Hebrew Described

Hebrew Described
Hebrew Adjectives and Expressions Defined and Explained,
Selected from Your Daily Dose of Hebrew - Ktzat Ivrit
yddh.ulpan.com

Ami M. Steinberger

www.ulpan.com
 Copyright © 2013 by Ami Steinberger and Ulpan La-Inyan

All rights are reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the
author.
 Table of Contents

Introduction……………………………………...…………………………....1

Day to Day Life…………………………….……………..…………………...4

I’m Feeling………………………………………………………………...….26

People Are…………………………………………………...……………….43

Politics and the Life Cycle.……...…………………………………………….54

Wow, That’s……………...…………………………………………………...73

Good Expressions to Know……..…………………………………………...91

Appendix A: Basic Hebrew Reading…………..…………………………….103

Appendix B: The Seven Hebrew Verb Forms…………………...…………..106

 Introduction
‫ָמה‬‫ָדּ‬
‫ְק‬
‫ַה‬
One of the key mental mechanisms in learning a foreign language is association:
when we associate a word with an image, a sound, a related word or an emotional
experience, we form an anchor in our mind, so that the new word becomes, to
some degree, lodged in our memory.

This book takes words and phrases introduced in Your Daily Dose of Hebrew and
presents them according to theme, so that you’ll learn to associate your new pieces
of vocabulary with one another, with the emotional experiences of “Day-to-Day
Life,” “People Are…” and “I’m Feeling,” and with the images conjured when
prompted to think of wild animals and being happy through the roof. In this ebook
edition, you’ll also be able to associate your new words and phrases with their
native-spoken sounds, as well as imitate these sounds, growing your active
Modern-Hebrew vocabulary.

As those of you who have followed Your Daily Dose of Hebrew for some time can
expect, the contents of this book will provide you with access to Modern Hebrew
as it is spoken on the streets of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. They will also take you
back in linguistic time to Mishnaic and Biblical Hebrew, the major sources of the
vibrant language of the electrifying people of Modern Israel.

The ebook version of this book links Hebrew text to audio files, so that those of
you who don’t yet know how to read Hebrew can hear these words and phrases
pronounced instead of reading them. We’ve also got basic reading tutorials, which
you’ll find in Appendix A and online.

This book also references the seven Hebrew verb forms: ,‫ פועל‬,‫ פיעל‬,‫ נפעל‬,‫פעל‬
‫ הפיעל‬,‫ התפעל‬and ‫הופעל‬. Appendix B provides a handy reference for getting to

1
know these forms.

All books have, or want, an audience, and most books are written with an audience
in mind but without their input. This one, in contrast, was written over several
years of daily delivery and thus benefited from frequent feedback. I am indebted to
the readers and fans of Your Daily Dose of Hebrew as well as the students, teachers
and staff at Ulpan La-Inyan, who have kept this initiative alive and growing,
inspiring me to deliver you with useful and entertaining educational content. I’d
also like to acknowledge Eytan Kessler, whose hard work, exquisite attention to
detail and great dedication enabled this book to become a reality – a ‫ַשּׁם‬ֵ ‫ְתגּ‬
‫ִה‬‫ֹםֶשׁ‬
‫ֲלו‬
‫ח‬
(see chapter called “Good Expressions to Know”).

Enjoy!

2
 Dedication
‫ָשׁה‬‫ָדּ‬
‫ְק‬‫ַה‬
To my parents - to Abba, who taught me the Hebrew language outside of his native
land, and to Mom for supporting him in doing so. I know it wasn’t easy. I love you
both and am grateful to you for all I have.

3
Day-to-Day Life
‫ֹם‬
‫ֹמיו‬
ְ‫ֵיּיַהיּו‬
‫ַח‬

4
 “Nice to Meet You”
‫ִכּיר‬
‫ַה‬
‫ָעיםְל‬
ִ‫נ‬
When I go to the pool, I’m usually there to swim laps, so I use the fast lane. One
night, as I was swimming at my regular pace, an older man suddenly cut into my
lane and started doing a slow breaststroke.

Out of respect for his age and out of fear for my ego, I laughed it off instead of
saying something about his intrusion. When we both rested at the end of the lane, I
introduced myself - and when he introduced himself, I was amazed.
Alas, I mustn’t share with you this man’s identity, as I’m sworn to secrecy. But I
can share with you the right Hebrew phrase to use in lieu of the English nice to meet
:you

‫ִכּיר‬
‫ַה‬ ‫ – נ‬literally, it’s a pleasure to make (your) acquaintance
‫ָעיםְל‬
ִ

Another version of ‫ נעים להכיר‬that you may know is ‫ֹד‬ ‫ – נ‬literally, very
‫ָעיםְמא‬
ִ
pleasant.

Mind you, the active-causative ‫ הפעיל‬verb, ‫להכיר‬, is the one to use when
expressing meeting someone for the first time. ‫ להכיר‬means literally, to become
acquainted or familiar with.‫ להכיר‬is also the correct word to use when saying I know
someone – it’s right-brain, spatial-emotional knowledge, as distinguished from
left-brain factual knowledge, where ‫ַעת‬ ‫ ל‬is the correct word.
‫ָד‬
ַ

‫ֹשׁ‬ ‫ ל‬also means to meet, while ‫ֵשׁ‬

‫ִפגּו‬
ְ ‫ָפּג‬
‫ִה‬‫ְל‬means to meet with – but these lack the
right-brain, first-impression quality that comes with the word ‫להכיר‬.

An example of ‫ להכיר‬in action:

.‫ָכה‬‫ֵר‬
‫ְבּ‬‫ֵןַבּ‬
‫ְני‬
‫ַע‬
‫אָדםְמ‬ָ ‫ִתּי‬ ‫ְר‬
‫ַכּ‬‫ֹלִה‬‫ְתמו‬‫ֶא‬
Yesterday I met an interesting person at the pool.

5
 “My Name Is…”
…‫ִמי‬
‫ִאיםִלי…ְשׁ‬
‫ֹר‬
ְ
‫קו‬
In English, we say, my name is … In Hebrew, we say that literally as well, with …
‫ִמי‬ ‫(ְשׁ‬if you say the long version …‫ִלּי‬ ‫ֵשּׁםֶשׁ‬ַyou’ve given yourself away as a
‫ה‬,
foreigner). You’d use …‫ שמי‬in slightly formal settings or in a context where you’re
trying to be polite. But if you’re meeting someone casually, it’s better to use the
literal translation of (they) call me… – …‫ִאיםִלי‬‫ֹר‬
ְ
‫קו‬.

Here’s an example of this phrase flipped as a question:

? ‫ִאיםָל‬‫ֹר‬
ְ
‫ֵאי קו‬
What’s your (a female’s) name? (Literally, what do (they) call you?)

You may know that the word ‫ קוראים‬means not only calling, but also reading. That’s
because in the days of old, when the vast majority of the world was illiterate, those
who knew how to read would hold a text in their hands and call it out to the listening
masses.

Case in point – ‫ֹרה‬

ָ ‫ –ְק‬the reading of the Torah – where one person skilled in
‫ִריאַתַהתּו‬
reading the non-vocalized Hebrew text inscribed on the Torah scroll, reads it out
loud to the congregants.

To distinguish your more common reading to oneself from reading out loud for others,
Modern Hebrew uses an active-causative ‫ הפעיל‬verb for the latter: ‫ִריא‬ ‫ְק‬‫ַה‬‫ל‬.
ְ

6
 “A Clear, Beautiful Morning”
‫ֹקרַצח‬
ֶ‫בּ‬
The Jewish festival of love, known as Tu B’Av, ‫ט”ו באב‬, is usually a gorgeous day
in Jerusalem.

A brisk, clear morning in Hebrew is called ‫ֹקרַצח‬ ֶ‫בּ‬, where ‫ צח‬means clear, pure,
unblemished. It’s not only a description of the morning itself – it’s also a wish you
might bestow upon someone, much like ‫ֹב‬ ‫ – בוקר טו‬good morning.

You can use the same word to wish someone a good evening, especially if it’s nice
outside, with ‫ֶרבַצח‬
‫ע‬.
ֶ

“(Four) in the Morning”

‫ֹקר‬
ֶ‫ֹת בּ‬
‫ְפנו‬
‫ִל‬
In English, we describe the wee hours of the morning as, simply, the morning. For
example 4am is colloquially called four in the morning.

Hebrew uses a different expression. To mean, four in the morning, in Hebrew, you’d
say, ‫ֹקר‬
ֶ
‫ֹת בּ‬‫ִפנו‬
ְ‫ַע ל‬ ְ This means, literally, four to the turning of the morning – or, as the
‫אַרבּ‬.
pioneering Biblical commentator and prolific Hebrew philologist Rashi explains,
‫ֹא‬‫ָבו‬
‫ֶה ל‬
‫ֹונ‬
‫ֹקר פּ‬
ֶ‫ַהבּ‬‫ְעתֶשׁ‬
ֵ‫ – ל‬at the time when the morning turns itself to approach.

The expression ‫ לפנות בוקר‬need not be connected to a particular time in those wee
hours of the morning. The Israeli musician Ehud Banai uses the term, for instance
one of his songs, ‫ַסל‬
‫ְפ‬
‫ַסּ‬
‫ַלַה‬
‫יתיָל ע‬
ִ‫ִכּ‬ ‫ִח‬
‫ֶשׁ‬‫ְכּ‬- When I Waited for You on the Bench. He
opens the song with, ‫ַשׁנוּ לפנות בוקר‬ְ ‫ – נ‬we met in the early morning... not mentioning
‫ִפגּ‬
ְ
exactly when the two met, but making it clear it was before daybreak.

7
 “Have a Good Time”
‫ָעים‬
ִ‫ִבּלּוּי נ‬
Suppose your friends are all going out to see a movie... but you’ve got something
better to do. You’d probably wish them a good time, and then go about your
business.

Here’s how to do so in Hebrew: !‫ָעים‬

ִ‫ִבּלּוּי נ‬

‫ בילוי‬is the noun form (gerund) of the word ‫ֹת‬

‫ַלּו‬ְwhich means to spend time. ‫לבלות‬
‫לב‬,
is an active-intensive ‫ פיעל‬verb.

It is possible ‫ֹפא‬
ֵ‫ֶצלָהרו‬‫ָעהֵא‬‫ֹתָשׁ‬‫ַלּו‬‫ –ְלב‬to spend an hour at the doctor’s, and it is possible
‫ָם‬‫ֹףַהיּ‬‫ֹתְבּחו‬ ‫ –ְלב‬to spend time at the beach.
‫ַלּו‬

But if you use the word ‫ לבלות‬by itself, you’re talking about having a good time.
Hence, ‫ בילוי‬also means going out and having a good time.

“Point of Departure”
‫ֹצא‬
ָ‫ַדּת מו‬
‫ֻק‬
‫ְנ‬
The Hebrew root ‫א‬.‫צ‬.‫י‬, (y.ts.a), meaning exiting, gave rise to many words
throughout Hebrew’s history.

One of these words is that of origin as well as that which has exited/departed – ‫ֹצא‬
ָ‫מו‬,
which, in Modern Hebrew, has also come to mean ethnicity or ancestry.

For example:

.‫ִני‬
‫ָמ‬
‫ֶר‬
ְ‫ֹצא גּ‬
ָ‫ִהיאִממּו‬
She is of German ancestry.

Another modern application of the word ‫ מוצא‬is in the expression for starting
point or point of departure: ‫ֹצא‬
ָ‫ַדּת מו‬‫נ‬,ְas in:
‫ֻק‬

.‫ֵתּק‬
‫ַר‬
‫ָקרְמ‬ ‫ְח‬
‫ֶמ‬‫ֹצאְל‬
ָ‫ַדּת מו‬ ‫ֻק‬‫ְנ‬
‫ֵמּשִׁכּ‬‫ַשׁ‬ ‫פּוּחְמ‬
ַ ‫ַתּ‬ ‫ֹןִעםַה‬‫ְניוּטו‬ ‫ֹןֶשׁל‬‫ָסּיו‬‫ִנּ‬
‫ַה‬
Newton’s experience with the apple serves as a point of departure for fascinating research.
8
 “To the Left” & “To the Right”
‫ָה‬ ‫ְשׂמ‬,‫ָה‬
‫ֹאל‬ ‫ִמינ‬
‫ְי‬
This entry will help you understand directions given to you in Israel and provide
them yourself when requested.

The Hebrew terms for right and left are ‫ָמין‬

ִ‫ י‬and ‫ֹאל‬ְrespectively.
‫שׂמ‬,

That’s right and left by themselves. But when giving and receiving directions –
where in English we talk about to the right and to the left, Hebrew adds the ah vowel
to the end of the word, so that we have:

‫ָה‬
‫ִמינ‬– to the right
‫ְי‬

and

‫ָה‬ ‫ –ְשׂמ‬to the left

‫ֹאל‬

For example:

.‫ָכּר‬
‫ִכּ‬
‫ָהַבּ‬
‫ֹאל‬ ‫ְואָזְשׂמ‬ ,‫ֹר‬‫ְמזו‬
‫ַר‬‫ָהָבּ‬
‫ִמינ‬‫ְי‬‫ֹת‬‫ִפנו‬
ְ‫ִרי ל‬ ‫ָצ‬
You have to (literally, one must) turn right at the traffic light, and then left at the roundabout.

This ah ending, used in Biblical Hebrew, gives a noun a directional sense. Some
other examples in contemporary use are:

‫ָה‬ ‫ –ָצפ‬to the north/northward

‫ֹונ‬
‫ֹמה‬
ָ‫ –ָדּרו‬to the south/southward
‫ָחה‬‫ָר‬‫ –ִמ‬to the east/eastward
‫ְז‬
‫ָבה‬ ‫ –ַמע‬to the west/westward
‫ֲר‬
ָ

And of course, one of Israel’s political parties in the 2013 election:

‫ימה‬
ָ‫ִד‬‫ –ָק‬forward

9
 “Nearby”
‫ֹם‬
‫ַבתָמקו‬
‫ְר‬
‫ִק‬
‫ְבּ‬
To say in Hebrew that something is close, you’d use a form of the word ‫ֹב‬ ‫קרו‬.
ָ
Likewise, you could talk about the nearby town – ‫ֹבה‬
ָ‫ְקּרו‬
‫ָרהַה‬
ָ‫ֲעי‬ָIn that case, ‫( קרובה‬a
‫ה‬.
form of ‫ )קרוב‬is describing the town - the word is an adjective.

However, if you want to say the town is located nearby or he lives nearby the
synagogue you’re describing the action, so you’d have to use an adverb. The Hebrew
expression taking care of this situation is ‫ֹם‬‫ַבתָמקו‬‫ְר‬
‫ִק‬‫בּ‬.
ְ

In our examples:

.‫ֵצאת בקרבת מקום‬

‫ְמ‬
‫ִנ‬
‫ָרה‬
ָ
‫ֲעי‬
‫ָה‬

and

.‫ֶסת‬
ֶ‫ְכּנ‬‫ֵביתַה‬ ‫ָר בקרבת מקוםְל‬ ‫הוּא גּ‬
He lives nearby the synagogue.

10
 “To the East”
‫ָחה‬
‫ָר‬
‫ְז‬
‫ִמ‬
The Torah portion Va’etchanan, ‫ַן‬ ‫ַחנּ‬‫ְת‬ ‫ו‬,ָfeatures the plea of Moses to be allowed to
‫ֶא‬
lead the People of Israel into their land, after having led them for forty years en
route. Part of God’s response is to show Moses the land, inviting him to look out
in all directions and see the good land, including eastward, to the east bank of the
Jordan River.

Eastward or to the east are both ‫ָחה‬

‫ָר‬‫ִמ‬in Hebrew, taking the word ‫ַרח‬
‫ְז‬ ‫ִמ‬for east and
‫ְז‬
adding a directional ‫ ה‬to the end of the word.

Likewise:

westward or to the west is ‫ָבה‬

‫ֲר‬
ָ
‫;מע‬
ַ

southward or to the south is ‫ֹמה‬

ָ‫ָ;דּרו‬

and

northward or to the north is ‫ָה‬

‫ֹונ‬
‫צפ‬.
ָ

A Modern-Hebrew example:

.‫ֶרת‬
ֶ
‫ִכּנּ‬
‫ֹתַבּ‬‫ְשׂחו‬‫ֵדיִל‬‫ָהְכּ‬ ‫ֹונ‬
‫ִעיםָצפ‬‫ֹס‬
ְ‫ַחנוּ נו‬
ְ ‫ֲאנ‬
We are traveling to the north in order to swim in the Sea of Galilee.

In Biblical Hebrew, the directional ‫ה‬- is appended to the end of any name of a
place, such as ‫ָמה‬‫ְי‬
‫ַר‬‫ –ִמ‬to Egypt, ‫ָמה‬
‫ְצ‬ ָ‫ – י‬toward the sea, etc. Modern Hebrew use of the
directional ‫ה‬- is much more limited.

11
 “Upwards” or “To Heaven”
‫ֶאלַעל‬
It’s very likely that you’re familiar with Israel’s flagship air carrier, El Al, especially
if you’ve made aliyah through the Jewish Agency or Nefesh B’Nefesh.

The idiom ‫ַל‬ ‫ֶאל ע‬means upward or skyward. I came across this term while reading
an article on Ynet about a speech United States President Obama gave concerning
the Middle East:

.‫ַל‬
‫ִריאֶאל ע‬‫ְמ‬‫ָמה שׁוּבַמ‬‫ֹבּ‬
ָ‫ָרק או‬
‫ָשׂיאָבּ‬
ִ‫ָהוַּלנּ‬‫ְני‬
‫ַת‬‫ְנ‬
‫ַתחֵבּין‬
‫ֶמּ‬
‫ַה‬
The tension between Netanyahu and President Barack Obama is again “taking off skyward.”

“Crosswalk”
‫ָה‬
‫ָצי‬
‫ֲברֲח‬
ַ‫ַמע‬
In the USA, it’s called a crosswalk. In The UK, it’s called a zebra crossing.

In Israel, it’s called a .‫ָה‬

‫ֲצי‬
ָ‫ֲבר ח‬
ַ‫ַמע‬

‫ מעבר‬comes from the root ‫ר‬.‫ב‬.‫ע‬, (a.b.r), meaning transition. And ‫ חציה‬comes from
the root ‫י‬.‫צ‬.‫ח‬, (kh.ts.y), meaning half.

What does half have to do with crossing?

Think about it this way: when you cross the street, you’re effectively splitting it in
two – or in half… like the Children of Israel did with the Red Sea.

12
 “Dead End”
‫ֹצא‬
ָ‫ְל א מו‬
The Hebrew phrase for point of departure is ‫ֹצא‬
ָ‫ַדּת מו‬
‫ֻק‬
‫נ‬.ְ

The Hebrew term for a dead end - a point without departure or a place with no way out -
is ‫ֹצא‬
ָ‫ֹםְל א מו‬ ָTo refer to a particular type of dead end, substitute the word
‫מקו‬.
for place – ‫ֹם‬
‫ –ָמקו‬with your specific noun.

For example:

‫ֹצא‬
ָ‫ֹבְל א מו‬ ‫ְרחו‬
dead-end street

and:

‫ֹצא‬
ָ‫ֶשׁרְל א מו‬ ‫ֶק‬
dead-end relationship

Another expression meaning dead end or cul-de-sac is ‫ֹיָסתוּם‬ ָliterally a blocked

‫מבו‬,
alley.

“Medical Center”
‫פוּאי‬
ִ ‫ְר‬‫ָכּז‬
‫ְר‬
‫ֶמ‬
A center is a ‫ָכּז‬
‫ְר‬ֶFor example, the greater Tel Aviv metropolis is considered ‫ַכּז‬
‫מ‬. ‫ְר‬‫ֶמ‬
ֶ‫ –ָה‬the center of the country. The root of ‫ מרכז‬is ‫ז‬.‫כ‬.‫ר‬, (r.k.z), meaning concentration.
‫אָרץ‬

The practice of medicine is ‫רפוּאָה‬.ְThus a medical center is a ‫פוּאי‬

ִ ‫ְר‬‫ָכּז‬
‫ְר‬ֶwhere
‫מ‬,
the ee sound at the end of the ‫ רפואי‬turns the feminine noun of ‫ רפואה‬into a
masculine adjective describing the masculine noun ‫מרכז‬.

13
 “Security Check”
‫ֹני‬
ִ‫ְטחו‬
‫ִבּדּוּקִבּ‬
I once had guests visiting from Europe for a few days. For both of them it was
their first time in Israel, and therefore their first time encountering the
psychologically-astute Israeli security team at the airport.

A security check is a ‫ֹני‬

ִ‫ְטחו‬
‫בּדּוּקִבּ‬.
ִ

Let’s break that down.

‫בידוק‬

The verb for to check is ‫ֹק‬

‫ְבדּו‬ִof the active-simple ‫ַל‬
‫ל‬, ‫ פּ‬form and the root ‫ק‬.‫ד‬.‫ב‬
‫ָע‬
(b.d.k). And a check or a checkup is a ‫יקה‬
ָ‫ִד‬‫בּ‬.
ְ

But since a security check is a more involved process than a simple checkup, we invoke
the noun form of an intensive verb, yielding the word .‫בידוק‬

‫בטחוני‬

‫ בטחוני‬comes from the word ‫ֹן‬ ‫ –ִבּ‬security. ‫ בטחוני‬is an adjective, so we add a ‫ י‬to
‫ָטּחו‬
the end of the word ‫בטחון‬.

Putting these two pieces together, we get a security check – ‫בידוק בטחוני‬.

14
 “Make Yourself at Home”
‫ִית‬
‫ַבּ‬
‫ִגּישׁוַּבּ‬
‫ְר‬
‫ַתּ‬
In order to make their guest feel welcome, hosts will often say, make yourself at home.

The Hebrew expression, when speaking to more than one person, is ‫ִית‬ ‫ַבּ‬
‫ִגּישׁוַּבּ‬
‫ְר‬
‫תּ‬.
ַ
This means, literally, you shall feel at home, where ‫ תרגישו‬is a future-tense conjugate of
the active-causative ‫ הפעיל‬verb, ‫ִגּישׁ‬ ‫ְר‬‫ –ְל‬to feel.
‫ַה‬

But guests don’t always come in pairs or groups.

To one male, use:

‫ִית‬
‫ַבּ‬
‫ִגּישַׁבּ‬
‫ְר‬
‫ַתּ‬

And to one female, use:

‫ִית‬
‫ַבּ‬
‫ישׁיַבּ‬
ִ‫ִגּ‬‫ְר‬
‫ַתּ‬

“Sautéed”
‫ָפּץ‬
‫ְק‬
‫ֻמ‬
I once had dinner with my friend Avi, who takes pride in his delicious, healthy
cooking. He fried us up some schnitzel, but when I commented that he was frying
it in olive oil instead of Canola; he corrected me, saying that was sautéing, not
frying.

Sauté comes from French. The closest Hebrew word we have that captures the
meaning is ‫ָץ‬
‫ְקפּ‬‫ –ֻמ‬so that sautéed (or stir-fried) vegetables are ‫מוקפצים‬
ִ ‫ֹת‬ ‫ָרקו‬
‫י‬.ְ
‫ מוקפץ‬means, literally, caused to jump. The word fits into the ‫ הופעל‬verb paradigm,
the passive form of the ‫הפעיל‬.

To fry, on the other hand, is ‫ֵן‬ ְa ‫ פיעל‬verb.

‫ַטגּ‬
‫ל‬,

I maintain that Avi was frying. Either way, the schnitzel came out tasty.

15
 “To Gain Weight”
‫ִמין‬
‫ְשׁ‬‫ַה‬
‫ְל‬
Just as do people of other cultures and religions, Jews have a tendency to gain
weight during their holiday season.

The Hebrew word for to gain weight is ‫ִמין‬

‫ְשׁ‬
‫ַה‬ ְof the root ‫נ‬.‫מ‬.‫ש‬, (sh.m.n),
‫ל‬,
meaning fat. So whereas in English you might say to a close male friend, “you’ve
gained weight,” in Hebrew you’d say .‫ְנת‬ ‫ַמ‬
‫ְשׁ‬‫ִה‬

‫ להשמין‬is an active-causative ‫ הפעיל‬verb.

Professionals and people being more polite are likely to use ‫ָקל‬ ‫ְשׁ‬
‫ִמּ‬
‫ֹתַבּ‬
‫ֲלו‬‫ַלע‬to
mean to gain weight (literally, to go up in the weight), rather than the more informal and
in-your-face ‫להשמין‬.

“To Lose Weight”

‫ֹת‬
‫ְרזו‬
‫ִל‬
‫ֹת‬ ‫ִל‬means to lose weight, or literally, to become thin. This simple ‫ פעל‬verb is derived
‫ְרזו‬
from the adjective, ‫ֶזה‬ ‫ָר‬ meaning thin, when referring to a male (the feminine
version is ‫ָזה‬ ָA more professional, polite version of the term is ‫ָקל‬
‫)ר‬. ‫ְשׁ‬‫ִמּ‬‫ֶדתַבּ‬
‫ָר‬
ֶ‫–ל‬
literally, to go down in the weight.

You may recall this root appearing in the introductory prayer for rain said during
the holiday of Sh’mini Atzeret, ‫שמיני עצרת‬:
‫ֹן‬
‫ָרזו‬refers to gauntness, or in the case of the prayer, famine; whereas ‫ַע‬‫ שׂ‬refers
‫ֹב‬
to satiation.

The word ‫ֶזה‬

‫ָר‬appears in Shalom Hanoch’s father-son piece on homecoming: ‫ָמה‬
‫ָכּ‬
‫ָתה‬
‫ְי‬
‫ַבּ‬
‫אתַה‬
ָ‫ָבּ‬ ‫ – טו‬How Great It Is That You’ve Come Home.
‫ֹבֶשׁ‬

16
 “To Clear the Table”
‫ָחן‬
‫ְל‬
‫שּׁ‬ֻ‫ֹתֶאתַה‬
‫ַפנּו‬
‫ְל‬
‫ֹת‬ ‫ ל‬means to clear off. For example, I might say, ‫ֹעִעם‬
‫ְפנּו‬
ַ ַ‫ְנסו‬‫ֵדיִל‬‫ֹקרְכּ‬ֶ‫ֶהִליֶאתַהבּ‬ ‫ַפנּ‬
‫ִניְמ‬
‫ֲא‬
‫ָם‬ ‫ –ָדּ‬I’m clearing (for myself) the morning in order to go (travel) to the beach (sea) with
‫ִניתַליּ‬
Danit.

Likewise, one can clear off a table – ‫ָחן‬

‫ְל‬
‫ֹתֻשׁ‬ ‫ל‬. When I was a child and we used to
‫ְפנּו‬
ַ
have Friday night dinner as a family, this was the part where I always had to go to
the bathroom.

