מִשְׁלוֹחַ listen to this word pronounced Today’s dose of Hebrew is sponsored by… Check it out! In my Jerusalem apartment the other night, I searched Google for the Israeli bookshop in Encino, California. I found it and called the number listed. The man on the other end of the line…
מְאֻפַּק listen to this word pronounced Don Corleone in The Godfather is the perfect example of an אָדָם מְאֻפַּק (ah-DAHM meh-oo-PAHK). He says little and does much, as suggested in פִּרְקֵי אָבוֹת – Ethics of the Fathers (peer-KEH-ee ah-VOHT); although Don Corleone probably learned this from another source. can’t see the video? This passive-intensive…
לְשַׁכְפֵּל listen to this word pronounced Missed the deadline, but still want to take one of our classes this summer? Get discounted tuition (150 shekels off!) on your Ulpan La-Inyan course… Listen in to Ami’s show today at noon Israel time and on Sunday’s 2pm rebroadcast for instructions….
רִגּוּל listen to this word pronounced Ilan Grapel, a dual US-Israeli citizen interning in Cairo, is being accused of spying for Israel. http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-4081731,00.html It’s an international scandal – שַׁעֲרוּרִיָּה בֵּינְלְאֻמִּית (shah-ah-roo-ree-YAH BEH-een-leh-oo-MEET). Strangely, à propos this week’s Torah portion, the word for espionage in Hebrew is רִגּוּל (ree-GOOL). A spy is a מְרַגֵּל (meh-rah-GHEL) or,…
תּוֹבָנָה Today’s dose of Hebrew is sponsored by… Check it out! After a few weeks of silence, a woman I had been dating called me up and said, “I have an insight.” (The insight was that we weren’t right for each other.) In retrospect, she was right. But at the time… The…
סוֹכֵן listen to this word pronounced Think Mossad. Think KGB. Think… travel agencies. An agent of any human kind is a סוֹכֵן (soh-KHEN) or a סוֹכֶנֶת (soh-KHEH-net) if she’s a female – there are סוֹכְנֵי נְסִיעוֹת – travel agents (sohkh-NEH-ee neh-see-OHT), סוֹכְנֵי מוֹסַד – Mossad agents (sohkh-NEH-ee moh-SAHD), etc. An agency is a סוֹכְנוּת (sohkh-NOOT). The…
רְכִיבָה לֵילִית listen to this phrase pronounced Today’s dose of Hebrew is sponsored by… Check it out! Yesterday afternoon I rode my bike from Jerusalem’s German Colony to my cousin’s military swearing-in ceremony at גִּבְעַת הַתַּחְמוֹשֶׁת – Ammunition Hill (gheev-AHT hah-tahkh-MOH-shet), where he and his comrades pledged to protect…
מָתוּן listen to this word pronounced Today’s dose of Hebrew is sponsored by… The edge of something is the קָצֶה (kah-TSEH); someone “on the edge” or extreme is קִיצוֹנִי (kee-tsoh-NEE). But someone moderate or level-headed – in ideology or in relationships – is מָתוּן. My 2am not-delving-into-it theory is that the…
חַס וְחָלִילָה listen to this phrase pronounced Today’s dose of Hebrew is sponsored by… This one’s for Katie I don’t think she picked up on the humor in the occurrence, but I had a laugh when someone asked the bus driver tonight whether he would be turning left from…
הִשְׁתּוֹקְקוּת, גַּעֲגוּעִים listen to these words pronounced Raise your hand if you’ve ever missed someone. Raise your hand if you’ve ever longed for someone. There are several ways to express longing in Hebrew. The basic, more well-known word is גַּעֲגוּעִים (gah-ah-goo-EEM). In verb form, this is לְהִתְגַעֲגֵע (leh-heet-gah-ah-GHEH-ah). You can learn how to use…
הִשְׁתּוֹקְקוּת, גַּעֲגוּעִים listen to these words pronounced Raise your hand if you’ve ever missed someone. Raise your hand if you’ve ever longed for someone. There are several ways to express longing in Hebrew. The basic, more well-known word is גַּעֲגוּעִים (gah-ah-goo-EEM). In verb form, this is לְהִתְגַעֲגֵע (leh-heet-gah-ah-GHEH-ah). You can learn how to use this…