{"id":2135,"date":"2017-12-25T06:00:44","date_gmt":"2017-12-25T11:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/hebrew\/?p=2135"},"modified":"2017-11-15T09:41:29","modified_gmt":"2017-11-15T14:41:29","slug":"the-many-drivers-of-israels-streets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/hebrew\/the-many-drivers-of-israels-streets\/","title":{"rendered":"The Many Drivers of Israel\u2019s Streets"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Driver by Nicolas Alejandro from Flickr.com is licensed under CC BY 2.0<\/p><\/div>\n

There are 22 letters in the Hebrew aleph-bet. These 22 basic units are the material from which the Hebrew language forms its consonantal roots<\/a>. Putting two, three or four letters together creates a root. For example, the root \u05db-\u05ea-\u05d1 (k-t-v), is composed of the 11th letter with the 22th letter plus the 2nd letter of the aleph-bet. 22 letters produce thousands of combinations, and molding them into fixed patterns turns the roots into words. The root bears a meaning, but this meaning will only get shape, tense and gender after inserted into a pattern.<\/p>\n

One of the many patterns in Hebrew is \u05e7\u05b7\u05d8\u05b8\u05bc\u05dc, also called \u05e4\u05bc\u05b7\u05e2\u05b8\u05dc. This pattern has a connotative meaning of professional. Quite a few Hebrew words for professional are using this pattern. And all of them act according to the pattern, which means that they are all masculine, singular and punctuated the same. For example:<\/p>\n

Upholsterer = \u05e8\u05b7\u05e4\u05bc\u05b8\u05d3<\/p>\n

Carpenter = \u05e0\u05b7\u05d2\u05bc\u05b8\u05e8<\/p>\n

Gardener = \u05d2\u05bc\u05b7\u05e0\u05bc\u05b8\u05df<\/p>\n

Hairdresser = \u05e1\u05b7\u05e4\u05bc\u05b8\u05e8<\/p>\n

Janitor = \u05e9\u05c1\u05b8\u05e8\u05b8\u05ea<\/p>\n

Painter = \u05e6\u05b7\u05d1\u05bc\u05b8\u05e2<\/p>\n

Glazier = \u05d6\u05b7\u05d2\u05bc\u05b8\u05d2<\/p>\n

Kindergarten teacher = \u05d2\u05bc\u05b7\u05e0\u05bc\u05b8\u05df<\/p>\n

Tinsmith = \u05e4\u05bc\u05b7\u05d7\u05b8\u05d7<\/p>\n

Watchmaker = \u05e9\u05c1\u05b8\u05e2\u05b8\u05df<\/p>\n

Driver = \u05e0\u05b7\u05d4\u05b8\u05d2<\/p>\n

There are several sorts of drivers (\u05e0\u05b7\u05d4\u05b8\u05d2\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd) in Israel. The most common one is a bus driver (\u05e0\u05b7\u05d4\u05b7\u05d2 \u05d0\u05d5\u05b9\u05d8\u05d5\u05b9\u05d1\u05bc\u05d5\u05bc\u05e1). I have a monthly ticket to the bus; I commute everyday by bus, and get around the city by bus. So I meet quite a few \u00a0\u05e0\u05b7\u05d4\u05b8\u05d2\u05b5\u05d9 \u05d0\u05d5\u05b9\u05d8\u05d5\u05b9\u05d1\u05bc\u05d5\u05bc\u05e1in one day. None of them is like \u05e0\u05b7\u05d4\u05b7\u05d2 \u05d4\u05b8\u05d0\u05d5\u05b9\u05d8\u05d5\u05b9\u05d1\u05bc\u05d5\u05bc\u05e1 who used to drive us every day to school when I was a kid. His name was Yossi, he was big and strong, and had a thick mustache. My mom always told me as a kid, \u201cnever get on the \u05d0\u05d5\u05b9\u05d8\u05d5\u05b9\u05d1\u05bc\u05d5\u05bc\u05e1 if the \u05e0\u05b7\u05d4\u05b8\u05d2 is not Yossi\u201d. And so I did, until I graduated elementary school.<\/p>\n

High school buses were driven by different \u05e0\u05b7\u05d4\u05b8\u05d2\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd. But we didn\u2019t always take the bus. Sometimes we took a cab, and then the driver was a taxi driver (\u05e0\u05b7\u05d4\u05b7\u05d2 \u05de\u05d5\u05b9\u05e0\u05b4\u05d9\u05ea). To become \u05e0\u05b7\u05d4\u05b7\u05d2 \u05de\u05d5\u05b9\u05e0\u05b4\u05d9\u05ea in Israel one needs to be older than 21, with at least two years of experience as a \u05e0\u05b7\u05d4\u05b8\u05d2. If you want to be \u05e0\u05b7\u05d4\u05b7\u05d2 \u05de\u05d5\u05b9\u05e0\u05b4\u05d9\u05ea in Israel, you need to apply to The Department of Vehicles. The application should include a certificate of integrity from the police plus physical tests from the doctor. The Department of Vehicles will summon you to an interview to decide if you are valid to be a public driver. If you get the Department of Vehicles\u2019 confirmation, you can register to a public car driver course. The course includes defensive driving, first aid, mechanic, and of course driving lessons.<\/p>\n

Serving as a public driver in Israel is hard work, and the obstacles are unpredictable. Benny Bilevski, for example, is a bus driver for almost 50 years. He works on the route to Eilat, and one hot noon in August 2011 terrorists opened fire at his bus<\/a>. In this short video Benny is talking about his work, and his respond to the terror attack:<\/p>\n