The word ‫ לפנות‬is an active-intensive ‫ פיעל‬verb of the root ‫ה‬.‫נ‬.‫פ‬, (p.n.h). Some
related words are ‫ָה‬ ‫ –ִפּנּ‬corner (a place sectioned off from the rest), ‫ –ָפּנוּי‬available and
‫ֹת‬‫ַפּנּו‬
‫ְת‬
‫ִה‬‫ –ְל‬to use the restroom (to relieve oneself).

17
 “To Wash the Dishes”
‫ִלים‬
‫ֹףֵכּ‬
‫ְשׁטו‬
‫ִל‬
Those who have studied the Talmud have probably come across the word ‫ֵטּף‬ ‫ַתּ‬‫ְשׁ‬
‫ִה‬
‫ְל‬
. In the Talmudic context, that word means to rinse oneself. It’s a word that is no
longer used in spoken Hebrew.

When pronounced by your average Israeli, ‫ להשתטף‬sounds just like the word for to
participate – ‫ֵתּף‬
‫ַתּ‬
‫ְשׁ‬ ְa word that can be found of the lips of every Israeli school
‫ִה‬
‫ל‬,
child and their teacher. To tell the difference between these
two reflexive-intensive ‫ֵל‬
‫ַע‬
‫ְתפּ‬‫ִה‬verbs, look at their roots:

‫ – להשתטף‬the root is ‫פ‬.‫ט‬.‫שׁ‬, (sh.t.p), meaning rinsing

‫ – להשתתף‬the root is ‫פ‬.‫ת‬.‫שׁ‬, (sh.t.p), meaning partnership

While ‫ להשתטף‬no longer gets spoken, its root, ‫פ‬.‫ט‬.‫שׁ‬, is alive and well, most
commonly in the active-simple ‫ַל‬‫ פּ‬verb, ‫ֹף‬
‫ָע‬ ‫ –ִל‬to rinse.
‫ְשׁטו‬

Everyday expressions include:

‫ֵלים‬
ִ‫ֹף כּ‬ ‫ –ִל‬to rinse/wash (the) dishes
‫ְשׁטו‬

‫ֵלים‬
ִ‫יפת כּ‬
ַ‫ִט‬‫( –ְשׁ‬the act of) rinsing/washing (the) dishes

and

‫ֹח‬
ַ‫יפת מ‬
ַ‫ִט‬‫ –ְשׁ‬brainwash

Another expression that also means to rinse (the) dishes is ‫ֵלים‬

ִ‫יח כּ‬
ַ‫ִדּ‬‫ַה‬
‫ל‬.
ְ

18
 “Recommended”
‫ָץ‬
‫ְמל‬
‫ֻמ‬
‫ָצה‬
ָ ‫ַה‬means recommendation, and is the noun form of the active-causative ‫הפעיל‬
‫ְמל‬
verb to recommend – ‫ִליץ‬
‫ְמ‬
‫ַה‬
‫ל‬.
ְ

The word for recommended is ‫ָץ‬ ֻThis is an adjective derived from verb ‫להמליץ‬,
‫ְמל‬
‫מ‬.
conforming to the passive-causative ‫ הופעל‬verb form.

‫ מוּמלץ‬is used more often in Hebrew than recommended is used in English. It often
appears where in English one would use the word suggested.

Here are a couple of examples:

.‫ִחיר מומלץ‬‫ֵשְׁמ‬‫ֶזּה י‬‫ֶפרַה‬‫ַסּ‬

ֵ‫ל‬
This book has a suggested price.

.‫ָמן‬‫ְזּ‬
‫ֵיַה‬‫ִפנ‬
ְ‫ָעה ל‬
‫ַעָשׁ‬
‫ֶרב‬ ‫ָעה‬
ָ‫ֹפ‬
‫ַהו‬‫יע ל‬
ַ‫ִגּ‬‫ַה‬
‫מומלץְל‬
It’s recommended to arrive at the show fifteen minutes in advance of the (starting) time.

.‫ֹם‬
‫ הוּא מומלץְבּחו‬,‫ֶזּה?ֵכּן‬ ‫נּוּחַה‬
ַ ‫ִקּ‬ ‫ֶבתֶאתַה‬ ‫ֹה‬
ֶ ‫ְתּ או‬‫ַא‬:‫ִרית‬‫ְצ‬
ָ‫ַמּל‬
ֶ‫ל‬
To a waitress: Do you like this dessert? Yes, it’s warmly recommended.

“Short Film”
‫ֹן‬
‫ְרטו‬
‫ִס‬
Perhaps you know the Modern Hebrew word for movie or film – ‫ֶרט‬ ֶThe word
‫ס‬.
made its first appearances in the Hebrew language a few thousand years ago, in the
bodies of Jewish literature known as the Mishnah (‫ָה‬
‫ְשׁנ‬ִand the Midrash (‫ָרש‬
‫)מ‬ ‫ְד‬
‫)מ‬.
ִ

In those texts, ‫ סרט‬means ribbon, a less-common meaning also used today. ‫סרט‬
refers to movie or film, since a movie is actually played from a ribbon of sorts, at least
before the digital age.

Appending the ‫ֹן‬

‫ ו‬ending to the word ‫סרט‬, the Academy of the Hebrew
Language created a “smaller” version of the word – or a diminutive: ‫ֹן‬
‫ְרטו‬
‫ס‬,
ִ

19
meaning a short film.

YouTube clips fall under the ‫ סרטון‬category.

“To Deliver the Goods”

‫ֹרה‬
ָ
‫ְסּחו‬
‫ֵפּקֶאתַה‬
‫ַס‬
‫ְל‬
When people keep their promises or fulfill the expectations we have of them, we
say they’ve “delivered the goods” in English.

The Hebrew equivalent to this expression is an almost-literal translation – ‫ֵפּק‬

‫הוּאִס‬
‫ֹרה‬
ָ ‫ –ֶאתַה‬literally; he supplied the goods/merchandise.
‫ְסּחו‬

To supply or provide is ‫ֵפּק‬

‫ַס‬ְan active-intensive ‫ֵל‬
‫ל‬, ‫ִפּע‬verb.

“Generously”
‫ָבה‬
‫ָח‬
‫ְר‬‫ָד‬
‫ְבּי‬
Languages in general often make use of concrete images to express abstract ideas.
We call this figurative language.

Here’s a beautiful example from Hebrew.

Imagine a woman sitting on a park bench on a cool autumn day, enjoying a

sandwich. As she watches the chirping birds skipping down from the trees onto
the green slopes, the figure of a small boy passing by her interrupts her reverie.
Glancing at the boy, the woman sees a frail figure with stooped shoulders making
its way through the park.

The woman’s heart sinks... and then opens up.

She calls to the boy, “Are you hungry? Come over here. I’ve got something for
you.” With caution but with desperate hope, the boy approaches this woman who
smiles at him graciously and introduces herself. From her handbag, the woman
pulls out her lunchbox, opens it up, and hands him its contents.

To give generously, in Hebrew, is ‫ָבה‬

‫ָח‬
‫ְר‬‫ָד‬ ‫ – ל‬literally, to give with a wide hand.
‫ָתתְבּי‬
ֵ
20
 “Consistently”
‫ִביּוּת‬
‫ְק‬
‫ִע‬
‫ְבּ‬
The root of the Hebrew words having to do with consistency – ‫ב‬.‫ק‬.‫ע‬, (a.k.b), meaning
heel – appears for the first time in the Torah portion Toldot, ‫תולדות‬, in which the
third forefather, ‫ֹב‬
‫ֲעק‬ ‫(ַי‬Jacob), is introduced holding onto the heel of (his brother) Esau -
‫ָשׂו‬‫ֲקבֵע‬
ֵ‫ֶזתַבּע‬
‫ֹח‬
ֶ‫ֹו א‬‫ָד‬
‫וי‬.ְ

There are several ways of saying consistently in Hebrew:

‫ִבי‬‫ְק‬
‫ֹפןִע‬
ֶ‫ְבּא‬
in a consistent manner

‫ִבית‬‫ְק‬‫צוּרהִע‬
ָ‫ְבּ‬
in a consistent form

‫ִביּוּת‬‫ְק‬‫ִע‬
‫ְבּ‬
with consistency

“Awake”
‫ֵער‬
The Torah portion Balak, ‫בלק‬, is perhaps the strangest – ‫ֹתר‬ ֵ
‫ָרהְבּיו‬ָ ‫ַה‬of all
‫מּוּז‬
portions, featuring a talking (female) donkey – ‫ֶרת‬
‫ֶבּ‬
‫ַד‬ ‫ אָתו‬and a prophet-magician
‫ֹןְמ‬
who seeks to curse the People of Israel, but instead blessings spring forth from his
mouth.

Israeli music artist Ehud Banai composed a song that draws upon the themes of
this portion. He titled it ‫ֵם‬
‫ֹול‬ ‫ –ֵער א‬Awake or Dreaming?, since prophet-magician
‫ֹו ח‬
‫ְעם‬
ָ‫ –ִבּל‬Balaam may very well have questioned his conscious state as his ‫אתון‬
opened her mouth… and since the main figure in the song questions his state as
well.

21
In the song, the line is:

?‫ֵם‬
‫ֹול‬
‫ֹו ח‬
‫ִניֵער א‬
‫ִאםֲא‬‫ַה‬
Am I awake or dreaming?

If a woman were to sing the song, she’d say instead:

?‫ֶמת‬
ֶ‫ֹול‬
‫ֹו ח‬
‫ָרה א‬
‫ִניֵע‬
‫ִאםֲא‬
‫ַה‬

“To Go out of Your Mind”

‫ְעתּו‬
ֹ ‫ַדּ‬
‫ָצאתִמ‬
ֵ‫ל‬
The English expression to go out of one’s (his) mind gets translated literally into
Modern Hebrew:

‫ְעתּו‬
‫ַדּ‬
‫ָצאתִמ‬
ֵ‫ל‬

‫ לצאת‬means to go out, while ‫ מדעתו‬means from his mind.

To use this expression, conjugate the active-simple ‫ פעל‬verb ‫לצאת‬, and substitute
the ‫ֹו‬
- ending with the one you wish to mean.

For example:

.‫ִתּי‬‫ְע‬‫ַדּ‬
‫ֵצאִמ‬ ‫ִניֵא‬‫ֲא‬, ‫ִשׁי‬‫ַמ‬
ְ‫ָכה י‬‫ַעשָׁכּ‬ ‫ַר‬
‫ִאםָה‬
If the noise continues this way, I’ll go out of my mind.

.‫ָתּהּ‬ ‫ְע‬‫ַדּ‬
‫ָצאָהִמ‬ְ
‫ִהיא י‬ ‫ֶמהִליֶשׁ‬ ‫ְד‬‫ִנ‬
It seems to me that she’s gone crazy.

A synonym for ‫ לצאת מדעתו‬is ‫ֵע‬

ַ‫ַתּגּ‬
‫ְשׁ‬ ְliterally, to go crazy.
‫ִה‬
‫ל‬,

22
 “Get Well Soon”
‫ֵמה‬
ָ ,‫ירה‬
‫ְרפוּאָהְשׁל‬ ָ‫ִה‬
‫ָמהְמ‬
ָ‫ְחל‬
‫ַה‬
The traditional Jewish way of wishing someone a speedy recovery is saying ‫ְרפוּאָה‬
‫ֵמה‬
ָ ְwhich means, literally, a complete healing.
‫שׁל‬,

But a more common expression in Modern Hebrew is ‫ירה‬

ָ‫ִה‬
‫ָמהְמ‬
ָ ‫ –ַה‬literally, a
‫ְחל‬
speedy recovery.

‫ החלמה‬comes from the active-causative ‫ הפעיל‬verb, ‫ִלים‬

‫ְח‬‫ –ְל‬to recover.
‫ַה‬

‫ מהירה‬is the feminine form of the adjective, ‫ִהיר‬‫ –ָמ‬quick, speedy, fast. We use
‫ מהירה‬and ‫מהיר‬, as opposed to ‫ָרה‬ ‫ֵה‬‫ְמ‬and ‫ֵהר‬ ַbecause we’re calling the
‫מ‬,
recovery quick – whereas ‫ מהרה‬and ‫ מהר‬mean quickly, speedily, or fast as an adverb.

For example:

.‫ֹלים‬
ִ‫ָלַהחו‬‫ירהְלכ‬ָ‫ִה‬‫ָמהְמ‬ָ‫ְחל‬ ‫ֲליםַה‬ ִ
‫ֵהםְמאַח‬
They wish a quick recovery to all the sick people.

“A Cooling Trend”
‫ְררוּת‬
‫ָק‬
‫ְת‬
‫ַמּתִה‬
ַ‫ְמג‬
Occasionally in Jerusalem, during the winter it will snow. But even after a day of
snowfall, the next day the weather can change so that it’s more appropriate to wear
a t-shirt and shorts. And then the next day it can get cold again.

A cooling trend is a ‫ְררוּת‬

‫ָק‬
‫ְת‬
‫ַמּתִה‬
ַ‫מג‬.
ְ

The word ‫ַמּה‬ ָ ְone that appears in Biblical Hebrew, means a

‫מג‬,
trend, tendency, direction of movement.

The word ‫ְררוּת‬ ‫ָק‬

‫ְת‬‫ִה‬comes from the word for cold – ‫קר‬.
ָPlugging the word ‫קר‬
into the ‫ התפעל‬form, we get a word with a back-and-forth reflexive quality - it’s as if
we could see the cold spiraling down into ice and snow.

23
 “To Hang in There”
‫ָמד‬
‫ֲע‬
‫ִזיקַמ‬
‫ְח‬
‫ַה‬
‫ְל‬
To someone having difficulty with a problem, or with just getting through a long
week, we might say: ‫ֲמד‬
ָ‫ִזיקוַּמע‬ ‫ְח‬ַwhich means, literally, hold stance, in the plural.
‫תּ‬,
To conjugate for individuals, study the active-causative ‫ הפעיל‬verb form.

To “hang in there” is ‫ִזיק מעמד‬

‫ְח‬
‫ַה‬ְThis Hebrew expression can also refer to an
‫ל‬.
object remaining intact.

‫ מעמד‬comes from the root ‫ד‬.‫מ‬.‫ע‬, (a.m.d) which means standing.

‫להחזיק‬, to hold, comes from the root ‫ק‬.‫ז‬.‫ח‬, (kh.z.k), meaning strong; holding
something requires strength.

24
 “Don’t Go it Alone”
‫ָתו‬
ֹ ‫ְלי‬
‫ֻח‬
‫ֵאֵמ‬
‫ַמלּ‬
‫ְת‬‫ֹרִמ‬
‫ֵאיןַהבּו‬
In the Torah portion, Vayelekh, ‫ֶל‬ ‫ו‬,ַMoses passes his leadership of the People of
‫ֵיּ‬
Israel on to Joshua, assuring him that God will be with him, that the burden of
leadership will not fall on him alone.

An ancient Talmudic expression that found its rightful place in modern Hebrew
language and culture expresses the sentiment of the person who recognizes that he
cannot accomplish it all himself, but that he rather must receive help in order to
survive and to thrive.

The expression is:

.ֹ
‫ָתו‬
‫ֻלי‬
ְ‫ֵאֵמח‬
‫ַמלּ‬‫ְת‬
‫ֹרִמ‬‫ֵאיןַהבּו‬

The meaning:

In ancient Israel, communities would dig a hole in the ground in which to store
rainwater. They would cover this hole with a large stone that had a smaller hole in
it, into which rainwater would be collected from higher ground through a series of
pipes. The hole in the cover alone could not collect the necessary water; help was
needed from surrounding areas. Thus a person must receive help from the outside
as well - she cannot go it alone.

Breaking down the expression:

‫ֹר‬
‫בּו‬
Hole

‫ֵא‬‫ַמלּ‬ ‫ְת‬‫ִמ‬
Is filled up (a variation of the reflexive-intensive ‫ֵל‬
‫ַע‬ ‫ִה‬verb form)
‫ְתפּ‬

‫ֹו‬
‫ָת‬
‫ֻלי‬
ְ‫ֵמח‬
From/through (the hole in) its cover
…where ‫ָה‬ ‫ ח‬means cover
‫ֻלי‬
ְ
(In Modern Hebrew more commonly, a link in a chain or a segment of the spinal cord)

In plain English, The hole is not filled up through its cover.

25
 ‫…‪I’m Feeling‬‬
‫ישׁה‪...‬‬
‫ִגָּ‬‫ְר‬
‫ישׁ‪/‬מ‬
‫ִגּ ַ‬ ‫ְר‬
‫ִניַמ‬
‫ֲא‬

‫‪26‬‬
 “Lazy”
‫ָן‬
‫ְצל‬
‫ַע‬
The Hebrew word for a male who is lazy is ‫ָן‬ ‫ע‬, while the word for a female lazy
‫ַצל‬
ְ
person is ‫ַנית‬
ִ‫ַצל‬
ְ‫ע‬.

The root of the word ‫ עצלן‬shows up in the Bar Mitzvah dance favorite, Yo Ya.

“Grateful”
‫ֹדה‬
ָ‫ִסיר תּו‬
‫ֲא‬
One night after having fallen off my bike, I woke up at 4am with pain that
prompted me to get in a cab and head to the urgent care center. They gave me cast
because it wasn’t yet clear whether my scaphoid bone was broken or sprained.

That early morning, I felt grateful – for the kind, professional (Arab) doctors at
‫טרם‬, for having only injured my hand rather than having done something worse,
and, suddenly, for lots of other people in my life, not the least of whom is my
family. I suddenly started focusing on my relationships more than I usually do.
Modern Hebrew doesn’t have a single proper word for grateful. Rather, we use an
expression that means, literally, bound by thanks – ‫ֹדה‬
ָ ‫ֲא‬in the masculine, and
‫ִסיר תּו‬
‫ֹדה‬
ָ
‫ירת תּו‬ ‫ֲא‬in the feminine.
ַ‫ִס‬

For example:

‫ֹבֶאת‬ ‫ְכתּו‬
‫ִל‬
‫ְו‬‫ַים‬
ִ
‫ֹפנּ‬
ַ‫ַל או‬‫ֹב ע‬ ‫ִל‬,‫ֹת‬
‫ְרכּו‬ ‫ְשׂחו‬‫ֹלִל‬‫ָכו‬‫ִני י‬
‫ֲא‬
‫ֶשׁ‬‫ְו‬,‫ֶבר‬
‫ֵאיןִליֶשׁ‬‫ֹדהֶשׁ‬ָ‫ִסיר תּו‬ ‫ִניֲא‬
‫ֹםֲא‬
‫ַהיּו‬
‫ֹאת‬‫שׁוּמהַהזּ‬
ָ ‫ְר‬‫ה‬.
ָ
Today I’m grateful that I don’t have a fracture, and that I can swim, ride a bike and write this
posting.

The Modern Hebrew expression for gratitude the noun is a bit different – ‫ַרת‬
‫ָכּ‬
‫ַה‬
‫– טו‬recognition of a favor.
‫ֹבה‬
ָ

(A little secret - the original Hebrew word for gratitude was ‫ֹדה‬
ָ‫תּו‬, but this word

27
has been replaced by the much more popular expression, thank you.)

“Daring”
‫ֹעז‬
ָ‫נו‬
Thanks to acts of bravery, selflessness and, at times, utter audacity on the part of
Israeli soldiers , Mossad agents, security personnel and the leaders of the State, the
Jewish people have a place to call home today.

The Hebrew word for daring or “gutsy” is ‫ֹעז‬

ָ‫ נו‬in the masculine and ‫ֶזת‬‫ נו‬in the
‫ֹע‬
ֶ
feminine.

For example:

.‫יראק‬ָ‫ִע‬
‫ֹמיְבּ‬
ִ‫ֲאטו‬ ‫ָצהֶאתַהכּוּרָה‬ ‫ֹצ‬
ְ‫ֵאל פּו‬‫ָר‬
‫ְשׂ‬‫ִי‬,‫ֶזת‬‫ֹע‬
ֶ‫ָה נו‬‫ְפעוּל‬‫ִבּ‬
In a daring operation, Israel bombed the nuclear reactor in Iraq.

Israel did so to protect itself… as well as the world.

“Aggressive”
‫ִני‬
‫ָפ‬
‫ֹק‬
ְ
‫תּו‬
When asked to translate the word aggressive into Hebrew, many Israelis are likely to
say ‫יבי‬
ִ‫ִס‬ ְ simply a transliteration from the English.
‫ֶר‬
‫אַג‬,

However, you’re likely to hear in the media as well as from the lips of the
generation currently being educated in Israeli universities the word ‫ִני‬‫ָפ‬‫ – תּו‬also,
‫ֹק‬
ְ
aggressive. Likewise, aggressiveness is ‫ָפנוּת‬‫תּו‬. These words come from the
‫ֹק‬
ְ
active-simple ‫ פעל‬verb ‫ֹף‬ ‫ְתקו‬ ִmeaning to attack. ‫ לתקוף‬appears in various forms in
‫ל‬,
Biblical Hebrew, but is borrowed from Aramaic.

You may recognize the word’s root, ‫פ‬.‫ק‬.‫( ת‬t.k.f), in a few other words: ‫קוּפה‬
ָ ‫תּ‬,
ְ
meaning period of time and ‫ֹקף‬
ֶ‫תּ‬, meaning validity. Collecting the data, we might
observe that the common denominator among validity and aggressiveness is power.

28
 “To Get Refreshed”

‫ֵן‬
‫ֲענ‬
‫ַר‬
‫ְת‬
‫ִה‬
‫ְל‬
Raanana – ‫ָה‬‫ָננ‬
‫ֲע‬
‫ַר‬– is a city in Israel. The word ‫ רעננה‬means fresh, when speaking of
something feminine such as a city.

...‫ֵף‬
‫ִניָעיּ‬
‫ָשׁיוֲא‬‫ –ַע‬Right now, I’m tired...
‫ְכ‬

‫ֵן‬
‫ֲענ‬
‫ַר‬
‫ְת‬
‫ִה‬
‫ֹצהְל‬
ֶ‫ִני רו‬
‫ֲא‬ַ – ...and I want to get refreshed.
‫…ו‬

The word ‫ להתרענן‬means to get refreshed.

“Exhausted”
‫ גּ‬,‫מוּתשׁ‬
‫ָמוּר‬ ָ
Ever have one of those weeks that seem to just fly by? You might feel good that
the week is over and that you got a lot done, but you might also feel ‫ֵף‬ָtired – or
‫עיּ‬,
to a greater extreme, exhausted.

To say, exhausted, I and the male readers would use the word ‫ׁש‬
ָ and the female
‫מוּת‬,
readers would use ‫ֶשׁת‬ ‫מוּת‬.
ֶ

A synonym in slang: ‫ָמוּר‬

‫ גּ‬or ‫מוּרה‬ – finished.
ָ ‫ְגּ‬

29
 “I Can’t Wait”
‫רוּח‬
ַ ‫ֹצר‬
ֶ
‫ֹתְבּק‬
‫ַחכּו‬
‫ְל‬
The literal translation of I can’t wait! is:

‫ֹת‬
‫ַחכּו‬
‫ֹלְל‬
‫ָכו‬ ‫ –ֲא‬when spoken by a male
‫ִני א י‬

‫ֹת‬
‫ַחכּו‬
‫ָהְל‬
‫ֹול‬
‫ְיכ‬ ‫ –ֲא‬when spoken by a female
‫ִני א‬

But the more common, more descriptive expression is that which translates the
English expression, to wait with bated (shortness of) breath – ‫רוּח‬
ַ ‫ֹצר‬
ֶ
‫ֹתְבּק‬
‫ַחכּו‬
‫ל‬.
ְ

‫ֹת‬ ‫ְל‬is an active-intensive ‫ פיעל‬verb meaning to wait.

‫ַחכּו‬

‫ ק‬means shortness.
‫ֹצר‬
ֶ

ַ means literally, wind.

‫רוּח‬

For example:

.‫ֹת‬‫ִחירו‬‫ְבּ‬‫ֹתַה‬‫ֹצאו‬ְ‫רוּחְלתו‬
ַ ‫ֹצר‬ ֶ‫ָעתְבּק‬ֵ‫ִכּים כּ‬‫ַח‬‫ִבּיםְמ‬ ‫ַר‬ ‫ִלים‬‫ֵא‬ ‫ָר‬
‫ְשׂ‬
‫ִי‬
Lots of Israelis can’t wait right now for the election results
(literally, Lots of Israelis are now waiting with bated breath for the election results).

30
 “Average”
‫ָצּע‬
‫ֻמ‬
‫ְמ‬
The Hebrew word for (the) middle is ‫ַצע‬
‫ְמ‬
‫א‬.
ֶ

For example:

.‫ֶדר‬
‫ֶח‬‫ַצעַה‬‫ְמ‬‫ֶא‬‫ֶדתְבּ‬‫ֹמ‬
ֶ‫ִהיא עו‬
She is standing in the middle of the room.

The root of ‫ אמצע‬is ‫ע‬.‫צ‬.‫מ‬, (m.ts.a), which appears as an active-intensive ‫ פיעל‬verb -

‫ַע‬
‫ֵצּ‬‫ְל‬- in the Mishnah:
‫ַמ‬

.‫ַעם‬‫ֵביןָה‬‫ֹוְל‬
‫ֹוֵבּינ‬
‫ְצּע‬‫ַמ‬‫ֶהְמ‬‫ֻמנּ‬ ‫ְמּ‬
‫ַה‬‫ְו‬,‫אַחרֶזה‬
ַ ‫ִריןֶזה‬ ‫ֹב‬
ְ‫ַעם עו‬
‫ָלָה‬ ‫ֶר כּ‬ ‫ֶדּ‬- ‫ִרים‬‫ֵח‬‫ַחםֶאתֲא‬ ֵ‫ֶשׁהוּאְמנ‬ ‫ְכּ‬
(’‫ משנה א‬,’‫)סנהדרין פרק ב‬
When he (the high priest) consoles others - it is customary for all the people to pass by one another,
and the designated (priest) splits him between him (the high priest) and the people. (Sanhedrin
Chapter 2, Mishnah 1)

Likewise, that which is split down the middle is ‫ָצּע‬

‫ֻמ‬ְa passive ‫ פועל‬version of the
‫מ‬,
verb ‫ַע‬
‫ֵצּ‬
‫ַמ‬
‫ל‬.
ְ

In Modern Hebrew, we take this concept of split down the middle and use the word
‫ ממוצע‬to mean average - or that which is in the middle.

For example:

.‫ֵשׁשׁ‬‫ְו‬‫ִרים‬‫ְשׂ‬‫ָצּעֹפּה הוּאֶע‬ ‫ֻמ‬‫ְמּ‬

‫ִגּילַה‬‫ַה‬
The average age here is twenty six.

31
 “Capable”
‫ֶת‬
‫ֶגּל‬‫ְמ‬,‫ָל‬
‫ֻס‬ ‫ֻסגּ‬
‫ְמ‬
Suppose you’re with a friend at the British Museum, and your friend doesn’t know
how to read the hieroglyphics on the Rosetta Stone. If you, however, are thus
versed, you might say about yourself, I can! or I’m capable!

