Hebrew Language Blog

At the beginning of February, before the coronavirus arrived in Israel, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted: נַעֲשֶׂה הַכֹּל כְּדֵי לׅשְׁמוֺר עַל אֶזְרְחֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל (we’ll do everything to protect Israel’s citizens). Three days earlier, the minister of health (שַׂר הַבְּרִיאוּת) banned the entry of flights from China to Israel as a precaution. A 14-day home isolation…

Legislative elections for the 23rd Knesset will be held in Israel on March 2, 2020. Every election is different. As the third election held within a period of 12 months, this one is especially tense. But there are things that never change on the Election Day (יוֺם בְּחִירוֹת). Israel Election Day starts early. The polling stations (עֶמְדַּת קַלְפִּי) open their…

For the third time in under a year, Israelis are heading back to the polls. Efforts to form a government failed again after the second election held in September 2019. The unprecedented third election will be held on March 2nd 2020. We’ve already learned the relevant vocabulary of Israel political deadlock, in these posts: What…

Adverbs of frequency are adverbs of time that are used to indicate routine or repeated activities. They describe how frequently something occurs, how often a certain action takes place. Most of the Hebrew adverbs of frequency that specify an exact time frame are patterns of two words. They begin with the prepositions כָּל (kol) or מִדֵּי…

The diverse Israeli cuisine comprises both local dishes and dishes brought to Israel by Jews from the Diaspora. A variety of flavors, ingredients and countries create a plentiful cuisine, but only one dish is considered to be the national food of Israel: falafel (פָלָאפֶל). Falafel is a deep-fried ball made from ground chickpeas (חוּמוּס), herbs and spices. It’s a very common…

The average number of children per family (מִשְׁפָּחָה) in Israel is the highest among the OECD countries. An Israeli woman gives birth to three children (יְלָדׅים), on average. A famous Hebrew song from the 70’s is called יְלָדׅים זֶה שׂׅמְחָה (Children is Happiness). The joyful tune made the song a hit. More than three decades…

Time flies (הֵזְּמַן טָס), and 2020 is just around the corner. It’s time to bid farewell to another tumultuous decade full of events. Wars end, trends change, leaders alternate, innovations revive, but music – the soundtrack to our lives – will always accompany us. New songs never replace the old ones, and there are songs…