Your Daily Dose of Hebrew

שַׁאֲנַנּוּת The lead singer of the Israeli hip-hop/funk band Hadag Nahash is Sha’anan Streett, whose first name – in Hebrew, שאנן – means calm, complacent. In the name, as in the names of other Israeli neighborhoods such as Tel Aviv’s נווה שאנן – Neve Shaanan (Abode of Calm) and Jerusalem’s משכנות שאננים – Misheknot Shaananim […]

הָרַגְתָּ אֹתִי You may be familiar with the original Hebrew version of the sixth of the Ten Commandments: לא תרצח – do not murder. לרצוח, a simple verb, means to murder, to kill an innocent person intentionally. But sometimes killing happens when it’s not intended, or when the one killed is not innocent or not […]

לְהַפְחִית If you’ve got some Level 1 Hebrew under your belt, you probably know the word יותר – more. The opposite of יותר is פחות – less, and this word forms the basis of to reduce or to lessen: להפחית, an active-causative הפעיל verb of the root פ.ח.ת. For example: היא משתדלת להפחית את כמות […]

עֶרֶב חַג In English, we have the expression on the eve of… meaning the day before an event, or the time leading up to it. Hebrew has the same, so that the day before a holiday – a holiday eve – is ערב חג. For example: אין לנו זמן לשבת בבית קפה היום – ערב חג. We […]

הִתְנַדְּבוּת The concept of volunteering goes all the way to Biblical times, where the root נ.ד.ב of that meaning first appears. To volunteer is להתנדב, a reflexive-intensive התפעל verb. Likewise, volunteering is התנדבות. For example: יש מקום התנדבות מעניין בשכונת בקעה בירושלים. There’s an interesting volunteering place in the Baka neighborhood in Jerusalem. That wasn’t a fictional example […]

אַשְׁרַת כְּנִיסָה Perhaps you know the Hebrew expression for credit card – כרטיס אשראי. The word אשראי comes from Aramaic, from the root ש.ר.ר meaning strength, security. A related word, coined by former Prime Minister Moshe Sharett, is אשרה – visa. So an entry visa is אשרת כניסה. For example: ישנן מדינות שלא דורשות אשרת כניסה. There are […]

מְכוֹנַת שִׁקּוּף Last week we saw the word השתקפות – reflection – of the root ש.ק.פ meaning visibility. Using the same root, Hebrew calls that machine your bags go through at the airport – the baggage scanner – מכונת שיקוף – literally, machine of transparency or reflection. For example: בארצות הברית, צריך להכניס גם את הנעליים למכונת השיקוף. In […]

חֹמֶר לְשִׁנּוּן Review Material Can’t read Hebrew yet? You spent time on your Hebrew this week. Use these review materials to make it yours to keep. Flashcards . Scatter . Gravity . Test צום מועיל!

הִרְהוּרִים While השתקפות is reflection in the visual sense, הרהור is means reflection in the sense of thoughtfulness. For example: היא עסוקה בהרהורי תשובה. She is occupied with thoughts (reflections) of repentance. One could also say that she is pensive – מהורהרת. For a male, it’s מהורהר. Both words are declensions of the passive-intensive form.

עֲקֵב אָכִילֶס, נְקֻדַּת תֻּרְפָּה The heel of the mythical Achilles was his weak point, the one place on his body that should his enemies harm it, they could defeat him. Both English and Hebrew use Achilles’ heel to refer to one’s point of vulnerability, their weak spot. In Hebrew, it’s עקב אכילס. For example: האויב מחפש […]

תְּשׁוּבָה, מַעֲנֶה If you know the Hebrew word for question – שאלה, you probably also know the word for answer – תשובה. For example: לא לכל שאלה יש תשובה. Not every question has an answer. The root of תשובה is ש.ו.ב meaning return: an answer to a question is a response or a return. But another meaning of תשובה is repentance, which is […]