Here’s how to say it in Hebrew, if you’re a male: ‫ָל‬

‫ֻסגּ‬ ‫ֲא‬and if you’re a female:
‫ִניְמ‬
‫ֶת‬
‫ֶגּל‬
‫ֻס‬
‫ִניְמ‬
‫א‬.
ֲ

“Over-the-Moon Ecstatic”
‫ַג‬
‫ַחַעדַהגּ‬
‫ֵמ‬
‫ָשׂ‬
Barack Obama (along with his family) was over-the-moon ecstatic with joy after
being reelected as President of the United States. A Hebrew expression that befit
him at the time is ‫ַג‬
‫ַחַעדַהגּ‬
‫ֵמ‬ָIt means, literally, happy to the roof.
‫שׂ‬.

Bear in mind that joy in Hebrew is an active-simple ‫ פעל‬verb, ‫ֹח‬

‫ְשׂמו‬
‫ל‬.
ִ

Here’s an example of the expression in action:

.‫ַג‬
‫ְחנוַּעדַהגּ‬‫ָשׂ‬,‫ָהםַבּת‬
‫ַמ‬ ֶ‫ָדה ל‬‫ֹל‬
ְ ‫ְענוֶּשׁנּו‬
‫ַמ‬‫ָשּׁ‬
‫ֶשׁ‬ ‫ְכּ‬
When we heard that a baby girl was born to them, we were ecstatic with joy (happy to the roof).

32
 “Childish”
‫דּוּתי‬
ִ ‫ַל‬ְ
‫י‬
The Hebrew word for child – probably related to the English word – is ‫ֶד‬
‫ֶיל‬for a
male and ‫ָדּה‬‫ י‬for a female.
‫ַל‬
ְ

Words that in English have -hood, -ism, etc. at the end of the word, in Hebrew
typically have an ‫וּת‬- ending. So childhood is ‫ַלדּוּת‬
ְ‫י‬.

Childish, seeming like a child or as if in childhood, is ‫דּוּתי‬

ִ ‫ַל‬‫י‬.
ְ

For example:

.‫דּוּתי‬
ִ ‫ַל‬ְ
‫ַצת י‬‫ֹכןְק‬
ֶ‫ָלַהתּ‬ ‫ָמד אָב‬ ‫ֶח‬
ְ ‫ֶפר נ‬
‫ֵס‬‫ַה‬
The book is cute (nice) but the content is a bit childish.

The English word childlike, however, has a more positive connotation that childish.
To mean childlike, Hebrew usually uses ‫ִמים‬‫ָתּ‬in the masculine, literally, innocent, and
‫ימה‬
ָ‫ִמ‬‫ְתּ‬in the feminine.

33
 “Naughty”
‫ָן‬
‫ְרי‬
‫ֲב‬
ַ‫ע‬
The Hebrew word ‫ָנים‬ ִ
‫ְרי‬ ‫ ע‬appears in the introductory line to the well-known
‫ֲב‬
ַ
prayer, ‫ֵרי‬
‫ְד‬
‫ִנ‬ ‫ – כּ‬Kol Nidrei. ‫ עבריינים‬is usually translated as criminals, though that
‫ָל‬
translation lacks a certain punch associated culturally with the word.

So let’s take apart the word and see that the root is ‫ר‬.‫ב‬.‫ע‬, (a.b.r), meaning to pass.
The root makes its way into the word ‫ָן‬ ‫ְרי‬ ‫ ע‬by virtue of the fact that ‫ עבריינים‬are
‫ֲב‬
ַ
those who bypass the law.

You likewise may be familiar with the closely-related word ‫ָרה‬‫–ע‬

‫ֲב‬
ֵ
crime or transgression.

In today’s Hebrew, the word ‫ עבריין‬tends to refer to those who seem to always get
into trouble, as well as those involved in organized crime. Parents might use the
term sarcastically when disciplining their children: they use the term not to
implicate their children as proper criminals, but rather to call them something
roughly equivalent to the English term, “naughty naughty.”

A more salient, less culturally-loaded translation of criminal into Hebrew would be

‫ֹשׁע‬
ֵ‫פּו‬.
“Appropriate”
‫ֵם‬
‫ֹל‬
‫הו‬
‫ֵם‬ ‫ ה‬means appropriate in the same ways as the English word.
‫ֹול‬

There’s ‫ֵם‬ ‫ –ִבּגּוּד ה‬appropriate attire, both in the social sense and in response to the
‫ֹול‬
weather.

And there’s ‫ֶמת‬

ֶ‫ֹול‬
‫ֲגוּת ה‬
‫ַה‬ ‫ –ִה‬appropriate behavior.
‫ְתנ‬

And, of course, there’s ‫ֹדה‬

ָ‫ֲבו‬
‫ְפיָהע‬
ִ‫ֶמת ל‬
ֶ‫ֹול‬
‫ֹרת ה‬
ֶ ‫ –ַמ‬An appropriate salary according to
‫ְשׂכּו‬
the job.

34
 “Wasted”

‫ַמ‬,‫ָמוּר‬
‫ְסטוּל‬ ‫גּ‬
While some refrain from excessive celebration on ‫פּוּרים‬,
ִ Purim, others… just go for
it.

Once they’ve done so, many of them find themselves passed out on the couch.

One might point to such a male and say, ‫ֵרי‬

‫ַמ‬
ְ ‫ – הוּא גּ‬he’s totally gone (i.e., he is
‫ָמוּרְלג‬
passed out).

For a female, it’s ‫מוּרה‬

ָ ‫גּ‬.ְLiterally, these words mean done or finished, and can be
applied to other situations in which a person’s strength or wit has run out.

One might also point to a female and say ‫ָה‬ ‫ –ִהיאַמ‬she’s out of it. For a male,
‫ְסטוּל‬
it’s ‫ְסטוּל‬ַThis word is borrowed from Arabic and means intoxicated or bewildered.
‫מ‬.

“Tense” or “Primed”
‫ָדּרוּ‬
A phrase often seen in newspapers translates literally, “The world is following with
tenseness the developments in the Middle East…” – ‫ַחר‬ ‫ִריכוּתֲא‬
‫ְד‬
‫ֹקבִבּ‬ֵ‫ָם עו‬
‫ֹול‬
‫ָהע‬
‫ֹן‬
‫ִתּיכו‬
‫ַרחַה‬‫ְז‬
‫ִמּ‬
‫ֹתַבּ‬
‫ְתּחוּיו‬‫ַפּ‬
‫ְת‬
‫ִה‬
‫ַה‬

‫ דריכות‬means tenseness or preparedness.

To use the adjective form, one might say The soldier is ready for battle (literally, war) –
‫ָמה‬
‫ָח‬‫ְל‬
‫ִמ‬
‫ָלָדּרוּךְל‬‫ַחיּ‬
‫ה‬.
ַ

35
 “Ready for Action”
‫ֻמּן‬
ָ‫וּמז‬
ְ‫מוּכן‬
ָ
The English phrase ready for action implies that a person is on alert, prepared to do
what is necessary to achieve a goal.

The Hebrew expression ‫ֻמּן‬ ָ‫וּמז‬ ָ found in the literature of the Rabbis of the
ְ‫מוּכן‬,
classical period as well as in today’s Jewish daily prayers, means essentially the
same thing: ready and on alert.

The word ‫ מזומן‬itself comes from the root ‫נ‬.‫מ‬.‫ז‬, (z.m.n), meaning time. The word
implies that a person who is on alert is bound by a time that will beckon.

For example:

.‫ָבר‬
‫ָלָדּ‬
‫ָדשׁ מוכן ומזומןְלכ‬ ‫ָח‬‫ִעירֶה‬‫ֹאשָׁה‬ ‫ר‬
The new mayor is ready for anything that might come his way (literally, for everything).

An example in the feminine:

.‫ָצּב‬
‫ָלַמ‬ ‫ֶתְלכ‬‫ֻמּנ‬
ֶ‫וּמז‬
ְ‫ָה‬ ‫מוּכנ‬
ָ ‫ִהיא‬
She is ready for any situation.

36
 “Peace of Mind”
‫ִשׁי‬
‫ַפ‬
ְ
‫ֶקט נ‬
‫ֶשׁ‬
There was much excitement when the deal for the release of Gilad Shalit was first
drawn up and then later executed.

However, many people lost their excitement when they saw what the cost would
be.

A Hebrew expression that means, roughly, peace of mind is ‫ִשׁי‬ ‫ַפ‬

ְ‫ֶקט נ‬ֶIt means,
‫שׁ‬.
literally, quiet of the soul – where the ‫ י‬ending on the word ‫ֶפש‬
ֶ‫ נ‬turns the noun into an
adjective.

While it was a high cost, it is certain that the trade gave Gilad Shalit’s parents peace
of mind.

This state of being, so yearned for in our era of over-stimulation, has at least two
other terms in Hebrew.

‫יישוב הדעת‬

The first takes the root ‫ב‬.‫שׁ‬.‫י‬, (y.sh.b), meaning setting to create ‫ַעת‬ ‫–ִישּׁוּבַה‬
‫ַדּ‬
literally, the setting of the mind. ‫ יישוב‬is the abstract-noun form of the active-intensive
‫ פיעל‬verb, ‫ַשּׁב‬ ֵ ‫ְלי‬meaning to settle something. This term for peace of mind is the type that
requires elimination of distraction and is a means of achieving a goal.

For example:

.‫מּוּדים‬
ִ ‫ַלּ‬ִ‫יח בּ‬
ַ‫ִל‬ ‫ְצ‬
‫ַה‬‫ֵדיְל‬
‫ַעתְכּ‬ ‫ַדּ‬
‫ִריִישּׁוּבַה‬ ‫ָצ‬
Peace of mind is needed in order to succeed in (the) studies.

‫שלוות הנפש‬

The second term takes ‫ָוה‬ ‫ַשׁ‬meaning serenity – a synonym of the word ‫ֹם‬
‫ְל‬ ָpeace –
‫שׁלו‬,
and combines it with the word for soul – ‫ֶפשׁ‬ ֶ‫ – נ‬to create ‫ֶפשׁ‬
ֶ‫ַותַהנּ‬
‫ְל‬ַThis means,
‫שׁ‬.
literally, serenity of the soul.

37
 “Guilty Feelings”
‫ָמה‬
‫ְשׁ‬‫ֹתַא‬
‫ְגשׁו‬
‫ִר‬
The Torah portion, Vayikra, ‫ָרא‬
‫ְק‬ ‫ו‬,ַunveils the spiritual life of those Jews living in
‫ִיּ‬
the times of the Temple - more specifically, the rituals they practice to express their
devotion to God… as well as their sorrow at having sinned.

One of the five types of ritual sacrifices is called ‫ָשׁם‬

‫ַבּןָא‬‫ –ָק‬guilt offering. Say the
‫ְר‬
word ‫ אשם‬out loud and note how similar it sounds to the English word, shame.
‫ָמה‬
‫ְשׁ‬‫ַא‬is the word used in Modern Hebrew to refer to guilt.

Then again, the word ‫בּוּשׁה‬

ָ also sounds a bit like shame.

Guilt – ‫ אשמה‬and shame – ‫ בושה‬are not the same thing. ‫ָמה‬ ‫ְשׁ‬‫ֹתַא‬
‫ְגשׁו‬
‫ִר‬– guilty
feelings – come when a person believes, “I’ve done something bad.” These
feelings motivate this person to fix what has become broken.

The feeling of ‫בושה‬, on the other hand, comes when a person believes “I am bad.”
This experience is unhealthy and maladaptive, and can only be released when
expressed fully – to self or, preferably, to another.

38
 “Anonymous”
‫ֹני‬
ִ ְ ,‫ימי‬
‫אַלמו‬ ִ‫ֹנ‬ִ
‫אָנו‬
The more commonly-used translation of anonymous is also the one borrowed from
another language (English, which in turn formed the word from Greek) – ‫ימי‬
ִ‫ֹנ‬ִ
‫אָנו‬.

But as a participant in the (enormously successful) effort to revitalize the ancient

language of Hebrew in modern-day use, the Israeli media prefers to use words
originating in ancient Jewish literature – the Bible and the Talmud, among others –
when saying something that could otherwise be expressed using foreign words.
Thus you’re likely to find in the media the word ‫ֹני‬ ִ ְ used to mean anonymous,
‫אַלמו‬
such as in this newspaper byline:

.‫ֹני‬
ִ‫אַלמו‬
ְ ‫ֵדיִאישׁ‬ ‫ְי‬
‫ַל‬
‫ֹתל ע‬ֶ‫ֱזבַבּכּ‬ָ‫ֹרהֶנע‬
ָ
‫ֶפר תּו‬
‫ֵס‬
A Torah scroll was left at the Wailing Wall by an anonymous man.

So what is the source in ancient Jewish literature?

It’s in the Bible – more specifically, Ruth 4:1, where an anonymous relative of
Boaz, ‫ֹני‬ִ‫אַלמו‬
ְ ‫ֹני‬
ִ‫ְפּלו‬refuses to marry Ruth… so instead Boaz marries her, and
together they engender a line of descendants leading to King David.

And as for ‫ ?פלוני אלמוני‬Well, he fades into anonymity.

39
 “Contagious”
‫ֵבּק‬
‫ַדּ‬
‫ִמ‬
The way to translate contagious disease into Hebrew is ‫ֶקת‬
‫ֶבּ‬
‫ַדּ‬
‫ָהִמ‬
‫ֲחל‬ַthe latter word
‫מ‬,
meaning contagious.

But whereas in English, we’d normally say, stay away from me, I’m contagious, in
Hebrew such a statement borders on slang, invoking the active-intensive ‫ פיעל‬verb
form to say, ‫ֶקת‬
‫ֶבּ‬
‫ַד‬
‫ִניְמ‬
‫א‬/‫ק‬
ֲ ‫ֵבּ‬ ‫ַד‬
‫ִניְמ‬
‫א‬.
ֲ

Spoken properly, it’s ‫יקה‬

ָ‫ִבּ‬ ‫ְד‬
‫ִניַמ‬‫א‬/‫יק‬
ֲ ‫ִבּ‬ ‫ְד‬ ֲusing the active-causative ‫ הפעיל‬verb
‫ִניַמ‬
‫א‬,
form and meaning, literally, I am infecting.

Some examples:

‫ִבּיק‬‫ְד‬
‫ָבר אַמ‬ ‫ִניְכּ‬
‫ֹםֲא‬ ‫ אָב‬,‫ֶה‬
‫ָלַהיּו‬ ‫ֹול‬‫יתי ח‬
ִ‫ִי‬‫ה‬.
ָ
I was sick, but today I’m no longer contagious (infecting).

‫ֵבּק‬
‫ַדּ‬‫ָהִחיּוּ ִמ‬‫ֹלָהי‬‫ְתמו‬‫ָהֶא‬ ‫ֲחתוּנ‬‫ָתןַבּ‬‫ַח‬
ָ‫ל‬.
The groom at the wedding last night had a contagious smile.

40
 “To Crack Up Laughing”
‫ֹק‬
‫ְצּחו‬
‫ַעִמ‬
‫ֵקּ‬
‫ַפּ‬
‫ְת‬
‫ִה‬
‫ְל‬
Laughing is one of the most enjoyable of all human activities. To crack up, to fall off
one’s seat, to die of laughter – these all have equivalents in Hebrew, though the most
widely used is ‫ֹק‬ ‫ְצּחו‬ ‫ַעִמ‬
‫ֵקּ‬‫ַפּ‬
‫ְת‬‫ִה‬ְIt means, literally, to burst from laughter.
‫ל‬.

‫ להתפקע‬is a reflexive-intensive ‫ התפעל‬verb. The root is ‫ע‬.‫ק‬.‫פ‬, (p.k.a).

An example:

.‫ֹק‬
‫ְצּחו‬
‫ָעהִמ‬ ‫ְקּ‬‫ַפּ‬
‫ְת‬
‫ִה‬‫ְו‬‫ֶרט‬‫ֶסּ‬
‫ָתהֶאתַה‬ ‫ֲא‬‫ָר‬‫ִהיא‬
She watched (saw) the movie and cracked up laughing.

Some synonyms:

‫ֹק‬
‫ֹבְצחו‬ ‫ֵסּאֵמרו‬ ‫ִכּ‬
‫ַלַה‬
‫ֹלֵמע‬‫ִפּו‬‫ל‬
To fall off of a (from on the) chair from so much laughter

‫ֹק‬
‫ְצּחו‬‫ָמוּתִמ‬ ‫ל‬
To die of laughter

41
 “Lonely”
‫ֹדד‬
ֵ‫בּו‬
I once joined Mekete, an Ethiopian-Jew whose parents had already passed away, at
his Bar Mitzvah celebration in Holon. The people at Mekete’s school really went
above and beyond to make sure that he had a fun, meaningful occasion - and that
he would feel enveloped in love.

After Meteke was called up to the Torah, the group went to the Wolfson Medical
Center where they visited and delighted the sick in order to perform a mitzvah –
‫ָוה‬‫ִמ‬immediately after the “Bar Mitzvah” ceremony. Only after these activities did
‫ְצ‬
the group arrived at the hall, where, instead of dancing to music (Mekete was in the
year of mourning the loss of his mother), the school administration and teachers
showered Meteke with blessings and played with the crowd educational games
designed to make everyone feel good about the Jewish tradition we were all taking
part in.

I can’t see into Mekete’s heart. I can only assume he missed his mother and father
yesterday terribly. But I also assume that he didn’t feel alone – ‫ַבד‬
‫ְל‬or ‫ָדד‬
‫(ָבּ‬a more
literal usage), or lonely – ‫ֹדד‬
ֵ‫בּו‬. All these Hebrew words are adverbs; they stay the
same regardless of whether it is a male or female, one or many people
feeling lonely or alone.

The Torah Portion Metzora, ‫ֹרע‬ ָ ְprescribes the laws of the ‫ֹרע‬
‫מּצ‬, ‫ –ְמצ‬a person
ַ
afflicted with a skin disease often referred to as leprosy – ‫ַעת‬‫(ָצ‬related
‫ַר‬
to psoriasis?). The Sages of the Midrash explain that people would become ill with
‫ צרעת‬as a result of antisocial speech – badmouthing others, speaking rudely, etc.

The treatment?

...‫ֹשׁבו‬
ָ‫ֶה מו‬
‫ֲחנ‬‫ַמ‬‫ֵשׁבֵמחוּץְל‬ ֵ‫ָדד י‬‫ָבּ‬
Alone shall he dwell, outside the camp of his dwelling…

By speaking antisocially, this person has put up a wall of pride between himself
and his fellows. Thus his cure is to be completely isolated from them, where he can
internalize the consequences of his action.

42
People Are…
...‫ָשׁיםֵהם‬
ִ‫ֲאנ‬

43
 “Enlightened”
‫ֹר‬
‫ָאו‬
‫נ‬
A couple of years ago I worked with a man named ‫ֹר‬ ‫נ‬, who runs a non-profit
‫ָאו‬
organization in Tel Aviv. His name means enlightened. The female version of the
word/name is ‫ֹרה‬ ָ
‫נאו‬.ְ

The word/name is actually a derivative of the ‫ נפעל‬verb form, and its root is the
word ‫ֹר‬
‫ או‬meaning light.

“Brilliant”
‫ִריק‬
‫ְב‬
‫ַמ‬
The Hebrew word for lightning – or a sparkle of light – is ‫ָרק‬
ָIt’s also the name of a
‫בּ‬.
hero in ‫ִטים‬
‫ֹפ‬
ְ ‫ –ֵס‬the Book of Judges – as well as the first name of the current
‫ֶפר שׁו‬
American president.

Something shining in such a way as to describe it as brilliant is called, in Hebrew,

‫ִריק‬‫ –ַמ‬an adjective deriving from the active-causative ‫ הפעיל‬form.
‫ְב‬

A couple of examples:

‫ֹן מבריק‬
‫ֲיו‬ ‫ –ֶזה‬that’s a brilliant idea;
‫ַרע‬

ָ ‫ –ִהיאֶבּן‬she’s a brilliant person

‫אָדם מבריק‬
(Note ‫ מבריק‬is used in the masculine, since it describes the word ‫אדם‬, a masculine
word used nevertheless to refer to people of both genders.)

Contrary to what you might expect, ‫ מבריק‬is not related to the English
word maverick.

44
 “Friendly”
‫רוּתי‬
ִ ‫ְב‬‫ֶח‬,‫ידוּתי‬
ִ ‫ִד‬ ‫ְי‬
Words for friendship include ‫ֵברוּת‬ ‫ֲח‬and ‫ִדידוּת‬‫י‬.ְThe word ‫ – חברות‬based on the
root ‫ר‬.‫ב‬.‫ח‬, (kh.b.r), meaning connection – implies a well-established bond of
friendship. ‫ידידות‬, on the other hand - of the root ‫ד‬.‫ו‬.‫ד‬, (d.v.d),
meaning endearment – can be used to describe a growing relationship of positive
feelings.

These words can be used in adjective form as well. For example, to express that a
product is environment-friendly, you’d say, ‫יבה‬
ָ‫ִב‬‫ַסּ‬
ְ‫ידוּתי ל‬
ִ ‫ִד‬ ‫ – הוּא‬literally, it’s friendly to
‫ְי‬
the environment.

To say that a person is friendly or sociable, you’d use a word based on the ‫ר‬.‫ב‬.‫ ח‬root:
‫רוּתי‬
ִ ‫ְב‬ֶFor example, ‫רוּתית‬
‫ח‬. ִ ‫ְב‬ ָ ‫ –ִהיאָבּ‬she’s a sociable young woman.
‫חוּרהֶח‬

These adjectives create nouns of their own as well: ‫ידוּתיּוּת‬

ִ ‫ִד‬ means friendliness,
‫ְי‬
while ‫רוּתיּוּת‬
ִ ‫ְב‬‫ֶח‬means sociability.

‫ד‬.‫ו‬.‫ד‬, (d.v.d), is the root for the words associated with friendliness… as well as the
words for aunt and uncle – ‫ֹד‬ ‫ דּו‬and ‫ֹדה‬
‫דּו‬, which once meant, simply, beloved one.
ָ

The name of the Jewish month of ‫ֱאלוּל‬is said to be an acronym for ‫ֹדי‬
ִ
‫ְודו‬
‫ֹדי‬
ִ
‫ִניְלדו‬
‫ֲא‬
‫ –ִלי‬I am for my Beloved, and my Beloved is for me

“International”
‫ִמּי‬
‫ֻא‬
‫ְל‬
‫ינ‬
ְ‫ֵבּ‬
To create the word international, English takes the word national and affixes to it the
prefix, inter-.

Hebrew does the same, where the word ‫ִמּי‬ ‫ֻא‬‫ְל‬meaning national gets the word
inter/between/among – ‫ –ֵבּין‬added to the beginning, yielding ‫ִמּי‬
‫ֻא‬
‫ְל‬
ְ
‫בּינ‬.
ֵ

For example:

45
.‫טק‬-‫י‬
ֶ‫ַה‬ ‫ְתחוּםַה‬ ‫ימהִבּ‬
ָ‫ִה‬ ‫ְד‬‫ִמּיַמ‬ ‫ֻא‬‫ְל‬
ְ‫ְצוּאֵבּינ‬ ‫ַמת י‬‫ָר‬
‫ֵשׁ‬‫ֵאל י‬ ‫ָר‬
‫ְשׂ‬‫ִי‬ ‫ַת‬‫ִדינ‬
‫ְמ‬‫ִל‬
Israel has an amazing level of international export in the field of high-tech.

“Irritating”
‫ִעיק‬
‫ֵמ‬
Sometimes we just need to call a spade a spade and label an event, a song, or a
person’s actions as irritating or bothersome – ‫ִעיק‬
ֵThe feminine form of this term is
‫מ‬.
‫יקה‬
ָ‫ִע‬‫מ‬.
ֵ

‫ מעיק‬comes from the Biblical Hebrew word still used today, ‫ָקה‬
ָ – distress. The
‫מוּע‬
root of these words is ‫ק‬.‫ו‬.‫ע‬, (a.v.k).

‫ מעיק‬is an adjective deriving from the active-causative ‫ הפעיל‬verb, ‫ִעיק‬‫ –ְל‬to

‫ָה‬
irritate (emotionally, not physically).

To say irritated, you’d use a different word – ‫ִני‬

‫ָבּ‬‫ע‬, which also
‫ַצ‬
ְ
means nervous and anxious.

“Devoted”
‫ָמסוּר‬
One of the themes of the Holiday of ‫ֻכּה‬ ָ ‫ –ֲחנ‬Hanukkah – is devotion to a cause.
The Maccabees were devoted – ‫סוּרים‬ ִ ‫ –ְמ‬to the cause of defending the right of Jews
to practice their religion. Thanks to their ‫ִסירוּת‬
‫ –ְמ‬devotion – the Jewish people are
here today.

If a woman is devoted to a cause, she is ‫סוּרה‬ ְIf a man is devoted, he is ‫מסוּר‬.

ָ ‫מ‬. ָ

The root of these words is ‫ר‬.‫ס‬.‫מ‬, (m.s.r), one of the roots for the concept of giving.
‫ מסירות‬is giving oneself over, as in the phrase, ‫ֶפש‬
ֶ ‫ –ְמ‬giving over oneself, or, less
‫ִסירוּת נ‬
literally, making self-sacrifice.

46
 “Attentive”
‫ָקשּׁוּב‬
When a parent/caregiver is sensitive to or attentive of the emotional cues the baby
gives, the baby and adult enjoy a relationship of closeness and security. The baby
internalizes this relationship and learns to relate to others, throughout life, from a
place of security.

The Hebrew word for attentive is ‫קשּׁוּב‬,

ָor ‫שּׁוּבה‬
ָ ‫ַק‬in the feminine. It’s related to a
word you’ve certainly come across if you’ve taken a course with Ulpan La-Inyan,
‫ִשׁיב‬
‫ְק‬
‫ַה‬‫ –ְל‬to listen.

For example:

.‫ַת‬
‫ֵבַהזּוּל‬
‫ָםְלל‬‫ְוג‬,ֹ
‫ְלבּו‬
ִ‫ֹתַקשּׁוּב ל‬ ‫ְהיו‬‫ִרי ִל‬
‫אָדםָצ‬ָ
A person needs to be attentive to his own heart, as well as to the heart of the other.

47
 “Vulnerable”
‫יע‬
ַ‫ִג‬‫ָפּ‬
Brené Brown, in a video that I (you too, undoubtedly) can relate to so well, says
that at the core of being able to love is the willingness to be vulnerable – to put
oneself “out there” where one might get hurt.

