עֲנִיבָה Though ties are admittedly scarce in Israel, they still have a word: עניבה. For example: עניבות עונבים בישראל בעיקר בכנסת. (People) wear ties in

כָּל הָעוֹסְקִים בַּמְּלָאכָה It’s launch night. Ten months of hard work, of urgent deadlines, of 14-hour days, of sleepless nights – and now it’s time

מוּשְׁלָם Sometimes people exaggerate with the English word perfect, as in “You brought quiche? Oh, perfect!” Israelis do the same with Hebrew’s מושלם. For example:

נֶגֶד רְצוֹנוֹ The Hebrew word for against is נגד, as in: הם מפגינים נגד הרפורמה המשפטית. They are demonstrating against the judicial reform. While רוצה

דּוֹר הַנְּפִילִים That generation of women and men, boys and girls, who rose up from the ashes of Europe, made their way to what was

פְּרִיכִיּוֹת אוֹרֶז A literal translation of rice cakes to Hebrew would be עוגות אורז. But that’s not how we refer to those calorie-saving snacks. Rather,

מְאוּזָּן Our ears – אוזניים – are what allow us to hear, but they also give us a sense of balance. Hence the Biblical word

יוֹם הַקּוֹמְמִיּוּת Today we call Israel’s Independence Day יום העצמאות  – literally, the day of the independence.   Another term for this day which has

הַקְרָבָה The word for sacrificial offering in Biblical Hebrew is קורבן,  as in: בני ישראל היו מביאים קורבנות לבית המקדש. The Children of Israel would

אִישׁ לֹא The basic term for “nobody” in Hebrew is אף אחד לא  – literally, even one not. For example: אף אחד לא אישר את