סְעָרָה If you’re living on the east coast of the United States, or perhaps in Norway or London or Brazil… you know quite well what a storm is. In Israel we almost forgot this year – that is, until Friday when it started pouring in Tel Aviv. The Hebrew word for storm is…
להבריח I’m reading a book written by a cousin of my grandmother’s, who was among those in Budapest that helped rescue Jews during the Holocaust. One of the missions he participated in was smuggling Jews across the Romanian border to safety, on their way to אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל (EH-rets yees-rah-EL) – the Land of Israel….
מְרַגֵּשׁ To get excited in Hebrew is לְהִתְרַגֵּש (le-heet-rah-GESH). It comes from the root ר.ג.ש (r.g.sh), which means, in Modern Hebrew, emotion. The word להתרגש falls into the התפעל (heet-pah-EHL) verb pattern. To say that something is exciting or stirring of emotion, you’d use the word מְרַגֵּש (me-rah-GESH). For example, a couple of the songs I played…
להאיר If you know some Hebrew, you more than likely know the word for light – אוֹר (ohr) – especially if you’ve been following Ktzat Ivrit for the last couple of weeks. Using the three-letter word אור as a verbal root, א.ו.ר (a.w.r), the word for to light up or to illuminate is created: לְהָאִיר (le-hah-EER)….
כבאי/ת Following yesterday’s entry on heroes – גִּבּוֹרִים (ghee-boh-REEM), today I’ll refer to the bulk of those who displayed גְּבוּרָה (ge-voo-RAH- heroism) by name. A firefighter is usually referred to as a כַּבַּאי (kah-BAH-ee), though a woman in כַּבָּאוּת (kah-bah-OOT), fire fighting, is referred to as a כַּבַּאִית (kah-bah-EET). כבאית is also the name for…
גבורה Given the events of the weekend over here in Israel (see articles in Hebrew and in English), as well as the spirit of חֲנֻכָּה (khah-noo-KAH) – Hanukkah – I thought it appropriate to introduce the Hebrew word for heroism: גְּבוּרָה (ge-voo-RAH). A hero is a גִּבּוֹר (ghee-BOHR), while a heroine is a גִּבּוֹרָה (ghee-boh-RAH). …
תאורה If you’ve had even a little exposure to the Hebrew language, chances are you’ve come across the word for light – אוֹר (ohr). אור is another big theme of חֲנֻכָּה (khah-noo-KAH), so I thought it appropriate for today. But it’s less likely you know the word for lighting, as in, “This living room…
מסור For the first day of חֲנֻכָּה (khah-noo-KAH) – Hanukkah, I thought I’d inaugurate one of the themes of the holiday: devotion to a cause. The Maccabees were devoted – מְסוּרִים (me-soo-REEM) – to the cause of defending the right of Jews to practice their religion. Thanks to their מְסִירוּת (me-see-ROOT) – devotion– the Jewish…
חשיפה Given the Wikileaks story, disclosure seems to be the word of the week. To disclose or to expose, in Hebrew, is לַחְשׂוֹף (lahkh-SOHF). If you’re familiar with the Friday night service of קַבָּלָת שַׁבָּת (kah-bah-LAHT shah-BAHT), you may recognize this word, which appears in the psalm recited before לְכָה דּוֹדִי (le-KHAH doh-DEE). The gerund…
נוכחות Remember when in school teachers used to take attendance? Perhaps some of you are still in school having your attendance taken. Perhaps you’re a student of Ulpan La-Inyan in one of our client schools and you’re having your attendance taken by our very teachers… In any case, in Israel, one’s presence in a…
נורה חֲנֻכָּה (Hannukah) is coming up this week, so we’re gearing for the light. Here’s how to say light bulb in Hebrew: נוּרָה (noo-RAH). It’s related to the word for candle, נֵר (nehr).