Vulnerable, in Hebrew, is ‫ָגיע‬ ִ‫ פּ‬for a male and ‫יעה‬

ָ‫ִג‬‫ְפּ‬for a female.
Likewise, vulnerability is ‫ִגיעוּת‬
‫פּ‬.ְ

These words come from the root ‫ע‬.‫ג‬.‫פ‬, (p.g.a), whose basic meaning is contact,
usually the type that hurts.

For example:

.‫ִבים‬
‫ֹה‬
ֲ‫ִכי או‬
‫ִמיֶשׁאָנוֲּה‬ ‫ְעיםְבּ‬ִ
‫ֹג‬
‫אָנוּ פּו‬
We hurt whom we love most.

It’s the same root as ‫פּגּוּע‬,ִthe official Hebrew term for terror attack. Vulnerability is
also about taking risks, where the results could be terrible... but they could also be
wonderful.

And, according to Brené, vulnerability is necessary if one is to really love.

“Unavailable”
‫ִמין‬
‫אָז‬
When traveling abroad, it becomes difficult to stay in contact with people,
especially when you are traveling to places that do not have Wifi.

To say I’m not available for a man would be – ‫ִמין‬ ֲand for a woman – ‫ִני א‬
‫ִני אָז‬
‫א‬, ‫ֲא‬
‫ָה‬
‫ִמינ‬
‫ז‬.ְ

Note the root of these words – ‫נ‬.‫מ‬.‫ז‬, (z.m.n), the concept of time.

48
 “Unforgivable”

‫ַח‬
‫ְסל‬
‫ִנ‬
‫ִתּי‬
‫ְל‬
‫ִבּ‬
This entry was written in the wake of the Itamar Massacre

The butchering of an innocent family is an unforgivable act – ‫ַח‬

‫ְסל‬
‫ִנ‬
‫ִתּי‬
‫ְל‬
‫ֲשׂהִבּ‬
ֶ‫מע‬.
ַ

The word ‫ נסלח‬falls into the ‫ נפעל‬verb pattern, though the word itself functions as
an adjective. The root is ‫ח‬.‫ל‬.‫ס‬, (s.l.kh) – forgiveness.

“Logical”
‫ֹני‬
ִ‫ְגיו‬
‫ֶה‬
In English, to think is a general term, while to ponder, to contemplate, to surmise, etc. are
related to thinking but are more specific.

Hebrew works the same way, with ‫ֹב‬ ‫ַחשׁו‬

ְ‫ ל‬meaning to think while other words
denote something more specific. For example, the Biblical and Modern Hebrew
‫ֹת‬‫ֲגו‬‫ ל‬means to pronounce, but also to ponder. Likewise, ‫ֹן‬
‫ַה‬ ‫ָיו‬ִin Biblical Hebrew,
‫הגּ‬,
refers to the act of pondering (‫ִלּים י”ט‬ ‫ –ְתּ‬Psalms 19).
‫ִה‬

In Medieval times, the study of logic became a central discipline for scholars. So
for Jewish scholars, the word ‫ הגיון‬took on a meaning even more specific than
pondering – it came to mean logic, which is what the word means to this day.

That which is logical is ‫ֹני‬

ִ‫ְגיו‬
‫ה‬.
ֶ

49
 “Professional”
‫ֹעי‬
ִ‫ְקצו‬
‫ִמ‬
The Modern Hebrew word for profession – ‫ֹע‬ ‫ְקצו‬‫ –ִמ‬appears in the Bible meaning the
side of a room/a geometrical figure. The root is ‫ע‬.‫צ‬.‫ק‬, (k.ts.a), a root that shares its first
two letters with other roots of a similar meaning: ‫ה‬.‫צ‬.‫ק‬, (k.ts.h), – edge; ‫ר‬.‫צ‬.‫ק‬,
(k.ts.r), – short (in length); etc.

What does a side have to do with a profession? By gaining a profession, a person

acquires his/her side or corner in the workforce. Think carving a niche.

To describe someone as professional you’d use ‫ת‬/‫ֹעי‬

ִ‫ְקצו‬ִFor example, ‫הוּא‬
‫מ‬.
‫ֹעי‬
ִ‫ְקצו‬
‫ֹרִמ‬
‫ָטו‬
‫ֶטל‬ ְ‫ –ִא‬he is a professional plumber.
‫ְס‬
‫ינ‬

By contrast, to say someone is a professional, you’d use ‫ֹען‬

ָ ‫ִמ‬or ‫ִנית‬
‫ְקצו‬ ‫ֹע‬
ָ‫ְקצו‬
‫מ‬.
ִ

“Reliable”
‫אָמין‬
ִ
You’re certainly familiar with the word ‫אָמן‬
ֵ – amen. The three-letter root of the
word makes up the entire word. Its core meaning is trust.

Thus the word for reliable is ‫אָמין‬,

ִ or ‫ָה‬ ִ when speaking of a female or a
‫אָמינ‬,
feminine object.

For example:

.‫אָמין‬
ִ ‫ֶכב‬ ‫ֶר‬‫ֶזה‬
This is a reliable vehicle.

50
 “Rich”
‫ִשׁיר‬
‫ָע‬
The Hebrew word for wealth is ‫ֹשׁר‬ֶ‫ – ע‬not to be confused with the word
for happiness. Thus the word for wealthy is ‫ִשׁיר‬
‫ָע‬in the masculine and ‫ירה‬ ‫ ע‬in the
ָ‫ֲשׁ‬
ִ
feminine.

For example:

.‫ִטים‬ ‫ְנ‬
‫יד‬
ַ‫ִס‬‫ֹק‬
ְ‫ִטיאו‬ ‫אַנ‬
ְ‫ִיריםְבּ‬ ‫ֲשׁ‬
ִ‫ָלים ע‬
ִ‫ֲאכ‬ ‫ֹלַמ‬‫ֶאכו‬
ֱ‫ָחשׁוּב ל‬
It’s important to eat foods that are rich in antioxidants.

?‫ֹת‬
‫ֲניּו‬
ִ‫ֹת ע‬
‫ִדינו‬
‫ְמ‬‫ֵעִל‬
ַ‫ַסיּ‬‫ֹתְל‬‫ִריכו‬‫ֹתְצ‬‫ֲשׁירו‬
ִ‫ֹת ע‬ ‫ִדינו‬
‫ִאםְמ‬
‫ַה‬
Must wealthy countries aid poor countries?

“Serious”
‫ָחמוּר‬,‫יני‬
ִ‫ִצ‬‫ְר‬
The translation of serious into Modern Hebrew, when referring to a person, an
offer, etc. is ‫יני‬
ִ‫ִצ‬ in the masculine and ‫ינית‬
‫ְר‬ ִ‫ִצ‬ in the feminine.
‫ְר‬

For example:

.‫יני‬
ִ‫ִצ‬‫ְר‬‫הוּאָבּחוּר‬
He’s a serious young man (in Hebrew, this is a compliment).

.‫ָרה‬
‫ְשׂ‬‫ַמּ‬
ִ‫ִיּים ל‬‫ינ‬
ִ‫ִצ‬‫ְר‬ ‫ִדים‬ ‫ֳמ‬
ָ‫ָמּהָמע‬ ‫ֵשַׁכּ‬‫י‬
There are several serious candidates for the position.

To describe a situation, an action, etc. as serious or grave, however, you’d use a

different word: ‫ָחמוּר‬in the masculine and ‫מוּרה‬ ָ ‫ֲח‬in the feminine. These words
usually refer to things that shouldn’t have been done.

For example:

.‫ֲשׂהָחמוּר‬
ֶ‫ֶסתֶזהַמע‬
ֶ‫ְכּנ‬
‫ַלִקירֵבּיתַה‬
‫ֹב ע‬
‫ְכתּו‬
‫ִל‬

51
 To write on the wall of the synagogue is a serious act.

‫ָחמוּר‬is likely not related to the word ‫ֹר‬

‫ָחמו‬meaning donkey.

“Sophisticated”
‫ָכּם‬
‫ְח‬
‫ֻת‬
‫ְמ‬
If you know some Hebrew, you surely know the word for wise or smart – ‫ָמה‬
‫ָכ‬
‫ח‬/‫ם‬
ֲ ‫ָכ‬‫ָח‬

But sophisticated is more than smart. It takes smart to a whole different level. Thus
Hebrew takes the root ‫מ‬.‫כ‬.‫ח‬, (kh.k.m), and adds a ‫( ת‬t) to the beginning, taking the
meaning of the words derived to a whole new level.

You might say, ‫ָכּם‬

‫ְח‬
‫ֻת‬ ָ ‫ – הוּא‬he is a sophisticated person.
‫אָדםְמ‬

‫ מתוחכם‬is an adjective derived from the ‫ פועל‬verb form.

“Strange”
‫ָר‬
‫מוּז‬
In Biblical Hebrew, a man from the outside, a stranger, is an ‫אישָׁזר‬,ִwhile a strange
woman is an ‫ָרה‬ ‫ָשּׁהָז‬ִLikewise, a male foreign worker is an ‫ֹבדָזר‬
‫א‬. ֵ‫עו‬, while a female is
an ‫ָרה‬‫ֶדתָז‬‫ֹב‬
ֶ‫עו‬.

The adjectives ‫ זר‬and ‫ זרה‬become nouns as well, so that a strange man is sometimes
called a ‫ זר‬and a strange woman a ‫זרה‬.

The word ‫מוּזר‬ָ meaning simply strange or weird, in Modern Hebrew, appears once in
the Bible, in ‫ִלּים כ”ט‬‫ –ְתּ‬Psalms 29:
‫ִה‬

.‫ִמּי‬
‫ֵיִא‬‫ְבנ‬
‫ִריִל‬
‫ָכ‬
ְ‫ְונ‬
‫ָחי‬‫ֶא‬
‫יתיְל‬
ִ‫ִי‬‫מוּזרָה‬
ָ
Estranged I am to my brothers and foreign to my mother’s sons.

‫ מוזר‬is an adjective deriving from the passive-causative ‫ הופעל‬verb form, so that

the word means, literally, made strange.

52
 “Unique”

‫חוּדי‬
ִ ‫ִי‬
If you’ve already got some Hebrew under your belt, you probably know the word
for special – ‫ֻחד‬
ָ‫מי‬.
ְ

But there’s special and there’s unique. The Hebrew word for unique is ‫חוּדי‬
ִ ‫י‬.ִ

For example:

.‫ֹת‬
‫ִחינו‬‫ָמּהְבּ‬ ‫ַכּ‬‫חוּדיתִמ‬
ִ ‫ִי‬ ‫ָה‬‫ִדינ‬‫ֵאלִהיאְמ‬ ‫ָר‬‫ְשׂ‬‫ִי‬
Israel is a unique state in several ways (literally, from several points of view).

The root is ‫ד‬.‫ח‬.‫( י‬y.kh.d), meaning together. It’s related to the root ‫ד‬.‫ח‬.‫( א‬a.kh.d)
meaning one.

“Stunning”
‫ֵמּם‬
‫ַה‬‫ְמ‬
Take a look at this phrase, a Tel-Aviv spoof on similar phrases appearing in
Jerusalem, Bnei Brak and other places:

.‫ֵמּם‬
‫ַה‬
‫בוּשׁהְמ‬
ָ ‫ְתּ אְל‬ ‫ֹתינוִּאםַא‬ֵ ‫ְשׁכוּנו‬
‫ִריִבּ‬ ‫ֲב‬
ְ‫ָא אַלַתּע‬ ‫ָאנּ‬
Don’t pass through our neighborhoods if you don’t look (literally, aren’t dressed) stunning.

The text reads ‫ מהמם‬and not ‫ֶמת‬ ‫ֶמּ‬‫ַה‬ְsince the word functions here as an adverb.
‫מ‬,
Unlike adjectives, adverbs in Hebrew do not change gender or number.

The word ‫ֵמּם‬ ‫ְמ‬means stunning both in the literal sense as well as in the fashion
‫ַה‬
sense. ‫ֵמּם‬‫ –ְל‬an active-intensive ‫ פיעל‬verb – means to stun.
‫ַה‬

53
 “Vegan”
‫ֹני‬
ִ‫ְבעו‬
‫ִט‬
The Torah portion Noah, ‫ֹח‬ ‫נ‬, tells the story of destruction and renewal, closeness
and separation… as well as vegetarianism and, well, meat-eating.

A vegetarian - one who refrains from eating meat – is a ‫ֹני‬

ִ‫ְמחו‬ִ deriving from the
‫*צ‬,
word for plant or herb, ‫ַמח‬
‫צ‬.
ֶ

A vegan – one who refrains from eating all animal products – is a ‫ֹני‬
ִ‫ְבעו‬ִ from the
‫*ט‬,
word ‫ַע‬‫ –ֶטב‬nature.

* These are the masculine versions of the words. To describe a female vegetarian or
vegan, add a ‫ת‬, (t), to the end of the desired word.

“Consistent”
‫ִבי‬
‫ְק‬
‫ִע‬
Perhaps you know the Hebrew word for heel, as in the back of your foot: ‫ֶקב‬ ֵIt’s
‫ע‬.
the root of the name Jacob – ‫ֹב‬‫ֲעק‬, who, according to the Biblical story, was born
‫ַי‬
holding onto the ‫ עקב‬of his twin brother, Esau – ‫ָשׂו‬
‫ע‬.
ֵ

To follow someone is ‫ישׁהו‬

ֶ‫ֵריִמ‬
‫אַח‬
ֲ ‫ֹב‬
‫ֲקו‬ , evoking the image of following footsteps
‫ַלע‬
or heel-prints.

Using the same imagery, Hebrew calls someone or something consistent – that is,
behaving in a reliable, predictable manner or taking steady footsteps – ‫ִבי‬‫ִע‬in the
‫ְק‬
masculine and ‫ִבית‬ ‫ְק‬‫ִע‬in the feminine.

54
Politics and the Life Cycle
‫ִיּים‬‫ַח‬‫ַלַה‬
‫ֲעג‬
‫וּמ‬
ַ‫יקה‬
ָ‫יט‬ִ‫ֹל‬
ִ‫ַהפּו‬

55
 “For a Change”
‫ֵשׁםִשׁנּוּי‬
‫ְל‬
The Hebrew word for a change is ‫שׁנּוּי‬, ִthe noun form of the active-intensive ‫פיעל‬
verb ‫ֹת‬ ‫ –ְל‬to change (something). Its root is ‫ה‬.‫נ‬.‫שׁ‬, (sh.n.h), the same as that of the
‫ַשׁנּו‬
following words (non-exhaustive list):

‫ –ָשׁנ‬year
‫ָה‬
‫ָה‬ ‫ –ְשׁ‬a second
‫ִניּ‬
‫ָה‬
‫ְשׁנ‬‫ –ִמ‬Mishnah

The common denominator among all these words? Repetition: a year comes in
cycles, a second is the second division of an hour after the minute, and if someone
wants to really learn a Mishnah, s/he needs to repeat it many times.

Repetition includes doing something for a second (or third or fourth) time, but better –
which is the essence of change.

The English expression for a change becomes ‫ֵשׁםִשׁנּוּי‬

‫ –ְל‬literally, for the name (for the
sake) of change.

For example:

.‫ֵשׁםִשׁנּוּי‬‫ְל‬,‫ָט‬‫ַםָסל‬ ‫ָה גּ‬
‫ִמינ‬‫ְז‬
‫ַעםִהיאִה‬ ַ‫ַהפּ‬
This time, she ordered salad too, for a change.

“Win-Win”
‫ַצּח‬
ֵ‫מנ‬-
ְ‫ַח‬‫ַצּ‬
ֵ‫ְמנ‬
A win-win situation is one in which both (or all parties) involved come out
winners.

One of the words in Hebrew for to win is ‫ַצּח‬ ֵ ְIt’s a ‫ פיעל‬verb coming from the
‫לנ‬.
root ‫ח‬.‫צ‬.‫נ‬, (n.ts.kh), meaning eternity. I suppose there’s a feeling of everlasting that
accompanies a win... as well as an act of conducting an orchestra, which is also .‫לנצח‬

‫מנצח‬-‫ מנצח‬means win-win.

56
 “To Teach a Lesson”
‫ֶקח‬
ַ‫ַמּד ל‬
ֵ‫ְלל‬
The Torah portion that opens the book of Deuteronomy, ‫ִרים‬ ‫ָב‬‫דּ‬,ְis translated literally
as words, where words in this context refer to words of admonition. ‫דברים‬, common in
Biblical Hebrew with the primary meaning words, is today a literary term for words,
while the common word used in Modern Hebrew is ‫ִלּים‬ ‫מ‬.
ִ

To admonish is to teach a lesson, often one that isn’t so pleasant for the learner. As
does most of the language, Modern Hebrew retains terms from its classical, often
quite ancient sources.

To teach a lesson comes directly from Biblical Hebrew: ‫ֶקח‬

ַ‫ַמּד ל‬
ֵ ְ The word ‫ללמד‬
‫לל‬.
means to teach. It’s an active-intensive ‫ פיעל‬verb.

‫ לקח‬means a lesson, specifically a moral or life lesson. It can be found all over the Holy
Writings section of the Bible, perhaps most famously in the verse:

.‫ֹבוּ‬
‫ֲעז‬
‫ִתי אַלַתּ‬ ‫ תּו‬,‫ָכם‬
‫ֹר‬
ָ ֶ‫ִתּי ל‬
‫ָת‬
ַ‫ֹב נ‬‫ֶקח טו‬
ֶ ‫ִכּי ל‬
For I have given you a good lesson, do not forsake my Torah.

‫ לקח‬is related to the word ‫ַחת‬ ‫ַקּ‬

ַ‫ – ל‬to take – and its root is ‫ח‬.‫ק‬.‫( ל‬l.k.kh). So such a
lesson is actually a taking or sorts.

Flipping the scenario, we get to learn a lesson – ‫ֶקח‬

ַ‫ֹד ל‬ ‫ל‬. The word ‫ ללמוד‬is an
‫ִלמו‬
ְ
active-simple ‫ פעל‬verb of the same root as ‫ללמד‬.

57
 “Extreme”
‫ֹני‬
ִ‫ִקיצו‬
The Hebrew word for edge or tip is ‫ֶצה‬ ָThis word figures prominently in the
‫ק‬.
Tabernacle blueprints laid out in the Torah portion Vayakhel, ‫ֵהל‬
‫ַק‬
ְ‫ויּ‬.ַ

Two edges are ‫ֹת‬

‫ָצו‬
‫ֵיְק‬ְIn Biblical Hebrew, ‫ קצה‬means corner as well. And in
‫שׁנ‬.
Modern Hebrew, on the tip of my (literally, the) tongue is ‫ֹן‬
‫ָשׁו‬
‫ֵצהַהלּ‬
‫ַלְק‬
‫ע‬.

Modern Hebrew takes the concrete concept of an edge to an abstract level, creating
the word for on the edge or extreme – ‫ֹני‬
ִ‫קיצו‬.
ִ

For example, one might say about a politician, ‫ֹת‬

‫ֹניּו‬
ִ‫ֹתִקיצו‬
‫ֹוֵדּעו‬ ‫ – י‬he has extreme
‫ֵשׁ ל‬
opinions.

“Moderate”
‫ָמתוּן‬
The edge of something is the ‫ֶצה‬ָsomeone “on the edge” or extreme is ‫ֹני‬
‫;ק‬ ִ‫קיצו‬.
ִ

But someone moderate or level-headed – in ideology or in relationships – is ‫מתוּן‬.

ָThe
word is related to ‫ַים‬
ִ
‫ְתנ‬‫ –ָמ‬hips, since the hips are a part of the body with which one
might exercise restraint.

The first ‫ָה‬

‫ְשׁנ‬‫ –ִמ‬Mishnah – of the Ethics of the Fathers – ‫ֹת‬
‫ֵקי אָבו‬‫ –ִפּ‬calls upon
‫ְר‬
the leaders of the Jewish people to be ‫ִדּין‬ ִ ‫ –ְמ‬they should be moderate in
‫תוּניםַבּ‬
judgment. But whether the ‫ משנה‬actually means the word ‫ מתונים‬as moderate or
something else is up for debate among the commentators.

Another example: In The Godfather , it is debatable whether Al Pacino’s character,

Michael, is ‫ קיצוני‬or ‫מתון‬.

58
 “News Flash”
‫ָזק‬
‫ְב‬
‫ִמ‬
The English version of Ynet (the Hebrew site is ynet.co.il) renders ‫ִקים‬
‫ָז‬
‫ְב‬
‫ִמ‬
as updates instead of news flashes.

I prefer to translate ‫ָזק‬‫ִמ‬as news flash, however, because of the imagery that comes
‫ְב‬
to mind when I say or hear the word.

The root of ‫ מבזק‬is ‫ק‬.‫ז‬.‫( ב‬b.z.k), appearing only once in the Bible as lightning, in
Ezekiel’s spectacular Vision of the Chariot, ‫ י”ד‬,‫ֵקאל א‬
‫ְז‬
‫ֶח‬
‫ְי‬(Ezekiel 1:14). There, the
word used is ‫ָזק‬ ָThus a newsflash, in Modern Hebrew, is a ‫ֹת‬
‫בּ‬. ‫ָדשׁו‬‫ָזקַח‬ ‫ְב‬
‫מ‬.
ִ

The far more common word for lightning - both in the Bible and in Modern
Hebrew - is phonetically very close to the one mentioned above, ‫ָרק‬ ָIt could be
‫בּ‬.
that in Ezekiel’s time and place, the sounds corresponding to the ‫( ר‬r) and ‫( ז‬z)
letters (at least one of the sounds corresponding to ‫ )ז‬were nearly identical. In the
Arabic (one of Hebrew’s sister-languages) alphabet anyway, the letters for ‫ ר‬and ‫ז‬
look almost identical: ‫ ز‬and ‫ر‬.

What about the phone company?

You may know that Israel’s largest phone company is ‫ֶזק‬ ֶa word that appears in
‫בּ‬,
the Bible as the name of a city. Look at the word, and you’ll find that all three
letters from the root of ‫ מבזק‬are there - phone communication involves sound
flashing back and forth.

59
 “Not Necessarily”
‫ַח‬
‫ֵר‬
‫ְכ‬‫ אְבּ‬,‫ָקא‬
‫ֶה‬ ‫ְו‬
‫ָאוַדּ‬
‫ל‬
A useful expression in English is not necessarily.

In Hebrew, we say either ‫ָקא‬

‫ְו‬ ‫ ל‬or ‫ַח‬
‫ָאוַדּ‬ ‫ֵר‬
‫ְכ‬‫ אְבּ‬.
‫ֶה‬

For example:

.‫ֵאל‬
‫ָר‬‫ְשׂ‬‫ִי‬
‫ֵצאתְבּ‬ ‫ְמ‬‫ִנ‬
‫ָקא‬‫ְו‬
‫ָאוַדּ‬‫ַים ל‬
ִ‫רוּשׁל‬
ָ ‫ְי‬ ‫ֵשׁם‬ ‫ִעירְבּ‬
A city by the name of Jerusalem isn’t necessarily located in Israel.*

or

.‫ֵאל‬‫ָר‬
‫ְשׂ‬
‫ִי‬
‫ֵצאתְבּ‬‫ְמ‬ ‫ִנ‬
‫ַח‬‫ֵר‬
‫ְכ‬
‫ֶה‬
‫ַים אְבּ‬
ִ‫רוּשׁל‬
ָ ‫ְי‬‫ֵשׁם‬
‫ִעירְבּ‬
(same meaning)

* There are cities called Jerusalem in the United States and probably other places
as well.

The pronunciation presented here of ‫ לא בהכרח‬is the most correct one, but you’re
more likely to hear Israelis saying ‫ַרח‬
‫ְכ‬‫ אְבּ‬.
‫ֶה‬

To say that something is necessary logically, use the word ‫ִחי‬

‫ֵר‬ֶOtherwise, use ‫ָחוּץ‬
‫ְכ‬
‫ה‬. ‫נ‬
to mean necessary, as in:

.‫ַטּיּוּל‬ִ‫ִביאִבּגּוּדָחם ל‬ ‫ָה‬‫ָחוּץְל‬
‫נ‬
(It’s) necessary to bring warm clothing for the trip.

60
 “Of Course”
!‫מּוּבן‬
ָ ‫ַכּ‬,‫ָבּרוּר‬,‫ַטח‬
‫ֶבּ‬
The Hebrew word for security is ‫ֹן‬ ‫ָטּחו‬ ִwhose root is ‫ח‬.‫ט‬.‫( ב‬b.t.kh) meaning
‫בּ‬,
sureness and security. To say, for sure! or of course! in Hebrew, you’d use one of several
terms. Here are three of them:

‫בטח‬

A less formal way of expressing of course or for sure is to say !‫ַטח‬

ֶThis word means,
‫בּ‬.
literally, securely! To strengthen the tone of agreement, some say !‫ֵכּן‬ ‫–ֶבּ‬
‫ַטחֶשׁ‬
literally, of course it is so!

Take this short dialogue for example:

?‫ֶרט‬‫ַסּ‬
ֶ‫ָתּנוּ ל‬‫ָתּהָבּאִא‬‫ַא‬
‫ֵכּן‬
‫ַטחֶשׁ‬ ‫!בּ‬
ֶ
Are you (a male) coming with us to the movie?
Of course I am!

‫ברור‬

Another informal way of saying of course uses the word for clearly – .‫ָבּרוּר‬

‫כמובן‬

The more formal word for of course is ‫מּוּבן‬

ָ ‫כּ‬.ַIt means, literally, as that which is
understood, with ‫ַכּ‬meaning as that which or as the, and ‫מוּבן‬
ָ meaning understood. ‫ מובן‬is
an adjective deriving from the passive-causative ‫ הופעל‬verb form, the opposite of
the active-causative verb, ‫ִבין‬‫ –ְל‬to understand.
‫ָה‬

Take another short dialogue for example:

?‫ָבּה‬‫ִס‬‫ַמּ‬
ְ‫ִנים ל‬‫ָמ‬‫ְז‬
‫ִאםֵהםֻמ‬ ‫ַה‬
‫מּוּבן‬
ָ ‫!כּ‬ַ
Are they invited to the party?
Of course!

61
 “On the Contrary”
‫ָבּה‬
‫ַר‬
‫אַד‬
ְ
One way of saying on the contrary in Hebrew is ‫ֶפך‬‫ –ְל‬literally, to the opposite.
‫ֶה‬

A synonym with an edge is ‫ָבּה‬ ‫ַר‬ְ It comes from Babylonian Aramaic and is used
‫אַד‬.
mostly in academic circles… and in the ‫ָרש‬‫ –ֵבּיתִמ‬religious house of study.
‫ְד‬

For example:

!‫ָן‬
‫ֻציּ‬
‫ֹןְמ‬
‫ְעיו‬
‫ַר‬‫ָבּה?ֶזה‬ ‫ַר‬
‫אַד‬
ְ
Why not? (just the opposite!) It’s a great idea!

“Sort of…”
…‫סוּגֶשׁל‬
When they want to express similarity without being too specific (or to say “no” or
“not really” without actually saying it), English speakers use the expression sort of or
kind of. Often this is a response to a question.

