Exploring Israel: The Western Wall Posted by Sean Young on Oct 11, 2013
The Western Wall or Ha-Kotel (הַכֹּתֶל הַמַּעֲרָבִי; Arabic:حائط البراق) is a remnant of the ancient wall that surrounded the Jewish Temple’s courtyard, and is the second most sacred site recognized by the Jewish faith (the Temple Mount itself is the most sacred site). הַכֹּתֶל refers not only to the exposed section facing a large…
Hebrew verbs in action: to want Posted by Sean Young on Sep 30, 2013
This afternoon as I was ordering lunch, I looked at the menu and wondered what to drink with my meal. I decided on tea. As I waited, I thought about how to say I want tea in Hebrew. The Hebrew verb meaning ‘to want’ is לרצות (leer-TSOHT). It’s pretty regular when conjugating it, especially in…
Let’s have the children sing along! Posted by Sean Young on Sep 26, 2013
Today we’re going to let the children get involved. I have a couple of videos of children’s song that are fun to learn and sing. This first one is of a little rabbit who forgot to close the door of his house and caught a cold because of it. Let’s take a look at the…
Celebration – Sukkot Posted by Sean Young on Sep 18, 2013
Sukkot (סוכות or סֻכּוֹת – Feast of Booths, Feast of Tabernacles) is a Biblically mandated Jewish festival celebrated on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei. In it, the Hebrews were commanded to make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem. It follows the solemn holiday of Yom Kippur, or the Day of…
Video Vocabulary – Where are you going? Posted by Sean Young on Aug 31, 2013
In this video, we have the question לְאָן, literally translated “to where?” or “whither”. It’s to ask someone where they’re going. To say where you are going, you simply add on the prefix לְ, meaning “to (a place)”. In the video we have the following sentences: לְקוֹנְצֶרְט – to the concert לְדִיסנִילֶנד – to Disneyland…
Exploring Israel: Haifa Posted by Sean Young on Aug 26, 2013
Haifa (Hebrew: חֵיפָה; Arabic: حيفا Ḥayfā ) is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 291,000. Haifa is a mixed city: 80.5% are Jews, 5.3% are Arab Christians, 4.8% Arab Muslims, and 9.4% other groups. It is also home to the Bahá’í World Centre, a…
Recipe: Challah bread Posted by Sean Young on Aug 22, 2013
Challah (חַלָּה) is a loaf of braided bread eaten on Sabbath and Jewish holidays. According to Jewish tradition, the three Sabbath meals (Friday night, Saturday lunch, and Saturday late afternoon) and two holiday meals (one at night and lunch the following day) each begin with two complete loaves of bread. This “double loaf” commemorates…