לְהִתְבַּכְיֵין To cry, in Hebrew, is the simple verb לבכות. Likewise, crying or weeping is בכי, a word that features beautifully in this Idan Raichel

סְתִירָה The simple verb לסתור originally meant to destroy that which was built. Today we use להרוס instead, as in: צריך להרוס את המבנה הישן

חוֹבְבָן The Hebrew word for hobby is תחביב, as in: מה התחביבים שלכם? What are your (plural) hobbies? The root of תחביב is ח.ב.ב, which

לְהָרִיעַ What’s another name for ראש השנה (Rosh Hashanah)? יום תרועה – the day of “teruah.”  What’s תרועה? In the context of ראש השנה, it’s

עַמּוּד תָּוֶוךְ עמוד, in Hebrew, is a pole or a pillar (not the North or South Pole – that’s קוטב). The central pillar of a

שֵׁירוּתִיּוּת To serve, in Hebrew, is the פיעל verb לשרת. For example:  כשהיא הייתה בצבא היא שירתה בחיל המודיעין. When she was in the army

תַּעֲבִיר אֶת הַמֶּלַח To “transfer” or “to pass” something, in Hebrew, is the הפעיל verb להעביר. For example: תעביר את המלח. Pass the salt. Now,

עַל בֶּטֶן מְלֵאָה Hebrew’s expression for “on a full stomach” is a direct translation from the English – על בטן מלאה. For example:  עשיתם כושר

עַל הַקְּרָשִׁים When someone’s “blue,” we might say in English that they’re “down in the dumps.” The Hebrew equivalent comes yet a third English metaphor,

מְמוּרְמָר Not long ago was Passover, when Jews customarily eat bitter herbs – מרור as a reminder of the bitterness of slavery. The word for