For example:
Q: Is he tall?
A: Well, he’s kind of tall...

Colloquial Hebrew has adopted this expression in direct translation from the
English: ‫ סוּגֶשׁל‬- literally, a type/sort/kind of.

To translate the Q&A above:

?‫ֹה‬
ָ ‫ הוּא גּ‬:‫ָה‬
‫ָבו‬ ‫ֵאל‬
‫ְשׁ‬
‫ סוּגֶשׁל‬:‫שׁוּבה‬
ָ ‫…תּ‬ְ

62
 “Conflict of Interest”
‫ִסים‬
‫ֶר‬
‫ֶט‬
‫ינ‬
ְ‫ִנגּוּדִא‬
In English we talk about a conflict of interest. In Hebrew, we call this ‫ִסים‬
‫ֶר‬
‫ֶט‬
‫ינ‬
ְ‫ִגּוּדִא‬
‫נ‬.

The first word, ‫ניגוד‬, comes from the preposition ‫ֶד‬ , meaning against or opposite.
‫ֶנג‬
Another Hebrew word formed by the root ‫ד‬.‫ג‬.‫( נ‬n.g.d) is ‫ֵד‬‫ַנגּ‬
‫ְת‬
‫ִה‬‫ –ְל‬to be opposed (to
something).

The second word in the phrase comes from a Latinate language, most likely
Spanish.

“Doesn’t Go Together with…”

‫ָחד‬
‫ֶהֶא‬
‫ָקנ‬
‫ֶהְבּ‬
‫ֹל‬
‫א עו‬
In the Torah portion Miketz, ‫ֵקּץ‬ִPharaoh dreams about wheat, cattle and the
‫מ‬,
future of Ancient Egypt:

(‫כ”ב‬:‫אשׁית מ”א‬ ִ‫ֵר‬ ְ…‫ֹת‬

‫)בּ‬ ‫ֹבו‬‫ְוטו‬ ‫ֹת‬ ‫ְבּ‬,‫ָחד‬
‫ִריאו‬ ‫ֶהֶא‬‫ָקנ‬‫ֹ תְבּ‬ ‫ֳלים ע‬ִ‫ַעִשׁבּ‬ ‫ֵהֶשׁב‬ ‫ִהנּ‬
‫ְו‬
And behold, seven heads of grain growing (literally, rising) on a single stalk – (they were) healthy
and good…(Genesis 41:22)

This imagery of different heads of grain growing together lends itself to the Hebrew
expression used today to mean different ideas cooperating – ‫ָחד‬
‫ֶהֶא‬
‫ָקנ‬‫ֹתְבּ‬ ‫(ַלע‬literally, to
‫ֲלו‬
rise in one stalk). Far more commonly, however, speakers will use the opposite
expression:

.‫ָחד‬
‫ֶהֶא‬‫ָקנ‬‫ֹתְבּ‬‫ֹלו‬
‫ָמין א עו‬ ִ‫ַהיּ‬‫ְו‬
‫ֹאל‬ ‫ְשּׂמ‬ ‫ֹתֶשׁלַה‬ ‫ֵדּעו‬‫ַה‬
The opinions of the left and the right don’t go together.

63
 “Judgmental”
‫פּוּטי‬
ִ ‫ִשׁ‬
The Torah portion, Mishpatim, ‫ִטים‬ ‫ָפּ‬
‫ְשׁ‬ִtranslates literally to ordinances or rules. The
‫מ‬,
root of this word is ‫ט‬.‫פ‬.‫( שׁ‬sh.p.t) meaning judgment.

To judge, in both the legalistic sense and in the interpersonal sense, is ‫ֹט‬ ‫ְשׁפּו‬ִwhile
‫ל‬,
a ‫ֹפט‬
ֵ‫ שׁו‬is a (male) judge. The Biblical story of Moses and the Israelite slaves
expresses both senses of to judge in the phrase, ‫ֵינו‬ ‫ֹפטָעל‬
ֵ‫ְושׁו‬‫ִאישָׁשׂר‬ ‫ְמ ְל‬‫ –ִמיָשׂ‬who
placed you as a minister and judge upon us? The Israelite slaves in that passage are
referring to Moses as a judge as well as a man being judgmental.

The Modern Hebrew word for judgmental is ‫פּוּטי‬

ִ ‫שׁ‬.ִLikewise, nonjudgmental is simply
ִ ‫ אִשׁ‬.
‫פּוּטי‬

And judgmentalism is ‫פּוּטיּוּת‬

ִ ‫שׁ‬.ִ

“Who’s Who?”
‫ָמי‬
ִ‫ִמי ו‬
The Hebrew term for an illustrious who’s who list ‫ִמי‬‫ –ִמי‬literally, who and who, as in
‫ָו‬
‫ָשׁה‬
‫ָד‬
‫ֲח‬‫ֶסתַה‬
ֶ‫ְכּנ‬
‫ִמיַבּ‬
‫ו‬-‫י‬
ָ‫ִמּ‬ ‫ –ַה‬the who’s who in the new Knesset.

The phrase first appears in ‫ֹת‬ ‫ֵס‬the Biblical Book of Exodus:

‫ֶפרְשׁמו‬

,‫ִמי‬
‫ָו‬‫יכם;ִמי‬
ֶ‫ה’ֱאֵה‬-‫ְבדוֶּאת‬ ‫ְלכוִּע‬,‫ֵהם‬ֶ‫ֹאמרֲאל‬
ֶ‫ַויּ‬,‫ֹה‬ ַ ‫ֶא‬,‫ֹן‬
‫ְרע‬
‫פּ‬-‫ל‬ ‫אַהר‬-‫ת‬
ֲ ‫ֶא‬ ‫ְו‬‫ֹשׁה‬
ֶ‫מ‬-‫יּוּשׁבֶאת‬
ַ ‫ַו‬
(’‫ח‬:’‫ֹת י‬ ְ?‫ִכים‬
‫)שׁמו‬ ‫ֹל‬
ְ‫ַהה‬
And Moses and Aaron were summoned back to Pharaoh, and he said to them, “Go, worship the
L-rd your God – who and who is going?” (Exodus 10:8)

In Modern Hebrew, we might encounter:

.‫אָביב‬
ִ ‫ִמיֶשׁלֵתּל‬ ‫ו‬-‫י‬
ָ‫ִמּ‬ ‫ָלַה‬‫ְמנוּ כּ‬
‫ְז‬
‫ֲרוּכהֻה‬
ָ ‫ַתּע‬ַ‫ל‬
All the who’s who of Tel Aviv were invited to the exhibition.

64
 “The Partition Plan”
‫ֻקּה‬
ָ‫ֲחל‬
‫ִניתַה‬
‫ְכ‬
‫ָתּ‬
November 29th marks the day that the UN General Assembly adopted the Partition
Plan for Palestine in 1947.

The Hebrew translation for that loaded term is ‫ֻקּה‬ ָ‫ֲחל‬

‫ִניתַה‬
‫ְכ‬ָEmploying ‫ִמיכוּת‬
‫תּ‬. ‫ְס‬
or construct state, that’s literally, the plan of the partition.

‫ חלוקה‬means partition or division, but also distribution. For example, giving out prizes is
‫ִסים‬‫ָר‬
‫ֻקּתְפּ‬ַ ֲThe root of ‫ חלוקה‬is ‫ק‬.‫ל‬.‫ח‬, (kh.l.k), meaning part – both in the sense
‫חל‬.
of participation (sharing) as well in the sense of to depart and political
party (separation).

“Terror Attack”
‫ִפּגּוּע‬
Modern Hebrew’s word for an attack of terror is ‫פּגּוּע‬.ִThe word comes from the
root ‫ע‬.‫ג‬.‫פ‬, (p.g.a), which bears the concept of harm.

65
 “Two States for Two Nations”
‫ִמּים‬
‫ֵיַע‬
‫ְשׁנ‬
‫ֹתִל‬
‫ִדינו‬
‫ֵתּיְמ‬
‫ְשׁ‬
The root for the word for a change is ‫ה‬.‫נ‬.‫שׁ‬, (sh.n.h), and its core concept is
repetition, but it’s also important to point out that the word for two is related as
well: something repeated is done for at least the second time.

Here are the ways to say two in Hebrew:

‫ַים‬
ִ
‫ְשׁנ‬
‫ִים‬
‫ַתּ‬‫ְשׁ‬

‫ שנים‬refers to two people or objects that are grammatically masculine, or a pair in

which one is masculine and the other is feminine.

‫ שתים‬refers to two people or objects that are grammatically feminine.

For example:

.‫ֵשֹׁפּה? שנים‬
‫ָשׁים י‬
ִ‫ָמּהֲאנ‬ ‫ַכּ‬
How many people are here? Two. (People can be either two males or a male and a female)

‫ֵשֹׁפּה? שתים‬
‫ָשׁים י‬
ִ‫ָמּה נ‬‫כּ‬.
ַ
How many women are here? Two.

In Modern Hebrew, ‫ שנים‬and ‫ שתים‬are used where two is used as a noun, such as in
an answer to a question.

But far more commonly in speech, we use two as an adjective. In that case, Hebrew
uses a different form, meaning literally, two of…

The two forms are:

‫ –ְשׁנ‬two (of) masculine people or objects, or one masculine and the other feminine
‫ֵי‬
‫ֵתּי‬‫ –ְשׁ‬two (of) feminine people or objects

For example:

66
‫ָשׁים‬
ִ‫ֵיֲאנ‬
‫ֵשֹׁפּהְשׁנ‬ ‫י‬.
There are two people here.

.‫ָשׁים‬
ִ ‫ֵתּי נ‬
‫ֵשֹׁפּהְשׁ‬‫י‬
There are two women here.

Here is a more controversial concept using the word two

.‫ִמּים‬
‫ֵיַע‬
‫ְשׁנ‬‫ֹתִל‬ ‫ִדינו‬
‫ֵתּיְמ‬‫ְשׁ‬
Two states for two nations.

We use the feminine ‫ שתי‬in the phrase ‫שתי מדינות‬, since the word for state – ‫ָה‬
‫ִדינ‬
‫ְמ‬
– is a feminine noun.

We use the masculine ‫ שני‬in the phrase ‫לשני עמים‬, since the word for people – ‫–ַעם‬
is a masculine noun.

“A Moment of Silence”
‫ָיּה‬
‫דּוּמ‬
ִ ‫ַעֶשׁל‬ ,‫ָיּה‬
‫ֶרג‬ ‫דּוּמ‬
ִ ‫ָקּה‬
‫ַדּ‬
One appropriate emotional response to tragedy such as that which took place in
Sandy Hook, Connecticut in December 2012, is to be silent.

On a communal level, sometimes a moment of silence is observed.

Hebrew has two terms for this:

‫ָה‬ ‫דּוּמיּ‬
ִ ‫ָקּה‬ ‫ַדּ‬
literally, a silent minute (a minute of silence)

‫ָה‬ ‫דּוּמיּ‬
ִ ‫ַעֶשׁל‬ ‫ֶרג‬
literally, a moment of silence

67
 “Haredi”
‫ִדים‬
‫ֵר‬
‫ֲח‬
“Ultra-Orthodox” is the English term that describes a large group of Jews, whose
religious practice tends to be very strict and whose dress remains very
conservative, reminiscent of Eastern Europe before modernity.

Many English speakers are familiar with another term that describes this group
–Haredim. This is the English spelling of the Hebrew word, ‫ִדים‬
‫ֵר‬‫ח‬.
ֲ

What does ‫ חרדים‬mean?

The word first appears in the Biblical book of Isaiah:

(‫ה‬:‫ָהוּ ס”ו‬‫ְעי‬
‫ַשׁ‬ְ’...ֹ
‫)י‬ ‫ָברו‬
‫ְדּ‬‫ִדיםֶאל‬ ‫ֵר‬
‫ֲח‬‫ַה‬,’‫ַבר ה‬
‫ְדּ‬‫ְמעוּ‬‫’שׁ‬
ִ
Hear the word of God, (you) who tremble at His word... (Isaiah 66:5)

Another example:

?‫ָשׁה‬‫ָד‬‫ֲח‬‫ָהַה‬
‫יצי‬
ְ‫ֹאָל‬
ִ‫ַקּו‬‫ְרפוּ ל‬ ‫ָט‬‫ִצ‬
ְ‫ֹת י‬‫ִדיּו‬
‫ֵר‬
‫ֲח‬
‫ֹתַה‬ ‫ָגו‬‫ְפל‬
‫ִמּ‬‫ִאםַה‬
‫ַה‬
Will the Haredi parties join to the new coalition?

‫ֹד‬
‫ַחרו‬
ֲ ‫ל‬, an active-simple ‫ פעל‬verb, means to tremble or to quake. The root is ‫ד‬.‫ר‬.‫ח‬
(kh.r.d). So, by calling themselves ‫חרדים‬, the Ultra-Orthodox are stating that
they tremble before the word of God.

So it turns out that in dress, religious devotion and name as well, this Jewish group
parallels the American Quakers. Their theologies share similarities as well, but also
considerable differences.

A Haredi man is an ‫ִדי‬

‫ֵר‬ ִwhile a Haredi woman is an ‫ִדית‬
‫אישֲׁח‬, ‫ֵר‬
‫ָשּׁהֲח‬
‫א‬.
ִ

68
 “Jew”
‫הוּדי‬
ִ ‫ְי‬
The word Jew is a household term, just as Christian and Muslim are.
But where does the word Jew come from?

The Hebrew version is ‫הוּדי‬

ִ ‫ְי‬for a male and ‫ָה‬ ‫הוּדיּ‬
ִ ‫ְי‬ for a female. These are the
Hebrew terms that refer someone of the Jewish faith, who holds the Torah as the most
sacred of books.

But if you’ve read the Torah – in Hebrew or in English, you probably noticed that
the words ‫ יהודי‬and ‫ יהודייה‬are strikingly... absent. How could that be?
The answer has more to do with geography than with religion.

‫ יהודי‬and ‫ יהודייה‬come from the name ‫הוּדה‬ ָ ‫ְי‬ – one of the sons of Jacob, but also
the piece of land named after that son. In English, we call that piece of land Judea.
Twelve Israelite tribes inhabited Ancient Israel, until the Assyrians came and exiled
the majority. The major remaining tribe, ‫יהודה‬, continued to reign until the
Babylonians came and exiled them as well.

The people from the land of ‫( יהודה‬today a large chunk of Modern Israel,
including Jerusalem, Beit Shemesh and the southern part of the West Bank) were
taken to Babel. Many migrated from there to ancient Persia, where the Purim story
takes place and presents us with the first person to be referred to as a ‫ – יהודי‬a Jew:
‫ָה‬ ‫ְגל‬
‫ֶשׁרָה‬‫ֲא‬,‫יני‬
ִ‫ִמ‬‫ְי‬
‫ִעיֶבּןִקישִׁאישׁ‬
‫ְמ‬
‫ָאירֶבּןִשׁ‬
ִ‫ַכיֶבּן י‬
‫ֳד‬
‫ְר‬
‫ֹוָמ‬
‫וּשׁמ‬
ְ‫ירה‬
ָ‫ִבּ‬
‫שׁוּשׁןַה‬
ַ ‫ָהְבּ‬
‫הוּדיָהי‬
ִ ‫ְי‬
‫ִאישׁ‬
...‫ַים‬
ִ‫ירוּשׁל‬
ָ ‫ִמ‬
‫ו‬-‫ה‬:‫אסתר ב‬

A Jewish man (a man from Judea) was in Shushan the capital, and his name was Mordecai the
son of Yair the son of Shim’i the son of Kish, a man from Yemin (the more specific land of
Benjamin); who was exiled from Jerusalem... (Esther 2:5-6)

So what was once an ethnicity – ‫ יהודי‬or ‫ יהודייה‬referring to a person from the

land of Judea – gradually came to refer to a religion, as the Jewish people wandered
from place to place, with their religious practice uniting them... as well as their
hope to one day return to ‫הוּדה‬
ָ ‫ְי‬ ‫ –ֶא‬the Land of Judea and the rest of Israel.
‫ֶרץ‬

69
 “New Year’s Resolution”

‫ָשׁה‬
‫ָד‬
‫ָהֲח‬
‫ָשׁנ‬
‫ָטהְל‬
ָ‫ְחל‬
‫ַה‬
Resolution is a word of a high register in English, but it in the case of New Year’s
resolutions; it means, essentially, decision.

Hebrew preserves this simplicity by translating New Year’s resolution into ‫ָטה‬
ָ‫ְחל‬
‫ַה‬
‫ָשׁה‬
‫ָד‬
‫ָהֲח‬
‫ָשׁנ‬‫ –ְל‬literally, a decision for a new year.

And unlike in English, where New Year’s resolution is a staple of the yearly cycle and
therefore a phrase that doesn’t tolerate much modification or conjugation, ‫החלטה‬
‫ לשנה חדשה‬is not quite as rigid, allowing for variations such as:

.‫ָשׁה‬
‫ָד‬
‫ֲח‬
‫ָהַה‬ ‫ַשּׁנ‬
ָ‫ָטה ל‬ ָ‫ְחל‬ ‫ַתַה‬‫ַבּל‬‫ַק‬
Making (literally, receiving) a decision for the New Year.

and, in context:

?‫ָשׁה‬
‫ָד‬
‫ֲח‬‫ָהַה‬ ‫ַשּׁנ‬
ָ‫ְתּ ל‬‫ַל‬
ְ‫ֹתִקבּ‬‫ָטו‬
‫ְחל‬‫ֵאלּוַּה‬
What resolutions have you made (which decisions have you received) for the New Year?

“Irreversible”
‫ִפי‬
‫ִתּיָה‬
‫ְל‬
‫ִבּ‬
The word ‫ִתּי‬ ‫ִבּ‬comes before another word to do what the prefixes “un-” and “in-”
‫ְל‬
do in English. Some examples of such phrases ‫ִקּי‬‫ִתּיֻח‬‫ –ִבּ‬illegal, and ‫ִתּיָצפוּי‬
‫ְל‬ ‫ְל‬
‫ִבּ‬
– unexpected.

To describe a situation as irreversible, you’d call it ‫ הפיך‬.‫ִפיך‬

‫ִתּיָה‬‫ִבּ‬is a variation of
‫ְל‬
the word ‫ֶפך‬
‫ –ֶה‬opposite or contrary.

You might say, for example:

.‫ִפיך‬
‫ִתּיָה‬
‫ְל‬
‫ֲשׂה הוּאִבּ‬
ָ‫ַנּע‬
‫ֲשׂהֶשׁ‬
ֶ‫ַמּע‬
‫ַה‬
70
The deed that was done is irreversible.

“Long Term”
‫ָח‬
‫טו‬-
ְ ‫ֹר‬
‫ֲא‬
With the 2012 military operation in Gaza came to an close, Israel sought an end to
the barrage of missiles and rockets not just for the next few months, but for the
long term.

The Hebrew expression for long-term is ‫ָוח‬

‫ֹר ְט‬ֲwhere ‫ ארוך‬means long and ‫טווח‬
‫א‬,
means term.

For example:

.‫ָוח‬‫ֹר ְט‬ ‫ֹןֲא‬‫ְתרו‬‫ֶשׁתִפּ‬ ‫ֶקּ‬

‫ַב‬‫ֵאלְמ‬‫ָר‬‫ְשׂ‬‫ִי‬
Israel is seeking a long-term solution.

Alternatively, ‫ֹר‬
‫ָוח אָ‬‫ –ִל‬for a long term – can be used to mean the same thing.
‫ְט‬

For example:

‫ֹר‬
‫ָוח אָ‬‫ְט‬‫ֶקטִל‬ ‫ֶשׁ‬
long-term quiet

“Passed Away”
‫ָמו‬
ֹ ‫ֹל‬
‫ַל ְלעו‬
‫ָה‬
The colloquial expression for passed away, in Hebrew, is ‫ָטר‬ ‫ִפ‬
ְ ‫ נ‬for a male and ‫ָרה‬
‫ְט‬
‫ִפ‬
ְ‫נ‬
for a female. These are conjugations of the infinitive ‫ֵטר‬‫ָפּ‬
‫ִה‬ ְa verb of the ‫נפעל‬
‫ל‬,
variety. Don’t confuse this term with ‫ֵטּר‬ ‫ַפּ‬
‫ְת‬ ְto resign – it could create an
‫ִה‬
‫ל‬,
uncomfortable moment. ‫ להתפטר‬is of the reflexive-intensive ‫ התפעל‬verb form.

‫ נפטר‬is what most people say, but the more literary term used by the press when
announcing someone’s passing is ‫ָמו‬ ‫ֹול‬‫ְע‬
‫ַל ל‬ ‫ָה‬for a male and ‫ָמה‬ ָ‫ֹול‬
‫ְע‬
‫ָכה ל‬‫ָה‬for a
‫ְל‬
female. The term means, literally, has gone to his/her eternity, where ‫ָם‬ ‫ ע‬maintains its
‫ֹול‬
71
original Biblical meaning as eternity, as opposed to the word’s late- and post-Biblical
meaning of world. The image evoked is that of a person entering his/her final and
eternal resting place. A variation of the term first appears towards the end of the
relatively-late Biblical book of ‫ֶת‬
‫ֹהל‬
ֶ‫ק‬, Ecclesiastes.

“Temporary”
‫ִנּי‬
‫ַמ‬
‫ְז‬
When the wife of a friend of mine gave birth to a boy, the new father wrote the
following in an email:

.(‫ִנּי‬
‫ַמ‬
‫ְז‬‫)שׁם‬
ֵ‫ְרץ‬ ‫ַו‬
‫ֶ’הְשׁ‬‫ֹימל‬
ֶ‫ֵדתְשׁלו‬ ַ‫ַל ל‬
‫ֵשּׂר ע‬ ‫ַב‬
‫ִחיםְל‬ ‫ֵמ‬
‫אָנוְּשׂ‬
We are happy to announce the birth of Shloimele Schwartz (temporary name).

It is customary not to name the newborn boy until after the circumcision. But
rather than calling their baby “It,” they gave the baby a “temporary name.”

The craftspeople of Modern Hebrew ingeniously took the concept of time – ‫נ‬.‫מ‬.‫ז‬,
(z.m.n), and added a ‫י‬, yielding the word ‫ִנּי‬
‫ַמ‬
‫ְז‬– temporary.

“Eternal”
‫ִחי‬
‫ְצ‬
‫ִנ‬
There are a few ways of saying forever in Hebrew. One is ‫ָם‬ ‫ֹול‬‫ל‬, employing the
‫ְע‬
original Biblical meaning of the word ‫ – עולם‬eternity. In Modern Hebrew, as well as
in late Biblical Hebrew, ‫ עולם‬means world.

Another way of saying forever is ‫ֶצח‬

ַ . The word ‫ נצח‬itself also means eternity in
‫ָלנ‬
Biblical Hebrew.

Two other ways of expressing the concept of forever in Modern Hebrew are ‫ִמיד‬‫–ְל‬
‫ָת‬
literally, for always; and ‫ִמיתוּת‬‫ – ל‬permanently.
‫ִצ‬
ְ

To say eternal, Hebrew employs the word ‫נצח‬, creating ‫ִחי‬

‫ִצ‬
ְ
‫נ‬.

But to say the eternal nation? That’s ‫ֶצח‬

ַ‫ –ַעםַהנּ‬literally, the nation of eternity.
72
Wow, That’s…
…‫ֶזה‬,‫ָאי‬
‫וו‬

73
 “Lucky”
‫ָל‬ַ ‫ַבּ‬,-‫ַבּר‬
‫מזּ‬-‫ת‬
To say that a person is lucky, you’d use ‫ָל‬ ַ ‫ַבּ‬for a male and ‫מזל‬-‫ַבּת‬for a female.
‫מזּ‬-‫ר‬
These phrases mean, literally, a son of luck and a daughter of luck, respectively.

Likewise, the phrase ‫ֹב‬

‫ מזל טו‬means literally, good luck.

“Amusing”
‫ַע‬
‫ֲשׁ‬
ֵ‫ַשׁע‬
‫ְמ‬
The Hebrew word for amusing – ‫ֲשׁע‬
ֵ ‫ –ְמ‬came up in a lesson I gave in Jerusalem.
‫ַשׁע‬

This three-letter root, ‫ע‬.‫ע‬.‫ש‬, (sh.a.a), turned-four-letter root, ‫ע‬.‫ש‬.‫ע‬.‫ש‬, (sh.a.sh.a),

appears in several places in the Bible, where in some it means delights – ‫ֲשׁוּעים‬ ִ ‫שׁע‬.ַ

Today, a playground in Israel is called .‫ֲשׁוּעים‬

ִ ‫ַןַשׁע‬
‫גּ‬

‫ – משעשע‬amusing – comes from the verb ‫ֲשׁע‬

ֵ ‫ –ְל‬to amuse. It’s an active-intensive
‫ַשע‬
‫ פיעל‬verb.

“Entertaining”
‫ַח‬
‫ֵדּ‬
‫ַב‬
‫ְמ‬
There are a few words for entertaining in Hebrew. There’s ‫ֵדּר‬
‫ַב‬ְcoming from the
‫מ‬,
more common word, ‫בּדּוּר‬. ִThere’s ‫ִחיק‬ ַmeaning funny. There’s ‫ֵשׁע‬
‫ְצ‬
‫מ‬, ‫ְע‬
‫ַשׁ‬ְmeaning
‫מ‬,
amusing.

Here’s a word that doesn’t get used as often as the others… except for Purim. On
Israeli radio during Purim, it’s likely that you’ll hear the expression:

‫ֵדּח‬
‫ַב‬
‫וּמ‬
ְ‫ַח‬
‫ֵמ‬ ִ – (Have a) happy and entertaining Purim.
‫פּוּריםָשׂ‬

‫ מבדח‬can also mean hilarious, but it is seldom used as such.

74
 “Essential”
‫יּוּני‬
ִ‫ִח‬
One of the four principles of the Pimsleur method is that it demands of learners
‫ֹף‬ ‫(ִל‬to pull out) words that they’ve learned just when they’re about to forget
‫ְשׁלו‬
them, thus maximizing long-term memory potential. This is the principle of
“graduated-interval recall.”

Another one of Pimsleur’s principles is that of “core vocabulary” – that is, we

(Pimsleur aficionados, such as the teachers at Ulpan La-Inyan) start off assisting
students to learn the most essential words, phrases and structures necessary for
basic communication.

Essential words would be called, in Hebrew, ‫ֹת‬

‫יּוּניּו‬
ִ‫ִלּיםִח‬ִOne essential word would be
‫מ‬.
‫יּוּנית‬
ִ‫ָהִח‬ ִThe root is ‫ה‬.‫י‬.‫( ח‬kh.y.h) meaning life.
‫מלּ‬.

“Marginal” or “Insignificant”
‫שׁוּלי‬
ִ
The Hebrew word for margins – as in the side of a paper or the side of a road – is
‫ַים‬
ִ‫שׁוּל‬.

