having trouble seeing the print? לִדְפוֹק Never experienced Ulpan La-Inyan? We’re offering free demo classes throughout the summer. Sign up for yours now! This active-simple פָּעַל verb means to knock – לִדְפוֹק (leed-FOHK). It appears in the Biblical book, שִׁיר הַשִּׁירִים – The Song of Songs (sheer hah-shee-REEM), in the phrase, קוֹל דּוֹדִי דּוֹפֵק – the…
having trouble seeing the print? לְחַלֵּק Never experienced Ulpan La-Inyan? We’re offering free demo classes throughout the summer. Sign up for yours now! A few weeks ago, I introduced a Hebrew expression meaning to delegate – לְהַאֲצִיל סַמְכֻיּוֹת (leh-hah-ah-TSEEL sahm-khoo-YOHT). Another phrase with a similar meaning is לְחַלֵּק תַּפְקִידִים (leh-khah-LEK tahf-kee-DEEM), literally, to give…
having trouble seeing the print? כַּפְרִי It’s summer in the northern hemisphere. People are taking vacation, some traveling far, some near, and some just hanging out at home. One popular type of destination is rustic – out in the country, perhaps in a cabin by a lake, away from the hustle and bustle of…
having trouble seeing the print? נֵטֶל Never experienced Ulpan La-Inyan? We’re offering free demo classes throughout the summer. Sign up for yours now! The big topic in Israeli national news recently has been that of the possibility of expanding the draft to include Haredim and Arabs. The papers and the protesters talk…
having trouble seeing the print? קוֹר כְּלָבִים Never experienced Ulpan La-Inyan? We’re offering free demo classes throughout the summer. Sign up for yours now! Yesterday we saw the colorful Hebrew expression for really, really hot weather – חוֹם אֵימִים (khohm eh-ee-MEEM). For those south of the equator (and those who don’t like constant air…
having trouble seeing the print? חוֹם אֵימִים Never experienced Ulpan La-Inyan? We’re offering free demo classes throughout the summer. Sign up for yours now! When Israelis talk about how hot it is (and it’s hot), they often say: חוֹם אֵימִים בַּחוּץ! It’s really, really hot outside! (khohm eh-ee-MEEM bah-KHOOTS) חוֹם…
having trouble seeing the print? עֵר, עֵרָה Never experienced Ulpan La-Inyan? We’re offering free demo classes throughout the summer. The Torah portion that will be read this Shabbat by Jews around the world is perhaps the strangest – הַמּוּזָרָה בְּיוֹתֵר (hah-moo-zah-RAH beh-yoh-TEHR) of all portions, featuring a talking (female) donkey – אָתוֹן מְדַבֶּרֶת (ah-TOHN meh-dah-BEH-ret) and…
having trouble seeing the print? רְצִינִי, חָמוּר Never experienced Ulpan La-Inyan? We’re offering free demo classes throughout the summer. The translation of serious into Modern Hebrew, when referring to a person, an offer, etc. is רְצִינִי (reh-tsee-NEE) in the masculine and רְצִינִית (reh-tsee-NEET) in the feminine. For example: הוּא בָּחוּר רְצִינִי. He’s a serious…
having trouble seeing the print? מוּזָה, הַשְׁרָאָה Never experienced Ulpan La-Inyan? We’re offering free demo classes throughout the summer. For writers, sometimes words flow onto the page, while other times there’s a block. At those times, writers often sit and wait for the mythological god, the muse, to whisper in their ear words of…
having trouble seeing the print? מוּזָר Never experienced Ulpan La-Inyan? We’re offering free demo classes throughout the summer. In Biblical Hebrew, a man from the outside, a stranger, is an אִישׁ זָר (eesh zahr), while a strange woman is an אִשָּׁה זָרָה (ee-SHAH zah-RAH). Likewise, a male foreign worker is an עוֹבֵד זָר (oh-VED zahr), while a female is…
having trouble seeing the print? חֻקָּה Never experienced Ulpan La-Inyan? We’re offering free demo classes throughout the summer. Happy Independence Day, fellow Americans. The Torah portion to be read this Shabbat by Jews the world over is called חֻקַּת (khoo-KAHT), meaning the law of… The ת (t) at the end of the word…