל (k.h.l)…
חֹמֶר לְשִׁנּוּן Review Material Can’t read Hebrew yet? Review, practice and test yourself on this week’s doses of Hebrew! Flashcards Game Test שַׁבָּת שָׁלוֹם, וְסוֹף שָׁבוּעַ נָעִים! Shabbat Shalom, and have a nice weekend!
אַחְדּוּת Can’t read Hebrew yet? Difficulties cause strife and tension, but they sometimes serve to unify people. To unify people is לְאַחֵד אֲנָשִׁים . For example: הַמְּאֹרָע הַקָּשֶׁה אֵחֵד אֶת הַמִּשְׁפָּחָה. The difficult event unified the family. To unify, as in to come together, is לְהִתְאַחֵד . For…
הָאוֹר שֶׁבִּקְצֶה הַמִּנְהָרָה Can’t read Hebrew yet? Tunnels are dark places, but, by definition, they end. The light at the end of the tunnel is הָאוֹר שֶׁבִּקְצֶה הַמִּנְהָרָה Broken down: האור – the light שבקצה – that is at the edge of, where קָצֶה means edge המנהרה – the tunnel
מַחְשָׁבוֹת, הִרְהוּרִים Can’t read Hebrew yet? תִּשְׁעָה בְּאָב – Tisha Be’Av or the ninth of (the Jewish month of) Av – is the public day of mourning for the calamities that have come upon the Jewish People. It’s a day of introspection, of thoughts. Now, there are thoughts and there are thoughts….
מִנְהָרָה Can’t read Hebrew yet? The primary objective of Operation Protective Edge was the destruction of tunnels that Hamas had built to terrorize Israel. The Hebrew word for tunnel is מִנְהָרָה. It comes from the word נָהָרmeaning river, so that a tunnel is a place dug through the ground, potentially by a river. For example:…
נְסִיגָה Can’t read Hebrew yet? The word withdrawal has multiple meanings in English, each with its own word in Hebrew. The one in the news these days refers to the military’s withdrawal from the place it’s invaded. That word is נְסִיגָה , of the active-simple verb לָסֶגֶת – to withdraw. The word…
חֹמֶר לְשִׁנּוּן Review Material Can’t read Hebrew yet? Review, practice and test yourself on this week’s doses of Hebrew! Flashcards Game Test שַׁבָּת שָׁלוֹם, וְסוֹף שָׁבוּעַ נָעִים! Shabbat Shalom, and have a nice weekend!
הַשְּׁפֵלָה Can’t read Hebrew yet? The plain of Israel – the part that is lower than the mountains, higher than the sea, and is characterized primarily by soft rocks strewn about – is called הַשְּׁפֵלָה. The word comes from the root שׁ.פ.ל (sh.p.l) meaning low. שׁ.פ.ל is also the root of the word שָׁפֵל meaning…