To say that something is insignificant or marginal, you’d use ‫שׁוּלי‬.

ִ

For example:

.‫ֵברוּת‬
‫ְעוּמתֲח‬
ַ ‫שׁוּלי ל‬
ִ ‫ָבר‬ ‫ֶסףֶזהָדּ‬ ‫ֶכּ‬
Money is an insignificant thing when compared with friendship.

75
 “Soft”
‫ַר‬
The Torah portion Vayetze, ‫ֵצא‬ ֵ‫ויּ‬,ַtells that ‫ֹת‬
‫ַרכּו‬
‫ֵאָה‬ ‫ –ֵעינ‬Leah’s eyes were soft.
‫ֵי ל‬
‫ רכות‬is the plural form of the word ‫רך‬,ַmeaning soft or tender, when describing
something linguistically feminine such as eyes.

The word ‫ רך‬also refers to things that are tender and soft both in physical texture as
well as human perception, such as small children. Early childhood, in Hebrew, is
appropriately called ‫ַרך‬
‫ִגּילָה‬
‫ה‬.
ַ

“Useful”
‫מּוּשׁי‬
ִ ‫ִשׁ‬
If you’re conversant in Hebrew, you most likely know the Hebrew word for to use
something: ‫ֵמּש‬ ‫ַתּ‬
‫ְשׁ‬‫ִה‬ְas in ‫ָשׁו‬
‫ל‬, ‫ְכ‬
‫ָעטַע‬
ֵ‫ֶשׁת בּ‬
‫ֶמּ‬‫ַתּ‬‫ְשׁ‬‫ –ִהיאִמ‬she is using the pen now.
The root is ‫ש‬.‫מ‬.‫ש‬, (sh.m.sh), meaning use, appearing most prominently in Mishnaic
Hebrew.

To express, this pen has many uses or purposes, you’d say, ‫ֹים‬
‫ִש‬
‫ֶבּהִשׁמּוּ‬
‫ְר‬
‫ֵשַׁה‬
‫ֶזּה י‬ ‫ל‬.
‫ָעטַה‬
ֵ
Likewise, something useful is ‫מּוּשׁי‬
ִ ‫שׁ‬,ִand something multi-purpose is
‫שימושי‬-‫רב‬.ַ

“Perfect”
‫ַם‬
‫ְשׁל‬
‫ֻמ‬
The Modern Hebrew word for perfect is ‫ַם‬ ‫ְשׁל‬ ֻIt’s an adjective deriving from the
‫מ‬.
passive-causative verb form, ‫הופעל‬. It can be declined in the feminine, ‫ֶמת‬ ֶ ‫ְשׁל‬
‫מ‬,
ֻ
such as ‫ֹאת מושלמת‬ ‫רוּחהַהזּ‬
ָ ‫ֲא‬‫ –ָה‬this meal is perfect – as well as in the plural.

The root? Same as that of peace, ‫שלום‬, bearing the core concept of completeness –
‫מ‬.‫ל‬.‫ש‬, (sh.l.m).

76
 “Mysterious”
‫ֹרי‬
ִ
‫ְסתּו‬
‫ִמ‬
The Hebrew word, ‫ִתּיר‬ ‫ְס‬
‫ַה‬ְwhich means to conceal, has the root ‫ר‬.‫ת‬.‫ס‬. (s.t.r).
‫ל‬,
Another application of ‫ר‬.‫ת‬.‫ ס‬is in the expression for hideout or place or refuge –.‫ֹר‬
‫ְסתּו‬
‫ִמ‬

‫ מסתור‬also conveniently serves as the basis for the Hebrew word for mysterious –
‫ֹרי‬
ִ ‫ִמ‬in the masculine and ‫ֹרית‬
‫ְסתּו‬ ִ
‫ְסתּו‬‫ִמ‬in the feminine.

.‫ֹרי‬
ִ
‫ְסתּו‬‫ַערִמ‬
ַ‫ְנסוְּלי‬
‫ְכ‬‫ִנ‬‫ֵהם‬
They entered a mysterious forest.

As for a mystery, the word is ‫ֹרין‬

ִ
‫ְסתּו‬ִor its synonym, ‫ֲלוּמה‬
‫מ‬, ָ ‫תּע‬.
ַ

Note that the root ‫ר‬.‫ת‬.‫ ס‬also bears the meaning contradiction. The word for
contradiction is ‫ירה‬
ָ‫ִת‬
‫ס‬.
ְ

“Convenient”
‫ֹח‬
ַ‫נו‬
The word, ‫ֹח‬
ַ‫ נו‬can mean both comfortable and convenient.

For example, you could say either:

.‫ָפּה‬
‫ַסּ‬‫ַלַה‬
‫ֹחִלי ע‬
ַ‫נו‬
I’m comfortable (literally, it’s comfortable for me) on the sofa.

or

.‫ֵש‬
‫ָפּג‬
‫ִה‬‫ֹחִליְל‬
ַ ‫ַמן נו‬
‫ְז‬‫ֶרבֶזה‬ ‫ָע‬
ֶ
‫ַשׁע בּ‬ ‫ֵתּ‬
Nine in the evening is a convenient time for me to meet.

Convenience or comfort is ‫ֹחוּת‬

‫נו‬.

Another example – at Ulpan La-Inyan we try to offer classes ‫ֹחים‬

ִ‫ִנים נו‬
‫ָמ‬‫ –ִבּ‬at
‫ְז‬
convenient times.

77
 “Crucial” or “Fateful”
‫ִלי‬
‫ֹר‬
ָ
‫גּו‬
In the Book of Esther, the Jewish-Persian queen is faced with a fateful decision:
either risk her life by attempting to persuade the king to spare the Jewish people, or
sit in the palace while her people are systematically wiped out.

In Hebrew, we’d call this ‫ִלי‬

‫ֹר‬
ָ
‫ַע גּו‬ – a fateful moment or a crucial moment.
‫ֶרג‬

‫ גּו‬means fate or destiny.

‫ֹרל‬
ָ

“Readable”
‫ִריא‬
‫ָק‬
The word ‫ָעיס‬
‫ ל‬means chewy or chewable. This adjective comes from the simple ‫פעל‬
ִ
verb ‫ֹס‬
‫ְעו‬
‫ִל‬
‫ל‬.

A different verb with the same structure is ‫ִריא‬ ָmeaning legible or readable, deriving
‫ק‬,
from the ‫ פעל‬verb ‫ֹא‬ ‫ְקרו‬‫ִל‬meaning to read (or to call out – since texts were once
read out loud by the literate elite to the illiterate masses).

Note how the adjectives ‫ִריא‬‫ָק‬and ‫ָעיס‬

‫ ל‬have identical vowel patterns, as do the
ִ
verbs they derive from, ‫ֹא‬ ‫ִל‬and ‫ֹס‬
‫ְקרו‬ ‫ְעו‬
‫ִל‬
‫ל‬.

The feminine version of readable is ‫ִריאָה‬

ְwhich looks and sounds the same as the
‫ק‬,
word for the act of reading.

78
 “Exclusive”
‫ִדי‬
‫ָע‬
‫ְל‬
‫ִבּ‬
Oftentimes the developers of Modern Hebrew are faced with the challenge of
creating a new word for a concept that didn’t quite exist in Biblical and Mishnaic
times. One such concept is exclusivity.

One of the Hebrew words meaning without, ‫ַדי‬ ‫ְע‬

ָ ִcan be combined with suffixes to
‫בּל‬,
form phrases such as without me, without you, etc.

Modern Hebrew’s developers borrowed the basic concept of without to label the
modern concept of exclusivity - or, being without most others. The word they came up
with is ‫ִדיּוּת‬
‫ְע‬
ָ ִLikewise, exclusive is ‫ִדי‬
‫בּל‬. ‫ְע‬
ָ‫ִבּל‬when referring to something masculine
and ‫ִדית‬ ‫ִבּל‬when referring to something feminine.
‫ְע‬
ָ

For example:

!‫ַראי‬
‫ְשׁ‬‫ִטיסַא‬ ‫ְר‬‫יקיַכּ‬
ֵ‫ִז‬ ‫ְח‬‫ַמ‬‫ַרקְל‬ ,‫ִדי‬
‫ְע‬
ָ
‫ָצעִבּל‬ ‫ְב‬
‫ִמ‬
Exclusive deal, only for credit-card holders!

‫ בלעדי‬is the official word that is becoming more and more in style. Many Israelis
are still using, however, ‫יבי‬
ִ‫לוּס‬
ִ ‫ְק‬‫ְס‬
‫ְק‬‫א‬.
ֶ

“Efficient”
‫ָעיל‬
ִ‫י‬
The Hebrew word for both effective and efficient is ‫ָעיל‬
‫י‬. It comes from the same root,
ִ
‫ל‬.‫ע‬.‫( י‬y.a.l) as one of the words for benefit – ‫ֶת‬
‫ֹעל‬
ֶ‫תּו‬.

To take something and make it more efficient is ‫ֵל‬

‫ָע‬ְan active-intensive ‫ פיעל‬verb.
‫לי‬,

For example:

.‫ִרים‬
‫ָב‬‫ְדּ‬
‫ֵל‬
‫ָע‬
‫ַעתְלי‬
‫ֹד‬
ַ‫ֶל יו‬
‫ָרה גּוּג‬
‫ְב‬
‫ֶח‬‫ַה‬
The company, Google, knows how to make things efficient.

79
 “Exciting” or “Stirring Emotion”
‫ֵשׁ‬
‫ַרגּ‬
‫ְמ‬
To get excited in Hebrew is ‫ֵש‬
‫ַרגּ‬
‫ְת‬
‫ִה‬ְIt comes from the root ‫ש‬.‫ג‬.‫ר‬, (r.g.sh), which
‫ל‬.
means, in Modern Hebrew, emotion. The word ‫ להתרגש‬falls into the ‫ התפעל‬verb
pattern.

To say that something is exciting or stirring of emotion, you’d use the word ‫ֵש‬
‫ַרגּ‬
‫מ‬.
ְ
‫ מרגש‬is an adjective that comes from the ‫ֵל‬ ‫ִפּע‬verb pattern.

“Spectacular”
‫ִהיב‬
‫ְר‬
‫ַמ‬
One Hebrew word for spectacular is ‫ִהיב‬ ‫ְר‬ַThis active-causative ‫ הפעיל‬verb derives
‫מ‬.
from the root ‫ב‬.‫ה‬.‫ר‬, (r.h.b). ‫ַהב‬
‫ַר‬is the Biblical name of a Canaanite god
synonymous with the sea. The great body of water is something gripping
and spectacular, as one might observe at the beach (or while lost at sea), and as the
ancients knew very well.

An example of :‫מרהיב‬

‫ִהיב‬‫ְר‬‫ֶרטַמ‬ ‫ֵיַפּי” הוּאֶס‬ ‫“חיּ‬

ַ
Life of Pi is a spectacular film.

“Illegal”
‫ִקּי‬
‫ִתּיֻח‬
‫ְל‬
‫ִבּ‬
The phrase for illegal in Hebrew is ‫ִקּי‬‫ִתּיֻח‬‫ְל‬ִThe word ‫ בלתי‬functions in Hebrew
‫בּ‬.
in a similar way to how the prefixes in- and un- function in English – such as
in impossible – ‫ִרי‬
‫ָשׁ‬‫בלתיֶא‬, and unforgettable – ‫ַכּח‬
‫ְפ‬ ‫ְשׁ‬‫ִנ‬
‫בלתי‬.

You can hear the phrase ‫ בלתי נשכח‬in Ehud Banai’s song entitled, ‫ֹם‬
‫ –ַהיּו‬Today.

80
 “Unexpected”
‫ִתּיָצפוּי‬
‫ְל‬
‫ִבּ‬
Suppose you’re sitting on the sofa one stormy evening covered in a warm blanket,
reading a book, when suddenly there’s an unexpected knock on the door.

Expected or foreseen in Hebrew is ‫צפוּי‬,

ָfrom the root ‫ה‬.‫פ‬.‫צ‬, (ts.p.h), meaning watching.
It’s the same root as in ‫ֹפים‬
ִ‫ –ָהרַהצּו‬Mount Scopus – the site of the Hebrew
University’s main campus.

Unexpected is ‫ִתּיָצפוּי‬ִas in:

‫ְל‬
‫בּ‬,

.‫ָה‬‫ִתּיְצפוּי‬
‫ְל‬
‫יקהִבּ‬
ָ‫ִפ‬‫ְדּ‬‫ִתּי‬‫ְע‬
‫ַמ‬
‫ָשׁ‬
I heard an unexpected knock.

“Bittersweet”
‫ִריר‬
‫מ‬-‫ֹק‬
ָ ‫ָמתו‬
This entry was written on Yom Ha’Atzmaut (Israel Independence Day) 2013.

Though the mood is great today here as the political nation of Israel celebrates 65
years of existence and prosperity, there’s a bittersweet element as well, as we
remember the people of Boston who have experienced a type of event this week
that we in Israel know all too well.

The Hebrew term for bittersweet combines the words for sweet:
‫ֹק‬
‫ָמתו‬

and bitter:
‫ִריר‬
‫ָמ‬

Yielding:
‫ִריר‬
‫מ‬-‫ֹק‬
ָ ‫ָמתו‬

81
 “Chewable”
‫ָעיס‬
ִ‫ל‬
Whereas the Hebrew word for bubble gum, ‫ִטיק‬ ‫ְס‬ַcomes from Ancient Greek and
‫מ‬,
is related to the English word masticate, the Modern Hebrew word chewable comes
from what appears to me an authentic Semitic root, though not found in Biblical
Hebrew: , ‫ס‬.‫ע‬.‫ל‬, (l.a.s).

The words ‫ָעיס‬ ִ‫ ל‬and ‫יסה‬ ‫ ל‬mean both chewable, as in chewable medicine – and chewy,
ָ‫ְע‬
ִ
as in chewy granola bars.

Likewise, the Modern Hebrew word for to chew is ‫ֹס‬

‫ְעו‬‫ל‬, an active-simple ‫ פעל‬verb.
‫ִל‬

“Sharp”
‫ַחד‬
The word for pencil sharpener is – ‫ֹת‬
‫ֹנו‬
‫ֶפרו‬
ְ‫ֵדּד ע‬
‫ַח‬ְliterally, a sharpener of pencils, where
‫מ‬,
‫ מחדד‬means sharpener.

‫ מחדד‬comes from the root ‫ד‬.‫ד‬.‫ח‬, (kh.d.d), meaning sharp. The proper word to
describe a sharp object is ‫ַחד‬for something masculine such as ‫ֹן‬ ‫ע‬,ִa pencil, and
‫ָפּרו‬
‫ַח‬for something feminine, such as ‫ִכּין‬
‫ָדּה‬ ַa knife.
‫ס‬,

The root seems to make an appearance in the Torah portion Yitro, ‫ְתרו‬‫י‬,ִin the
phrase ‫ְתרו‬
‫ִי‬‫ְדּ‬
‫ַח‬‫ִיּ‬– and Yitro rejoiced. I say seems, because despite
‫ַו‬
the Midrashic reading, that Yitro’s skin became “sharp” with goosebumps, the
word is more likely related to one of the terms for joy, ‫ָוה‬
‫ְד‬‫ח‬.
ֶ

82
 “Smooth” or “Slippery”
…‫ַק‬ְ‫ֲחל‬,‫ַמק‬
‫ַקל‬ ‫ְק‬‫ַמ‬
‫ֲח‬
A word used to describe Mohamed Bodya, the Algerian
fine-arts-aficionado/playboy behind many terror attacks in Europe and in Israel,
is ‫ַמק‬‫ְק‬
‫ַמ‬ֲIt means slippery, as in, he would slip through the hands of those trying to
‫ח‬.
apprehend him.

‫ חמקמק‬derives from the word ‫ֵמּק‬ ‫ַח‬‫ְת‬

‫ִה‬ְwhich means to escape, to evade, or to get out of
‫ל‬,
doing something. For example, if you have a boy who would rather watch television
than do his dishes, you might say to him, ‫ָריוּת‬ ‫אַח‬
ְ‫ָה‬‫ֵמּקֵמ‬‫ַח‬ ‫ – אַלִתּ‬don’t run away from
‫ְת‬
the (your) responsibility.

‫ להתחמק‬is a reflexive-intensive ‫ התפעל‬verb.

One of several synonyms is ‫ַק‬ ‫ –ֲחל‬smooth (as in smooth criminal) – coming from the
‫ַקל‬
ְ
root ‫ק‬.‫ל‬.‫ח‬, (kh.l.k), meaning… smooth.

83
 “A Bit Sweet”
‫ַתּק‬
‫ְק‬
‫ַת‬
‫ְמ‬
The Hebrew word for to tick – ‫ֵתּק‬‫ְק‬
‫ַת‬ְwhose present-tense (active participle)
‫ל‬,
masculine-singular form is ‫ֵתּק‬
‫ְק‬
‫ַת‬ְsounds very similar to the Hebrew word
‫מ‬,
‫ַתּק‬‫ְק‬
‫ַת‬ְbut while the former word comes from English, the latter comes from an
‫מ‬,
authentic Hebrew root.

On ‫ָה‬ ‫ָשּׁנ‬
‫ֹאשַׁה‬ ‫ – ר‬Rosh Hashanah, Jews wish one another a ‫תוּקה‬
ָ ‫וּמ‬ְ‫ֹבה‬
ָ ‫ –ָשׁנ‬a good
‫ָה טו‬
and sweet year.

The word for sweet is ‫ֹק‬

‫ָמתו‬in the masculine and ‫תוּקה‬
ָ ‫ְמ‬in the feminine.

To say something is a bit sweet or lightly sweetened, you’d use the word ‫ַתּק‬
‫ְק‬‫ְמ‬in the
‫ַת‬
masculine and ‫ָקה‬
‫ְתּ‬‫ְק‬ ‫ְמ‬in the feminine. ‫ מתקתק‬is a diminutive form of ‫מתוק‬.
‫ַת‬

For example:

.‫ַתּק‬‫ְק‬‫ַת‬‫ָטּהְמ‬ ‫ֹתִעםִח‬ ‫ָרקו‬ ‫ְי‬

‫ָט‬‫ָסל‬
A lightly-sweet vegetable salad with wheat

.‫ָקה‬‫ְתּ‬‫ְק‬‫ַת‬‫ָמהְמ‬ ‫ָד‬
‫פּוּחיֲא‬
ֵ ‫ידתַתּ‬ ַ‫ִט‬
‫ְשׁ‬
‫ַפּ‬
A lightly-sweet potato quiche

84
 “Salty” & “Saltbush”
‫לוּח‬
ַ ‫ָמ‬
My ‫ָתּא‬‫ְב‬ַgrandmother, is a great cook. She learned how to prepare delicious dishes
‫ס‬,
from her mother back in Hungary before the war.

‫ סבתא‬has Hungarian taste in food. So from time to time she asks me, ‫ֹהב‬
ֵ‫ָתּה או‬
‫ֲא‬
ַ ‫ –ָדּגָמ‬Do you like salty fish? I say no.
‫לוּח‬

Once, on a Hebrew-music radio show I hosted, I played a song that contained the
word ‫מלוח‬. The line goes: ‫ִים‬ ‫ָמּ‬‫ַלַה‬‫לוּח ע‬
ַ ‫ָמּ‬ ‫יחַה‬
ַ‫ֵר‬ ְ On air, I translated the line thus:
‫…ו‬
…and the smell of salt on the water (referring to the Jordan River). Something didn’t
make sense in my translation, but I continued reading.

After the show, my aunt Bila (‫’סבתא‬s daughter) called me and let me know that the
word ‫ מלוח‬in the song actually refers to a plant growing on the banks of the
Jordan.

In English, this plant is a saltbush.

The line then actually made a lot more sense to me.

If you’re familiar with Israeli folk music, you’ve more than likely heard the song
I’m talking about, Naomi Shemer ’s classic ‫ִליפּטוּס‬
‫ַק‬
‫ֶא‬‫ַשׁתָה‬ ‫ –ֻח‬The Eucalyptus Grove.
‫ְר‬

85
 “Enough”
‫ַדּי‬,‫ִפּיק‬
‫ְס‬
‫ַמ‬
There are two words in Hebrew that mean enough.

‫מספיק‬

‫ִפּיק‬ ‫ְס‬‫ַמ‬comes from the root ‫ק‬.‫פ‬.‫ס‬, (s.p.k), meaning sufficiency. ‫ מספיק‬is an adjective
and adverb deriving from the active-causative ‫ הפעיל‬verb ‫ִפּיק‬ ‫ְס‬
‫ַה‬ְmeaning to
‫ל‬,
suffice or to manage to get something done.

For example:

.‫ֶל‬
‫ֹכ‬
‫ִפּיק א‬‫ְס‬
‫ָנוַּמ‬
‫ֵשׁ ל‬‫י‬
We have enough food.

.‫ֵהר‬
‫ִפּיקַמ‬‫ְס‬‫ָרץַמ‬‫הוּא א‬
He doesn’t/didn’t run fast enough.

‫די‬

The word ‫ַדּי‬in the sense of enough is used in Modern Hebrew primarily in the
exclamation, !‫ – די‬enough! !‫ מספיק‬is used in the same sense.

‫ די‬also means quite when vocalized ‫ֵדּי‬, as in the sentence:

.‫ָכה‬‫ָר‬
‫ְד‬‫ַמּ‬
ִ‫ֹב ל‬
‫ָהֵדּיָקרו‬ ‫ֹונ‬
‫ִהיא ח‬
She is parked quite close to the sidewalk.

In Biblical and Mishnaic Hebrew, ‫ די‬usually appears with a suffix, the best-known
example of which is the title of the Passover Seder favorite song, ‫ֵנוּ‬
‫דּיּ‬.ַ

86
 “Frozen”
‫ָקפוּא‬
The Hebrew word for frozen is .‫ָקפוּא‬

‫ קפוא‬comes from the active-simple ‫ פעל‬intransitive verb to freeze – ‫ֹא‬

‫ְקפּו‬
‫ל‬.
ִ

For example:

.‫ָפא‬
‫ָםָק‬‫ֲאג‬‫ָה‬
The lake froze.

and

.‫ֹר‬‫אתיִמקּו‬ִ‫ָפ‬‫ָק‬
I froze from (the) cold.

Mind you, that’s to freeze – just to freeze.

But to freeze something else – that’s ‫ִפּיא‬

‫ְק‬
‫ַה‬ְan active-causative ‫ הפעיל‬transitive verb.
‫ל‬,

For example:

.‫ִפים‬
‫ְט‬
‫ְפ‬‫ַט‬
‫ְמּ‬‫ִיםַה‬ ‫ַמּ‬
‫ִפּיאָהֶאתַה‬ ‫ְק‬‫רוּחִה‬
ַ ‫ָה‬
The wind froze the dripping water.

Likewise, a ‫ִפּיא‬‫ַמ‬is a freezer.

‫ְק‬

87
 “Really Cold Weather”
‫ָבים‬
ִ‫ֹרְכּל‬
‫קו‬
For those south of the equator (and those who suffer when others turn on the air
conditioning), here’s a colorful expression for really, really cold weather.

‫ָבים‬
ִ‫ֹרְכּל‬‫ קו‬means, literally, cold of dogs. Imagine dogs barking because they’re stuck
outside in the cold.

‫ קור‬is cold the noun, as in the cold.

‫ –ֶכּל‬dog – is the singular form of ‫כלבים‬.

‫ֶב‬

“Really Hot Weather”

‫ימים‬
ִ‫ֹםֵא‬
‫חו‬
When Israelis talk about how hot it is, they often say:

!‫ימיםַבּחוּץ‬ ִ‫ֹםֵא‬ ‫חו‬

It’s really, really hot outside!

‫ חו‬means heat. Don’t confuse it with ‫ חוּם‬meaning brown.

‫ֹם‬

‫ אימים‬is related to the word ‫ימה‬

ָ‫ֵא‬meaning horror or terror. So ‫ חום אימים‬means,
literally, heat of horrors.

“Humid”
‫ ל‬,‫ַח‬
‫ָחוּת‬ ‫ל‬
Israel in the summer – especially along the coast – can get pretty humid.

The Hebrew word for humid is ‫ַח‬

‫ – ל‬sounding kind of like the Scottish
pronunciation of Loch in Loch Ness.

And humidity is ‫ָחוּת‬

‫ל‬. For example, ‫ָחוּת‬
‫ֹהבֶאתַהלּ‬
ֵ ‫ –ֲא‬I like (the) humidity.
‫ִני או‬

88
 “Wintry”
‫ִפּי‬
‫ְר‬
‫ָח‬
By bicycle, the ride home from the Jerusalem open market – shuk, ‫ – שׁוּק‬is
normally twelve minutes long. Though clouds were gathering one night, I took my
bike out to buy some essential foods for sandwiches and salads, such as lettuce,
tomatoes, basil and brown rice. As I was riding up the hill on Agrippas St.
approaching the ‫שוק‬, a drizzle was becoming proper rain and strengthening; I
arrived at the ‫ שוק‬and found an awning under which to lock my bike just in time,
for about a minute later a heavy downpour began.

After I finished my shopping and the rain abated some, I ventured out for the
downhill ride home, with ‫ָמים‬ִ‫ –ְבּל‬brakes – that had been wearing down recently.
The ride took me about twenty minutes as I was applying the ‫ בלמים‬continuously,
dodging cars, pedestrians, and sticking as close to trees and poles as possible to
avoid being struck by lightning.

The befitting dose of Hebrew is wintry – ‫ִפּי‬ ‫ְר‬ָThis is the adjective form of the
‫ח‬.
Modern Hebrew word for winter, ‫ֹרף‬ ֶ‫ח‬, which is itself related to the word
for sharp or acute in thinking, tone of voice or physical taste, ‫ִריף‬ ָthe word ‫ֹרף‬
‫;ח‬ ‫חו‬, or
winter, is the time of acute or biting cold. In Biblical Hebrew, ‫ חורף‬refers also to the
rains of autumn.

Note the pronunciation of ‫ –ָחרפי‬the kamatz symbol under the letter ‫ח‬, which
normally dictates the ah vowel in Modern Hebrew, here dictates a short oh vowel.

For example, ‫ִפּי‬

‫ְר‬
‫ָהָח‬
‫ַיל‬
ְ‫ָה הוּא ל‬ ‫ –ַהלּ‬tonight is a wintry night.
‫ַיל‬
ְ

“Magical”
‫ָקסוּם‬
One might say that Jerusalem is a magical city – ‫סוּמה‬
ָ ‫עירְק‬.ִ

‫ קסומה‬is used instead of ‫קסוּם‬,

ָsince a city is a feminine noun in Hebrew. Those of

89
you who live in Raanana might know the stationery shop on ‫ָמים‬ ִ‫ֶשׁתַהיּ‬
‫ֹבֵשׁ‬ – Six
‫ְרחו‬
Days (War) Street – by the name of ‫ַערַהקּסוּם‬
ַ‫ –ַהיּ‬The Magical Forest.

