Hebrew Language Blog

Honey, Bees and Hives in Hebrew Posted by Ayana on Sep 17, 2018

Honey (דְּבַש) is an essential ingredient in the Jewish New Year dinner, as we’ve learned in the last post. Various flavors of דְּבַש (pronounced de-vash) filled the supermarket shelves before the holiday; a small jar of דְּבַש is common among other treats given as gift; and during new year dinner, for a sweet new year…

Jewish New Year Food Posted by Ayana on Sep 3, 2018

Rosh Hashanah (רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה) is the Jewish New Year (its name means “head of the year”). As with any Jewish holiday, Rosh Hashanah is celebrated according to the Jewish calendar (this year on September 9th) and is full of traditional food. מַאֲכְלֵי רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה (Rosh Hashanah foods) are all symbolic. They are called סׅימָנׅים (si-ma-nim,…

Hebrew Verbs in Action: Binyan Pi’el Posted by Ayana on Aug 20, 2018

The Hebrew language is composed of many roots. The verbal stems – the בּׅנְיָנׅים (plural form, pronounced as bin-ya-nim) – are the patterns that shape them into actual words. בִּנְיָן (singular form, pronounced as bin-yan), literally means building, is a firm structure into which the root is inserted to form the verb. There are seven…

Have you seen Yehuda’s Illustrations? Posted by Ayana on Aug 6, 2018

Let’s talk all about the verb to illustrate. Last year, Maya and Yehuda wanted to move to Tel-Aviv. They were newly married and lived at Yehuda’s parents’ house, when Maya found a job at the big city. Like any other Israeli young couple, they wished to find a decent flat at a fair price to…

Survive a Long, Hot Israeli Summer with Ice Cream Posted by Ayana on Jul 23, 2018

The Israeli summer is long. The hot humid season in Israel lasts from June till August, but heat waves hit our little country as soon as the spring. The autumn is pretty warm as well, and so it feels like summer extends for too long. What gives us plenty of opportunities to gorge on ice…