‫ קסום‬and ‫ קסומה‬come from the Biblical Hebrew word, ‫ֶסם‬

‫ –ֶק‬magic or sorcery.

“Fascinating”
‫ֵתּק‬
‫ַר‬
‫ְמ‬
In Ulpan La-Inyan’s Level 3 course, 21-year-old ‫ַי‬‫ַחגּ‬tells his date, ‫ַעת‬‫ י‬all about his
‫ִפ‬
ְ
trip to Nahal Yehudiya, including the heroic act he performs there.
‫ יפעת‬might exclaim, ‫ֵתּק‬‫ַר‬ ֶ‫ –ֵא‬what a fascinating story!
‫יזהִספּוּרְמ‬

‫ֵתּק‬‫ְמ‬means fascinating.
‫ַר‬

90
Good Expressions to Know
‫ַעת‬
‫ָד‬
ַ
‫ֹבים ל‬
ִ‫טּוּיים טו‬
ִ ‫ִבּ‬

91
 “Good Luck”
!‫ָחה‬
ָ‫ְצל‬
‫ַה‬
‫ְבּ‬
How to go about wishing someone well varies from language to language and from
culture to culture.

In English, we say good luck – wishing the person good fortune, that the stars line
up for them, that they find a four-leaf clover.

In Hebrew, we say ‫ָחה‬

ָ‫ְצל‬‫ –ְבּ‬literally, with success.
‫ַה‬

A variation of that wish found in more religious circles is ‫ָחה‬

ָ ‫ְצל‬
‫ַה‬
‫ְו‬‫ָכה‬ ‫ –ְבּ‬but more
‫ָר‬
often pronounced as in Yiddish, broh-KHEH veh-hahtz-LOH-kheh – blessing and
success. This likely derives from the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s staple wish to those in his
personal audience, ‫( ברכה והצלחה בכל העניינים‬...beh-KHOHL hah-een-yah-NEEM
- but pronounced by the Rebbe, beh-KHOHL hoh-een-YOH-nim) – blessing and
success in all (the) matters.

I believe Hebrew’s choice of ‫ בהצלחה‬reflects a more proactive orientation than

that of the English good luck - that Jewish/Israeli culture emphasizes the individual’s
power to shape their destiny as at least equal to the power of external forces, even
divine ones.

“Self-Controlled”
‫ַפּק‬
‫ֻא‬
‫ְמ‬
Don Corleone in The Godfather is a great example of an ‫ַפּק‬ ‫ֻא‬‫אָדםְמ‬.ָ He says little
and does much, as suggested in ‫ֹת‬ ‫ֵקי אָבו‬‫ –ִפּ‬Ethics of the Fathers; although Don
‫ְר‬
Corleone probably learned this from another source.

This passive-intensive ‫ פועל‬verb means not only self-controlled, but also reserved and
even restrained.

The feminine form is ‫ֶקת‬

‫ֶפּ‬
‫ֻא‬
‫מ‬.
ְ

92
 “3D”
‫ַמד‬
‫מ‬-‫ַת‬
ֵ ‫ְתּל‬
Modern Hebrew borrows words from Aramaic for many official and legal terms.
Using the word three as an adjective is one such case, as in the phrase meaning
three-dimensional space: ‫ַמד‬
‫מ‬-‫ַת‬ ְ The word ‫ תלת‬is the Aramaic equivalent of
ֵ ‫תּל‬.
Hebrew’s three – ‫שׁ ש‬. ָNote that ‫( ת‬t) in Aramaic replaces the Hebrew ‫( ש‬sh), but
otherwise it’s essentially the same word.

‫ מימד‬means dimension, as in, ?‫ָן‬

‫ְני‬
‫ִבּ‬
‫ִדּיםֶשׁלַה‬
‫ַמ‬‫ –ַמהַה‬what are the dimensions of the
‫ֵמּ‬
building?

“Mental Retardation”
‫ִלי‬
‫ְכ‬
‫ִפּגּוּרִשׂ‬
Mental retardation is a condition that affects individuals and families in every
ethnic group and every nation on the planet.

The Hebrew word for retardation is ‫פּגּוּר‬,ִderived from the verb ‫ֵר‬ ‫ל‬, meaning to
‫ְפגּ‬
ַ
lag or to slow down. It is sometimes used in everyday Hebrew to mean to be
late or slow. For example, one might say, ‫ֵר‬ ‫ַפגּ‬
‫ִלּיְמ‬
‫ֹןֶשׁ‬ ‫ –ַה‬My watch is slow.
‫ָשּׁעו‬

‫ לפגר‬is an active-intensive ‫ פיעל‬verb.

The word for mental in Hebrew is ‫ִלי‬

‫ְכ‬ִderived from the word for intellect, ‫ֶל‬
‫שׂ‬, ‫שׂכ‬.
ֵ
You may know the word from Yiddish .

“Acquiring a Language”
‫ָפה‬
‫ישׁתָשׂ‬
ַ‫ִכ‬‫ְר‬
To buy something is ‫ֹת‬ ‫ְקנו‬ ִTo acquire, or purchase something, is ‫ֹש‬
‫ל‬. ִThe act
‫ְרכו‬
‫ל‬.
of acquiring or purchasing is ‫ישׁה‬
ָ‫ִכ‬
‫ר‬.ְ

So the acquiring of a language is ‫ָפה‬

‫ישׁתָשׂ‬
ַ‫ִכ‬‫ר‬.ְThe ‫ ה‬in the word ‫ רכישה‬becomes a ‫ת‬, as

93
the word is connected to the following word in a linguistic relationship called
‫ –ְס‬the construct state.
‫ִמיכוּת‬

“Distance Learning”
‫ֹק‬
‫ָרחו‬
‫ידהֵמ‬
ָ‫ִמ‬‫ְל‬
Distance learning has become quite an industry. In Hebrew, it’s ‫ֹק‬ ‫ָרחו‬
‫ידהֵמ‬
ָ‫ִמ‬‫ל‬.
ְ
Literally, that’s learning from afar. We use ‫ למידה‬as opposed to ‫למּוּד‬,
ִwhich
means teaching.

“Unless”
‫ָאִאםֵכּן‬
‫ֶאלּ‬
Some parts of speech have very clear translations from one language to another.
For example, a noun such as tree has a clear equivalent in all languages, with
Hebrew being no exception: ‫ֵץ‬ ‫ע‬. Likewise, the active-causative ‫ הפעיל‬verb ‫ִמין‬‫ְז‬
‫ַה‬
‫ְל‬
means to invite or to order.

Other parts of speech become a bit trickier to translate. Take, for example, the
prepositional prefix –‫ב‬, (b). In some contexts it means in, while in other contexts it
means with, and still others it means by means of.

And take conjunctions. Some translate nicely, such as the word ‫ָל‬ ‫ אָב‬meaning but,
and the prefix -‫ו‬, meaning and. But others are a bit clumsy – such as the Hebrew
phrase meaning unless - .‫ָאִאםֵכּן‬‫ֶאלּ‬

‫ – אלא אם כן‬sometimes abbreviated as ‫ אא”כ‬- means, literally, rather if so. Truth is,
the English word unless is also composed of two distinct parts – un and less. ‫אלא אם‬
‫ כן‬appears in Mishnaic Hebrew.

Here’s an example of this phrase’s usage:

.‫ֶשׁם‬
ֶ‫ֵרד גּ‬ֵ‫ָאִאםֵכּן י‬ ‫ֶאלּ‬,‫ֹת‬
‫ַחיּו‬‫ַןַה‬
‫ָחרְלג‬ ‫ַסּעָמ‬‫ִנ‬
We’ll go (travel) tomorrow to the zoo, unless it’ll rain.

94
 “Make a Dream Come True”

‫ִשׁים‬
‫ְג‬
‫ַה‬
‫ְל‬
The root of this one comes from ‫ֶשׁם‬
ֶ‫גּ‬, the Hebrew word for rain.

To make it rain – or, to make something materialize is ‫ִשׁים‬ ‫ְג‬‫ַה‬ְFor example, ‫ֲלוּצים‬
‫ל‬. ִ‫ַהח‬
‫ֹמם‬
ָ‫ֲלו‬
‫ִשׁימוֶּאת ח‬ ‫ –ִה‬the pioneers made their dream come true (literally, realized their dream).
‫ְג‬
This is the ‫ הפעיל‬usage of the root. To say dreams are coming true, you’d use the ‫התפעל‬
form, saying, ‫ִמים‬‫ַשּׁ‬
ְ‫ְתגּ‬‫ֹתִמ‬‫ֹמו‬
‫ֲלו‬
‫ח‬.

And a dream come true, in Hebrew, is ‫ַשּׁם‬

ֵ‫ְתגּ‬
‫ִה‬
‫ֹםֶשׁ‬ ‫ – ח‬literally, a dream that has come
‫ֲלו‬
true.

“To Draw Close”

‫ֵרב‬
‫ָק‬
‫ְת‬
‫ִה‬
‫ְל‬
The root ‫ב‬.‫ר‬.‫ק‬, (k.r.b), has the meaning of closeness.

‫ִריב‬
‫ְק‬
‫ַה‬‫ְל‬means to sacrifice, give something up or to bring something close – and its passive
form is ‫ָרב‬ֻThese are the causative forms: ‫ הפעיל‬and ‫הופעל‬.
‫ְק‬
‫מ‬.

‫ָרב‬
‫ְק‬‫ִל‬means to draw close to someone or to approach. This is the active-simple verb form,
‫ בניין קל‬or ‫פעל‬. The root does not appear in the ‫ נפעל‬form.

‫ֵרב‬ ‫ְל‬means to pull someone else close – and its passive form is ‫ֹרב‬
‫ָק‬ ‫ –ְמק‬pulled close. These
ָ
are two of the three intensive forms: ‫ פיעל‬and ‫פועל‬.

The reflexive form, the third of the intensives, is ‫ֵרב‬

‫ָק‬
‫ְת‬‫ְל‬meaning to get close to one
‫ִה‬
another. It’s also used to mean to approach.

Gilad Segev uses the following phrase in a song about his older brother who was
killed serving in the IDF:

.‫ִבים‬ ‫ְר‬‫ָק‬
‫ְת‬‫ַחנוִּמ‬
ְ‫ֲאנ‬‫ִתּיֶשׁ‬
‫ַשׁ‬
ְ‫ְרגּ‬‫ִה‬
I felt that we were drawing close.

95
 “To Keep a Distance”
‫ֵחק‬
‫ַר‬
‫ְת‬‫ְל‬,‫ִחיק‬
‫ִה‬ ‫ְר‬
‫ַה‬
‫ְל‬
The Hebrew root for distance is ‫ק‬.‫ח‬.‫ר‬, (r.kh.k); far is ‫ֹק‬
‫רחו‬.ָ

To move something or someone away is ‫ִחיק‬

‫ְר‬
‫ַה‬ְwhich is an active-causative ‫הפעיל‬
‫ל‬,
verb.

For example:

.‫ִית‬
‫ָבּ‬
‫ַה‬‫ֶלֵמ‬‫ֶזּב‬
‫ִחיקֶאתַה‬ ‫ְר‬‫הוּאִה‬
He distanced the garbage from the house.

But if you wish to express distancing oneself from something or someone, the word is
‫ֵחק‬
‫ַר‬‫ְת‬‫ִה‬ְa reflexive-intensive ‫ התפעל‬verb.
‫ל‬,

For example:

.‫ַרע‬
‫יחָה‬
ַ‫ֵר‬ ‫ָה‬‫ָקהֵמ‬ ‫ֲח‬‫ַר‬
‫ְת‬ ‫ִהיאִה‬
She distanced herself from the bad smell.

96
 “Ladies and Gentlemen”
‫ֹתי‬
ָ‫ַרבּו‬
‫ְו‬
‫ֹתי‬
ָ‫ִבירו‬
‫ְגּ‬
The Hebrew expression for ladies and gentlemen is ‫ֹתי‬
ָ‫ַרבּו‬
‫ְו‬‫ֹתי‬
ָ ‫גּ‬.ְWhile a ‫ירה‬
‫ִבירו‬ ָ‫ִב‬is
‫ְגּ‬
a lady of stature – related to the word ‫בוּרה‬
ָ‫ְגּ‬meaning boldness, among many other
common words, ‫ַרב‬ means… well, rabbi.

Sounds strange, especially when the speech is being given to a group of people
who are not rabbis.

We must thus look at the essential meaning of the word for rabbi – ‫רב‬. Perusing the
Bible, we find that the word itself meant great or many before it came to refer to a
person who is great, or a spiritual leader – a rabbi.

Calling upon the essential element of greatness in the word ‫רב‬, Modern Hebrew
takes the liberty of showing respect to an audience of ladies and gentlemen using
‫ – גבירותי ורבותי‬my ladies and my great/honorable men.

If the audience is just men, the speaker is likely to say, ‫ֹתי‬

ָ‫ַרבּו‬
‫ְו‬ ‫ – מו‬my teachers and
‫ֹרי‬
ָ
my honorable men.

97
 “Back to School”
‫ֶפר‬
‫ֵסּ‬
‫ֵביתַה‬
‫ָרהְל‬
ָ‫ֲחז‬
In English, we have the verbs to come back and to return. Both phrases describe the
same situation, but while the former describes a day-to-day return, the latter
describes a more dramatic or formal one.

Likewise in Hebrew, there are two words that mean to return to a place: ‫ֹר‬ ‫ ל‬and
‫ַחזו‬
ְ
‫ל‬. Both are active-simple ‫ פעל‬verbs.
‫ָשׁוּב‬

‫ לחזור‬means to come back, while ‫ לשוב‬means to return.

An example using a variation of ‫לחזור‬:

.‫ִטּיּוּל‬‫ַה‬
‫ָתהֵמ‬‫ְי‬
‫ַבּ‬
‫ָרהַה‬‫ְז‬
‫ִהיאָח‬
She came back home from the trip.

And an example using a variation of ‫לשוב‬:

.‫ָתה‬
‫ְי‬
‫ַבּ‬‫ֹףָשׁבַה‬‫ָל סו‬ ‫ הוּא סו‬,‫ָרב‬
‫ֹף כּ‬ ‫ְקּ‬‫ִבּיםַבּ‬ ‫ַר‬‫ִשׁים‬ ‫ָד‬
‫ֵריָח‬‫אַח‬
ֲ
After many months in battle, he finally returned home.

Translating back to school into Hebrew using the appropriate word for returning, we
get:

‫ֶפר‬
‫ֵסּ‬
‫ֵביתַה‬
‫ָרהְל‬‫ –ֲח‬literally, a return to the school.
‫ָז‬

Another well-known usage of the word ‫ חזרה‬is in the Hebrew translation of Back
to the Future (literally, with return to the future) – ‫ִתיד‬
‫ָע‬
ָ‫ָרה ל‬
‫ָז‬
‫ֲח‬
‫בּ‬.
ְ

98
 “Make Me…”
‫ֵיּב‬‫ְל‬,‫ֹם‬
‫ַח‬ ‫ִל‬,‫יח‬
‫ְגרו‬ ַ‫ִר‬‫ְכ‬
‫ַה‬
‫ְל‬
Though Israeli kids certainly tend to have a healthy share of ‫ָפּה‬‫ – ח‬hutzpah, no
‫ֻצ‬
ְ
equivalent of the English expression “make me” comes to my mind.

There are, however, several ways of saying to make someone do something. Here are
some of the expressions. Which phrase to use depends on the situation:

‫להכריח‬

‫ִריח‬
‫ְכ‬‫ְל‬means to force or to coerce. ‫ להכריח‬is an active-causative ‫ הפעיל‬verb.
‫ַה‬

For example:

.‫ָהּ‬
‫ֹונ‬
‫ְרצ‬ ‫ֶד‬
‫ִריםֶנג‬‫ָב‬
‫ְדּ‬‫ֹת‬‫ֲשׂו‬‫ֹתהַּלע‬ ָ‫יח א‬ַ‫ִר‬
‫ְכ‬‫ַה‬‫ָשׁרְל‬ ‫ְפ‬‫ָה –ִאיֶא‬ ‫ֹול‬‫ְגּד‬‫ָדּה‬‫ַל‬
ְ‫ִהיא י‬
She’s a big kid – you can’t (it’s impossible) force her to do things against her will.

‫לגרום‬

‫ֹם‬ ‫ ל‬means to cause. ‫ לגרום‬is an active-simple ‫ פעל‬verb.

‫ִגרו‬
ְ

For example:

.‫ָרוּץ‬
‫ֶב ל‬
‫ַכּל‬
ֶ‫ָרם ל‬ַ‫ָכ גּ‬ ‫ְו‬
‫ֵקּל‬‫ַמּ‬
‫ַרקֶאתַה‬ ‫הוּאָז‬
He threw the stick and thus made the dog run.

‫לחייב‬

‫ֵב‬ ‫ –ְל‬to require, force, coerce, necessitate. ‫ לחייב‬is an active-intensive ‫ פיעל‬verb.

‫ַחיּ‬

For example:

.‫ָבּד‬
‫ְכ‬
‫ִנ‬ ‫ֵםְסכוּם‬ ‫ַשׁלּ‬‫ֹתהְּל‬ָ ‫ֵב א‬
‫ַחיּ‬‫ֶטתְתּ‬ ‫ֹפ‬
ֶ‫ַהשּׁו‬
The (female) judge will require her to pay a substantial sum.

99
 “Wild Animals”
‫ֹתַבּר‬
‫ַחיּו‬
In Rabbinic literature, ‫ָה‬
‫(ַחיּ‬coming from the word ‫ָחי‬meaning living) refers
specifically to non-domesticated animals; while ‫ָמה‬‫ְבּ‬refers to a domesticated animal.
‫ֵה‬
But in Modern Hebrew, ‫ חיה‬is the generic word for animal.

A specifically wild animal is a ‫ַתַבּר‬ַwhere the ‫( ה‬h) in ‫ חיה‬becomes a ‫( ת‬t) in this

‫חיּ‬,
“of” relationship (construct – ‫ִמיכוּת‬ְ– literally, an animal of the wild. And ‫בר‬
‫)ס‬
means wild.

A synonym of ‫ חיית בר‬is ‫ֶרא‬ ‫ –ַחיּ‬also wild animal.

‫ַתֶפּ‬

“The Immune System”

‫ִחסּוּן‬
‫ֶכתַה‬
‫ֲר‬
ֶ
‫ַמע‬
We tend to be most aware during the winter time that we need to shift into high
gear with strengthening our immune systems. In Biblical and early Rabbinic times,
however, people talk about such physiological systems, so there was no need for a
term for them.

Modern Hebrew created names for these systems based on Biblical roots and
concepts. Here’s the one for the immune system.

System – ‫מערכת‬

Modern Hebrew derives its word for system, ‫ֶכת‬ ‫ֲר‬

ֶ ַfrom the Ancient Hebrew root
‫מע‬,
‫כ‬.‫ר‬.‫( ע‬a.r.k) meaning value: a system is a group of individually valued units working
together. Some of the other words deriving from that root include ‫ֶרך‬ ‫ –ֶע‬value, and
‫ֲריך‬
ִ‫ַהע‬‫ –ְל‬to appreciate or evaluate.

Immunity – ‫חיסון‬

The Modern Hebrew word for to immunize comes from the Biblical (and Modern)
Hebrew word ‫ֹסן‬ ֶ ‫ ח‬meaning foundation or stability, mobilized into
the active-intensive ‫ פיעל‬verb, ‫ֵסּן‬
‫ַח‬ְimmunizing is strengthening the foundations of
‫ל‬:
100
health. The noun form of that verb – immunity or immunization – is ‫חסּוּן‬,
ִfollowing
the same vowel pattern as speech – ‫ִדּבּוּר‬
and a visit – ‫בּקּוּר‬.
ִ

Putting together the Modern Hebrew words for system and immunity, we get ‫ֶכת‬
‫ֲר‬
ֶ
‫ַמע‬
‫ִחסּוּן‬‫ –ַה‬the immune system.

“Overnight”
‫ָה‬
‫ַיל‬
ְ‫ִבּן ל‬
During the Arab Spring, the online front page of one of Israel’s major newspapers,
‫ֹת‬
‫ֹנו‬
‫אַחרו‬
ֲ ‫ֹת‬‫ִדיעו‬read:
‫ְי‬

‫ָה‬
‫ַיל‬
ְ‫יראקִבּן ל‬
ַ‫ְע‬
ִ
‫ָכה ל‬ ‫ְפ‬ָ :‫ָה‬
‫“ה‬ ‫יסיּ‬
ִ‫תּוּנ‬
ִ ‫ְציאַת‬ ִ‫י‬.”
Exodus from Tunisia: “Turned into Iraq overnight.”

To say that something occurs overnight, you’d use the expression, ‫ָה‬
‫ַיל‬
ְ‫בּן ל‬.
ִ

To say that something has happened instantly, or over just a moment, you’d use ‫ַע‬
‫ֶרג‬
‫בין‬.

“When There’s a Will, There’s a Way”

‫ֹן‬
‫ָרצו‬
‫ֵיָה‬
‫ְפנ‬
‫ֹמדִבּ‬
ֵ‫ָבר עו‬
‫ֵאיןָדּ‬
The human will is capable of more than its bearers realize. They say we use only
ten percent of our brains’ capacity... which means that our potential for more is
enormous.

We catch a glimpse of this potential when we encounter stories such that of Byron
Katie, whose innate will to live brought her to wake up one morning with a clarity
that would lead her and countless others out of the darkness and into happiness
and fulfillment, after years of an ominous depression that was tearing apart every
fabric of her professional, personal and family life.

In English, we say, Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

101
In Hebrew, we say, ‫ֹן‬
‫ָרצו‬
‫ֵיָה‬
‫ְפנ‬
‫ֹמדִבּ‬
ֵ ‫ –ֵאיןָדּ‬nothing stands in the face of (the) will.
‫ָבר עו‬

‫ָרצו‬is the noun form of that most basic active-simple ‫ פעל‬verb, ‫ֹת‬
‫ֹן‬ ִto desire or to
‫ְרצו‬
‫ל‬,
want.

‫ֵי‬ ‫ִבּ‬is the construct form of …‫ִניםֶשׁל‬

‫ְפנ‬ ‫ – בּ‬in the face of…, just as ‫ֵי‬
‫ַפּ‬
ָ ‫ִפנ‬
ְ‫ל‬,
meaning before (regarding both time – “I was here before you” – and space – “I
am standing before you”), is the construct form of …‫ִניםֶשׁל‬ ‫ – ל‬to the face of.
‫ְפ‬
ָ

102
 Appendix A: Basic Hebrew Reading
Empower yourself to read Hebrew by becoming familiar with the Hebrew alphabet
of consonants, as well as vowel symbols below, or by watching the video tutorials
at read.ulpan.com.

Remember that Hebrew reads from right to left.

Consonants

Sound (Modern Hebrew pronunciation) Name of Hebrew

letter letter
glottal stop, sometimes silent alef ‫א‬
b bet ‫בּ‬
v vet (soft bet) ‫ב‬
g gimel ‫ג‬
d dalet ‫ד‬
h heh ‫ה‬
v vav ‫ו‬
z zayin ‫ז‬
kh khet ‫ח‬
t tet ‫ט‬
y, or ee when following a vowel yod ‫י‬
k kaf ‫כּ‬
kh khaf (soft kaf) ‫כ‬

103
 kh, sometimes k in poetry final khaf ‫ך‬
l lamed ‫ל‬
m mem ‫מ‬
m final mem ‫ם‬
n noon ‫נ‬
n final noon ‫ן‬
s samekh ‫ס‬
glottal stop ayeen ‫ע‬
p peh ‫פּ‬
f feh (soft peh) ‫פ‬
f final feh ‫ף‬
ts tsadi ‫צ‬
ts final tsadi ‫ץ‬
k kuf ‫ק‬
r reish ‫ר‬
sh sheen ‫שׁ‬
s seen ‫שׂ‬
t tav ‫ת‬

vowels on next page

104
Vowel marks

Sound (Modern Hebrew pronunciation) Name of Vowel mark

vowel mark
usually ah, occasionally oh kamats ‫ָא‬
ah patakh ‫ַא‬
eh segol ‫ֶא‬
eh, sometimes eh-ee tsereh ‫ַא‬
ee kheereek ‫ִא‬
oh kholam ‫א‬
ֹ
oo shoorook ‫אוּ‬
oo kooboots ‫ֻא‬
oh khataf kamats ‫ֳא‬
ah khataf patakh ‫ֲא‬
eh khataf segol ‫ֱא‬

To learn to read using our video tutorials, visit read.ulpan.com.

105
 Appendix B: The Seven Hebrew Verb Forms
Hebrew verbs fall into seven structural patterns, or ‫בנינים‬. These patterns are easily
recognizable, for the most part, once you get the hang of them.

Here's a table that categorizes the seven ‫בנינים‬. This categorization is a rule of
thumb; it's not always true, but it should help you make more sense of Hebrew
verbs and start to gain mastery over their use.

Simple Intensive Causative

Active ‫ַעל‬
‫ָפּ‬ ‫ֵעל‬
‫ִפּ‬ ‫ִעיל‬
‫ְפ‬
‫ִה‬

Passive /‫ַעל‬
‫ִפ‬
ְ
‫נ‬ ‫ֻעל‬
ַ‫פּ‬ ‫ַעל‬
‫ְפ‬
‫ֻה‬

Reflexive ‫ַעל‬
ְ‫נ‬/
‫ִפ‬ ‫ֵעל‬
‫ַפּ‬
‫ְת‬
‫ִה‬ ---

106
 ‫ַל ‪The active simple form:‬‬
‫ָפּע‬

‫ֹב ‪Examples of the two basic variations:‬‬ ‫ֹד ‪ִ(to write) and‬ל‬
‫ְכתּו‬ ‫)‪ (to learn‬ל‬
‫ִלמו‬
‫ְ‬

‫ציווי‬ ‫‪ – future‬עתיד‬ ‫‪ –present‬הווה‬ ‫‪ – past‬עבר‬

‫‪–imperative‬‬

‫ֹב‬
‫ְכתּו‬‫ֶא‬ ‫ֶבת‬‫ֹתב‪ ,‬כּו‬
‫ֹת‬
‫ֶ‬ ‫ֵ‬‫כּו‬ ‫ִתּי‬
‫ְב‬
‫ַת‬
‫ָכּ‬ ‫אני‬
‫ַמד‬‫ְל‬
‫ֶא‬ ‫ֶדת‬
‫ֹמ‬
‫ֶ‬‫ֹמד‪ ,‬לו‬
‫ֵ‬‫לו‬ ‫ִתּי‬
‫ְד‬
‫ָמ‬
‫ַ‬
‫ל‬

‫ֹב‬
‫ְכתּו‬‫ִנ‬ ‫ֹת‬ ‫ִבים‪ ,‬כּו‬
‫ֹתבו‬
‫ְ‬ ‫ֹת‬
‫ְ‬
‫כּו‬ ‫ְבנוּ‬
‫ַת‬
‫ָכּ‬ ‫אנחנו‬
‫ַמד‬‫ִל‬
‫ְ‬‫נ‬ ‫ֹת‬ ‫ִדים‪ ,‬לו‬
‫ֹמדו‬
‫ְ‬ ‫ֹמ‬
‫ְ‬
‫לו‬ ‫ְדנוּ‬
‫ָמ‬
‫ַ‬
‫ל‬

‫ֹב‬
‫ְכּתו‬ ‫ֹב‬
‫ְכתּו‬‫ִתּ‬ ‫ֹתב‬
‫ֵ‬‫כּו‬ ‫ָתּ‬
‫ְב‬
‫ַת‬
‫ָכּ‬ ‫אתה‬
‫ַמד‬‫ְל‬ ‫ַמד‬‫ְל‬
‫ִתּ‬ ‫ֹמד‬
‫ֵ‬‫לו‬ ‫ָתּ‬
‫ְד‬
‫ָמ‬
‫ַ‬
‫ל‬

‫ִבי‬
‫ְת‬
‫ִכּ‬ ‫ִבי‬
‫ְתּ‬
‫ְכ‬
‫ִתּ‬ ‫ֶבת‬
‫ֹת‬
‫ֶ‬
‫כּו‬ ‫ְתּ‬
‫ְב‬
‫ַת‬
‫ָכּ‬ ‫את‬
‫ִדּי‬
‫ְמ‬
‫ִל‬ ‫ִדי‬
‫ְמ‬
‫ְל‬
‫ִתּ‬ ‫ֶדת‬
‫ֹמ‬
‫ֶ‬
‫לו‬ ‫ְתּ‬
‫ְד‬
‫ָמ‬
‫ַ‬
‫ל‬

‫ְתבוּ‬
‫ִכּ‬ ‫ְתּבוּ‬
‫ְכ‬
‫ִתּ‬ ‫ִבים‬
‫ֹת‬
‫ְ‬
‫כּו‬ ‫ֶתּם‬
‫ְב‬
‫ַת‬
‫ְכּ‬ ‫אתם‬
‫ְמדּוּ‬
‫ִל‬ ‫ְמדוּ‬
‫ְל‬
‫ִתּ‬ ‫ִדים‬
‫ֹמ‬
‫ְ‬
‫לו‬ ‫ֶתּם‬
‫ְד‬
‫ַמ‬
‫ְל‬

‫ְתבוּ‬
‫ִכּ‬ ‫ְתּבוּ‬
‫ְכ‬
‫ִתּ‬ ‫ֹת‬
‫ֹתבו‬
‫ְ‬‫כּו‬ ‫ֶתּן‬
‫ְב‬
‫ַת‬
‫ְכּ‬ ‫אתן‬
‫ְמדּוּ‬
‫ִל‬ ‫ְמדוּ‬
‫ְל‬
‫ִתּ‬ ‫ֹת‬
‫ֹמדו‬
‫ְ‬
‫לו‬ ‫ֶתּן‬
‫ְד‬
‫ַמ‬
‫ְל‬

‫ֹב‬
‫ְכתּו‬‫ִי‬ ‫ֹתב‬
‫ֵ‬‫כּו‬ ‫ַתב‬
‫ָכּ‬ ‫הוא‬
‫ַמד‬‫ִל‬
‫ְ‬‫י‬ ‫ֹמד‬
‫ֵ‬‫לו‬ ‫ָמד‬
‫ַ‬
‫ל‬

‫ֹב‬
‫ְכתּו‬‫ִתּ‬ ‫ֶבת‬
‫ֹת‬
‫ֶ‬
‫כּו‬ ‫ָבה‬
‫ְת‬
‫ָכּ‬ ‫היא‬
‫ַמד‬‫ְל‬
‫ִתּ‬ ‫ֶדת‬
‫ֹמ‬
‫ֶ‬
‫לו‬ ‫ָדה‬
‫ָמ‬
‫ְ‬
‫ל‬

‫ְתּבוּ‬
‫ְכ‬
‫ִי‬ ‫ִבים‬
‫ֹת‬
‫ְ‬
‫כּו‬ ‫ְתבוּ‬
‫ָכּ‬ ‫הם‬
‫ְמדוּ‬
‫ִל‬
‫ְ‬
‫י‬ ‫ִדים‬
‫ֹמ‬
‫ְ‬
‫לו‬ ‫ָמדוּ‬
‫ְ‬‫ל‬

‫ְתּבוּ‬
‫ְכ‬
‫ִי‬ ‫ֹת‬
‫ֹתבו‬
‫ְ‬‫כּו‬ ‫ְתבוּ‬
‫ָכּ‬ ‫הן‬
‫ְמדוּ‬
‫ִל‬
‫ְ‬
‫י‬ ‫ֹת‬
‫ֹמדו‬
‫ְ‬
‫לו‬ ‫ָמדוּ‬
‫ְ‬‫ל‬

‫‪107‬‬
 ‫‪The active “intensive” form:‬‬
‫ֵל‬
‫ִפּע‬

‫ֵבּר ‪Example:‬‬‫)‪ְ(to speak‬ל‬

‫ַד‬

‫ציווי‬ ‫‪ –present‬הווה ‪ – future‬עתיד‬ ‫‪ – past‬עבר‬

‫‪–imperative‬‬

‫ֵבּר‬
‫ַד‬
‫ֲא‬ ‫ֶרת‬
‫ֶבּ‬‫ֵבּר‪ְ,‬מ‬
‫ַד‬ ‫ַד‬
‫ְמ‬ ‫ִתּי‬
‫ְר‬
‫ַבּ‬
‫ִדּ‬ ‫אני‬

‫ֵבּר‬
‫ַד‬
‫ְנ‬ ‫ִרים‪,‬‬‫ְבּ‬‫ַד‬
‫ְמ‬ ‫ְרנוּ‬
‫ַבּ‬
‫ִדּ‬ ‫אנחנו‬
‫ֹת‬
‫ְבּרו‬‫ַד‬‫ְמ‬

‫ֵבּר‬
‫ַדּ‬ ‫ֵבּר‬
‫ַד‬
‫ְתּ‬ ‫ֵבּר‬
‫ַד‬
‫ְמ‬ ‫ָתּ‬
‫ְר‬
‫ַבּ‬
‫ִדּ‬ ‫אתה‬

‫ִרי‬
‫ְבּ‬
‫ַדּ‬ ‫ִרי‬
‫ְבּ‬
‫ַד‬
‫ְתּ‬ ‫ֶרת‬
‫ֶבּ‬
‫ַד‬
‫ְמ‬ ‫ְתּ‬
‫ְר‬
‫ַבּ‬
‫ִדּ‬ ‫את‬

‫ְבּרוּ‬
‫ַדּ‬ ‫ְבּרוּ‬
‫ַד‬
‫ְתּ‬ ‫ִרים‬
‫ְבּ‬
‫ַד‬
‫ְמ‬ ‫ֶתּם‬
‫ְר‬
‫ַבּ‬
‫ִדּ‬ ‫אתם‬

‫ְבּרוּ‬
‫ַדּ‬ ‫ְבּרוּ‬
‫ַד‬
‫ְתּ‬ ‫ֹת‬
‫ְבּרו‬
‫ַד‬
‫ְמ‬ ‫ֶתּן‬
‫ְר‬
‫ַבּ‬
‫ִדּ‬ ‫אתן‬

‫ֵבּר‬
‫ַד‬
‫ְי‬ ‫ֵבּר‬
‫ַד‬
‫ְמ‬ ‫ֵבּר‬
‫ִדּ‬ ‫הוא‬

‫ֵבּר‬
‫ַד‬
‫ְתּ‬ ‫ֶרת‬
‫ֶבּ‬
‫ַד‬
‫ְמ‬ ‫ָרה‬
‫ְבּ‬
‫ִדּ‬ ‫היא‬

‫ְבּרוּ‬
‫ַד‬
‫ְי‬ ‫ִרים‬
‫ְבּ‬
‫ַד‬
‫ְמ‬ ‫ְבּרוּ‬
‫ִדּ‬ ‫הם‬

‫ְבּרוּ‬
‫ַד‬
‫ְי‬ ‫ֹת‬
‫ְבּרו‬
‫ַד‬
‫ְמ‬ ‫ְבּרוּ‬
‫ִדּ‬ ‫הן‬

‫‪108‬‬
 ‫‪The active “causative” form:‬‬
‫ִעיל‬
‫ְפ‬
‫ִה‬

‫ִמין ‪Example:‬‬
‫ְז‬‫)‪ְ(to invite, to order‬ל‬
‫ַה‬

‫ציווי‬ ‫‪ –present‬הווה ‪ – future‬עתיד‬ ‫‪ – past‬עבר‬

‫‪–imperative‬‬

‫ִמין‬
‫אַז‬
‫ְ‬ ‫ָה‬
‫ִמינ‬‫ִמין‪ַ,‬מ‬
‫ְז‬ ‫ְז‬
‫ַמ‬ ‫ִתּי‬
‫ְנ‬
‫ַמ‬
‫ְז‬
‫ִה‬ ‫אני‬

‫ִמין‬
‫ַז‬
‫ְ‬‫נ‬ ‫ינים‪,‬‬
‫ִמִ‬‫ְז‬‫ַמ‬ ‫ַמנּוּ‬
‫ְז‬
‫ִה‬ ‫אנחנו‬
‫ֹת‬
‫ִמינו‬
‫ְז‬‫ַמ‬

‫ֵמן‬
‫ְז‬
‫ַה‬ ‫ִמין‬
‫ְז‬
‫ַתּ‬ ‫ִמין‬
‫ְז‬
‫ַמ‬ ‫ָתּ‬
‫ְנ‬
‫ַמ‬
‫ְז‬
‫ִה‬ ‫אתה‬

‫יני‬
‫ִמִ‬‫ְז‬
‫ַה‬ ‫יני‬
‫ִמִ‬‫ְז‬
‫ַתּ‬ ‫ָה‬
‫ִמינ‬
‫ְז‬
‫ַמ‬ ‫ְתּ‬
‫ְנ‬
‫ַמ‬
‫ְז‬
‫ִה‬ ‫את‬

‫ִמינוּ‬
‫ְז‬
‫ַה‬ ‫ִמינוּ‬
‫ְז‬
‫ַתּ‬ ‫ינים‬
‫ִמִ‬‫ְז‬
‫ַמ‬ ‫ֶתּם‬
‫ְנ‬
‫ַמ‬
‫ְז‬
‫ִה‬ ‫אתם‬

‫ִמינוּ‬
‫ְז‬
‫ַה‬ ‫ִמינוּ‬
‫ְז‬
‫ַתּ‬ ‫ֹת‬
‫ִמינו‬
‫ְז‬
‫ַמ‬ ‫ֶתּן‬
‫ְנ‬
‫ַמ‬
‫ְז‬
‫ִה‬ ‫אתן‬

‫ִמין‬
‫ַז‬
‫ְ‬‫י‬ ‫ִמין‬
‫ְז‬
‫ַמ‬ ‫ִמין‬
‫ְז‬
‫ִה‬ ‫הוא‬

‫ִמין‬
‫ְז‬
‫ַתּ‬ ‫ָה‬
‫ִמינ‬
‫ְז‬
‫ַמ‬ ‫ָה‬
‫ִמינ‬
‫ְז‬
‫ִה‬ ‫היא‬

‫ִמינוּ‬
‫ַז‬
‫ְ‬‫י‬ ‫ינים‬
‫ִמִ‬‫ְז‬
‫ַמ‬ ‫ִמינוּ‬
‫ְז‬
‫ִה‬ ‫הם‬

‫ִמינוּ‬
‫ַז‬
‫ְ‬‫י‬ ‫ֹת‬
‫ִמינו‬
‫ְז‬
‫ַמ‬ ‫ִמינוּ‬
‫ְז‬
‫ִה‬ ‫הן‬

‫‪109‬‬
 ‫‪The reflexive “intensive” form:‬‬
‫ֵל‬
‫ַפּע‬‫ְת‬
‫ִה‬

‫ֵשּׁר ‪Example:‬‬
‫ַק‬‫ְת‬‫)‪ְ(to make a phone call‬ל‬
‫ִה‬

‫ציווי‬ ‫‪ – future‬עתיד‬ ‫‪ –present‬הווה‬ ‫‪ – past‬עבר‬

‫‪–imperative‬‬

‫ֵשּׁר‬
‫ַק‬‫ְת‬
‫ֶא‬ ‫ֵשּׁר‪,‬‬‫ַק‬‫ְת‬‫ִמ‬ ‫ִתּי‬
‫ְר‬
‫ַשּׁ‬
‫ַק‬‫ְת‬
‫ִה‬ ‫אני‬
‫ֶרת‬‫ֶשּׁ‬‫ַק‬‫ְת‬‫ִמ‬

‫ֵשּׁר‬
‫ַק‬‫ְת‬
‫ִנ‬ ‫ִרים‪,‬‬
‫ְשּׁ‬‫ַק‬
‫ְת‬
‫ִמ‬ ‫ְרנוּ‬
‫ַשּׁ‬
‫ַק‬‫ְת‬
‫ִה‬ ‫אנחנו‬
‫ֹת‬
‫ְשּׁרו‬
‫ַק‬‫ְת‬
‫ִמ‬

‫ֵשּׁר‬
‫ַק‬‫ְת‬
‫ִה‬ ‫ֵשּׁר‬
‫ַק‬‫ְת‬
‫ִתּ‬ ‫ֵשּׁר‬
‫ַק‬‫ְת‬
‫ִמ‬ ‫ָתּ‬
‫ְר‬
‫ַשּׁ‬
‫ַק‬‫ְת‬
‫ִה‬ ‫אתה‬

‫ִרי‬
‫ְשּׁ‬
‫ַק‬
‫ְת‬
‫ִה‬ ‫ִרי‬
‫ְשּׁ‬
‫ַק‬
‫ְת‬
‫ִתּ‬ ‫ֶרת‬
‫ֶשּׁ‬
‫ַק‬‫ְת‬
‫ִמ‬ ‫ְתּ‬
‫ְר‬
‫ַשּׁ‬
‫ַק‬‫ְת‬
‫ִה‬ ‫את‬

‫ְשּׁרוּ‬
‫ַק‬
‫ְת‬
‫ִה‬ ‫ְשּׁרוּ‬
‫ַק‬
‫ְת‬
‫ִתּ‬ ‫ִרים‬
‫ְשּׁ‬
‫ַק‬
‫ְת‬
‫ִמ‬ ‫ֶתּם‬
‫ְר‬
‫ַשּׁ‬
‫ַק‬‫ְת‬
‫ִה‬ ‫אתם‬

‫ְשּׁרוּ‬
‫ַק‬
‫ְת‬
‫ִה‬ ‫ְשּׁרוּ‬
‫ַק‬
‫ְת‬
‫ִתּ‬ ‫ֹת‬
‫ְשּׁרו‬
‫ַק‬
‫ְת‬
‫ִמ‬ ‫ֶתּן‬
‫ְר‬
‫ַשּׁ‬
‫ַק‬‫ְת‬
‫ִה‬ ‫אתן‬

‫ֵשּׁר‬
‫ַק‬‫ְת‬
‫ִי‬ ‫ֵשּׁר‬
‫ַק‬‫ְת‬
‫ִמ‬ ‫ֵשּׁר‬
‫ַק‬‫ְת‬
‫ִה‬ ‫הוא‬

‫ֵשּׁר‬
‫ַק‬‫ְת‬
‫ִתּ‬ ‫ֶרת‬
‫ֶשּׁ‬
‫ַק‬‫ְת‬
‫ִמ‬ ‫ָרה‬
‫ְשּׁ‬
‫ַק‬
‫ְת‬
‫ִה‬ ‫היא‬

‫ְשּׁרוּ‬
‫ַק‬
‫ְת‬
‫ִי‬ ‫ִרים‬
‫ְשּׁ‬
‫ַק‬
‫ְת‬
‫ִמ‬ ‫ְשּׁרוּ‬
‫ַק‬
‫ְת‬
‫ִה‬ ‫הם‬

‫ְשּׁרוּ‬
‫ַק‬
‫ְת‬
‫ִי‬ ‫ֹת‬
‫ְשּׁרו‬
‫ַק‬
‫ְת‬
‫ִמ‬ ‫ְשּׁרוּ‬
‫ַק‬
‫ְת‬
‫ִה‬ ‫הן‬

‫‪110‬‬
 ‫‪The passive “intensive” form:‬‬
‫ַל‬
‫ֻפּע‬

‫ָבּר ‪Example:‬‬‫)‪ְ(spoken of‬מ‬

‫ֻד‬

‫ציווי‬ ‫‪ –present‬הווה ‪ – future‬עתיד‬ ‫‪ – past‬עבר‬

‫‪–imperative‬‬

‫ַבּר‬
‫ֻד‬
‫ֲא‬ ‫ֶרת‬
‫ֶבּ‬‫ָבּר‪ְ,‬מ‬
‫ֻד‬ ‫ֻד‬
‫ְמ‬ ‫ִתּי‬
‫ְר‬
‫ַבּ‬
‫ֻדּ‬ ‫אני‬

‫ַבּר‬
‫ֻד‬
‫ְנ‬ ‫ִרים‪,‬‬‫ָבּ‬‫ֻד‬
‫ְמ‬ ‫ְרנוּ‬
‫ַבּ‬
‫ֻדּ‬ ‫אנחנו‬
‫ֹת‬
‫ָבּרו‬‫ֻד‬‫ְמ‬

‫ַבּר‬
‫ֻד‬
‫ְתּ‬ ‫ָבּר‬
‫ֻד‬
‫ְמ‬ ‫ָתּ‬
‫ְר‬
‫ַבּ‬
‫ֻדּ‬ ‫אתה‬

‫ִרי‬
‫ְבּ‬
‫ֻד‬
‫ְתּ‬ ‫ֶרת‬
‫ֶבּ‬
‫ֻד‬
‫ְמ‬ ‫ְתּ‬
‫ְר‬
‫ַבּ‬
‫ֻדּ‬ ‫את‬

‫ְבּרוּ‬
‫ֻד‬
‫ְתּ‬ ‫ִרים‬
‫ָבּ‬
‫ֻד‬
‫ְמ‬ ‫ֶתּם‬
‫ְר‬
‫ַבּ‬
‫ֻדּ‬ ‫אתם‬

‫ְבּרוּ‬
‫ֻד‬
‫ְתּ‬ ‫ֹת‬
‫ָבּרו‬
‫ֻד‬
‫ְמ‬ ‫ֶתּן‬
‫ְר‬
‫ַבּ‬
‫ֻדּ‬ ‫אתן‬

‫ַבּר‬
‫ֻד‬
‫ְי‬ ‫ָבּר‬
‫ֻד‬
‫ְמ‬ ‫ַבּר‬
‫ֻדּ‬ ‫הוא‬

‫ַבּר‬
‫ֻד‬
‫ְתּ‬ ‫ֶרת‬
‫ֶבּ‬
‫ֻד‬
‫ְמ‬ ‫ָרה‬
‫ְבּ‬
‫ֻדּ‬ ‫היא‬

‫ְבּרוּ‬
‫ֻד‬
‫ְי‬ ‫ִרים‬
‫ָבּ‬
‫ֻד‬
‫ְמ‬ ‫ְבּרוּ‬
‫ֻדּ‬ ‫הם‬

‫ְבּרוּ‬
‫ֻד‬
‫ְי‬ ‫ֹת‬
‫ָבּרו‬
‫ֻד‬
‫ְמ‬ ‫ְבּרוּ‬
‫ֻדּ‬ ‫הן‬

‫‪111‬‬
 ‫‪The passive “causative” form:‬‬
‫ַל‬
‫ְפע‬
‫ֻה‬

‫ָץ ‪Example:‬‬ ‫)‪ֻ(recommended‬מ‬

‫ְמל‬

‫ציווי‬ ‫‪ –present‬הווה ‪ – future‬עתיד‬ ‫‪ – past‬עבר‬

‫‪–imperative‬‬

‫ַץ‬
‫ְמל‬
‫ֻא‬ ‫ֶצת‬
‫ֶ‬ ‫ָץ‪ֻ,‬מ‬
‫ְמל‬ ‫ְמל‬
‫ֻמ‬ ‫ִתּי‬
‫ַצ‬
‫ְ‬
‫ְמל‬
‫ֻה‬ ‫אני‬

‫ַץ‬
‫ֻמל‬
‫ְ‬
‫נ‬ ‫ָצים‪,‬‬
‫ִ‬
‫ְמל‬‫ֻמ‬ ‫ַצנוּ‬
‫ְ‬‫ְמל‬
‫ֻה‬ ‫אנחנו‬
‫ֹת‬
‫ָצו‬
‫ְמל‬
‫ֻמ‬

‫ַץ‬
‫ְמל‬
‫ֻתּ‬ ‫ָץ‬
‫ְמל‬
‫ֻמ‬ ‫ָתּ‬
‫ַצ‬
‫ְ‬
‫ְמל‬
‫ֻה‬ ‫אתה‬

‫ְצי‬
‫ִ‬‫ְמל‬
‫ֻתּ‬ ‫ֶצת‬
‫ֶ‬‫ְמל‬
‫ֻמ‬ ‫ְתּ‬
‫ַצ‬
‫ְ‬
‫ְמל‬
‫ֻה‬ ‫את‬

‫ְצוּ‬
‫ְמל‬
‫ֻתּ‬ ‫ָצים‬
‫ִ‬‫ְמל‬
‫ֻמ‬ ‫ֶתּם‬
‫ַצ‬
‫ְ‬
‫ְמל‬
‫ֻה‬ ‫אתם‬

‫ְצוּ‬
‫ְמל‬
‫ֻתּ‬ ‫ֹת‬
‫ָצו‬
‫ְמל‬
‫ֻמ‬ ‫ֶתּן‬
‫ַצ‬
‫ְ‬
‫ְמל‬
‫ֻה‬ ‫אתן‬

‫ַץ‬
‫ֻמל‬
‫ְ‬‫י‬ ‫ָץ‬
‫ְמל‬
‫ֻמ‬ ‫ַץ‬
‫ְמל‬
‫ֻה‬ ‫הוא‬

‫ַץ‬
‫ְמל‬
‫ֻתּ‬ ‫ֶצת‬
‫ֶ‬‫ְמל‬
‫ֻמ‬ ‫ְצה‬
‫ָ‬‫ְמל‬
‫ֻה‬ ‫היא‬

‫ְצוּ‬
‫ֻמל‬
‫ְ‬‫י‬ ‫ָצים‬
‫ִ‬‫ְמל‬
‫ֻמ‬ ‫ְצוּ‬
‫ְמל‬
‫ֻה‬ ‫הם‬

‫ְצוּ‬
‫ֻמל‬
‫ְ‬‫י‬ ‫ֹת‬
‫ָצו‬
‫ְמל‬
‫ֻמ‬ ‫ְצוּ‬
‫ְמל‬
‫ֻה‬ ‫הן‬

‫‪112‬‬
 ‫‪The active-passive-reflexive “simple” form:‬‬
‫ַל‬
‫ִפע‬
‫ְ‬‫נ‬

‫ֵס ‪Example:‬‬
‫ָכּנ‬‫)‪ְ(to enter‬ל‬
‫ִה‬

‫ציווי‬ ‫‪ –present‬הווה ‪ – future‬עתיד‬ ‫‪ – past‬עבר‬

‫‪–imperative‬‬

‫ֵס‬
‫ָכּנ‬
‫ֶא‬ ‫ֶסת‬
‫ֶ‬‫ְכנ‬‫ָס‪,‬‬
‫ִנ‬ ‫ְכנ‬
‫ִנ‬ ‫ִתּי‬
‫ַס‬
‫ְ‬
‫ְכנ‬
‫ִנ‬ ‫אני‬

‫ֵס‬
‫ָכּנ‬
‫ִנ‬ ‫ֹת‬
‫ָסו‬
‫ְכנ‬‫ָסים‪,‬‬
‫ִנ‬ ‫ִ‬‫ְכנ‬
‫ִנ‬ ‫ַסנוּ‬
‫ְ‬‫ְכנ‬
‫ִנ‬ ‫אנחנו‬

‫ֵס‬
‫ָכּנ‬
‫ִה‬ ‫ֵס‬
‫ָכּנ‬
‫ִתּ‬ ‫ָס‬
‫ְכנ‬
‫ִנ‬ ‫ָתּ‬
‫ַס‬
‫ְ‬
‫ְכנ‬
‫ִנ‬ ‫אתה‬

‫ִסי‬
‫ְנ‬
‫ָכּ‬
‫ִה‬ ‫ִסי‬
‫ְנ‬
‫ָכּ‬
‫ִתּ‬ ‫ֶסת‬
‫ֶ‬‫ְכנ‬
‫ִנ‬ ‫ְתּ‬
‫ַס‬
‫ְ‬
‫ְכנ‬
‫ִנ‬ ‫את‬

‫ְנסוּ‬
‫ָכּ‬
‫ִה‬ ‫ְנסוּ‬
‫ָכּ‬
‫ִתּ‬ ‫ָסים‬
‫ִ‬‫ְכנ‬
‫ִנ‬ ‫ֶתּם‬
‫ַס‬
‫ְ‬
‫ְכנ‬
‫ִנ‬ ‫אתם‬

‫ְנסוּ‬
‫ָכּ‬
‫ִה‬ ‫ְנסוּ‬
‫ָכּ‬
‫ִתּ‬ ‫ֹת‬
‫ָסו‬
‫ְכנ‬
‫ִנ‬ ‫ֶתּן‬
‫ַס‬
‫ְ‬
‫ְכנ‬
‫ִנ‬ ‫אתן‬

‫ֵס‬
‫ָכּנ‬
‫ִי‬ ‫ָס‬
‫ְכנ‬
‫ִנ‬ ‫ַס‬
‫ְכנ‬
‫ִנ‬ ‫הוא‬

‫ֵס‬
‫ָכּנ‬
‫ִתּ‬ ‫ֶסת‬
‫ֶ‬‫ְכנ‬
‫ִנ‬ ‫ָסה‬
‫ְנ‬
‫ְכ‬
‫ִנ‬ ‫היא‬

‫ְנסוּ‬
‫ָכּ‬
‫ִי‬ ‫ָסים‬
‫ִ‬‫ְכנ‬
‫ִנ‬ ‫ְנסוּ‬
‫ְכ‬
‫ִנ‬ ‫הם‬

‫ְנסוּ‬
‫ָכּ‬
‫ִי‬ ‫ֹת‬
‫ָסו‬
‫ְכנ‬
‫ִנ‬ ‫ְנסוּ‬
‫ְכ‬
‫ִנ‬ ‫הן‬

‫‪113‬‬
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