pertaining to the Hebrew language
3
votes
1answer
862 views
Wishes to a mourner in addition to “Hamokom Yenachem Eschem”
I have heard some people say in Yiddish after "Hamokom Yenachem Eschem B'Soch Shaar Aveilei Tzion V'Yerushalayim" ("May God comfort you alongside the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem"), "Zulst Mer Nisht ...
4
votes
1answer
288 views
Hebrew Havarah?
Similar to this question
Different parts of Eastern Europe had different dialects.
For example, Ukrainian, Polish and Hungarian Jews pronounce a "Shuruk" as a EE, or a Komatz as an oo (so Boruch ...
1
vote
1answer
94 views
Aramaic sections of davening in Hebrew
From the answers I received to this question, the reason we still say some sections of davening (prayer) in Aramaic seems to be that it is historically a Jewish language, and using it unifies all ...
3
votes
3answers
150 views
Are there analogs to “Abba” & “Ima” for in-laws?
I know that “אבא” and “אמא” are originally Aramaic translations of the Hebrew “אבי” and “אמי” which have become adapted to Hebrew, especially in the accusative case. Are there similar forms in ...
19
votes
3answers
261 views
Female praying in masculine language
When women daven (pray), even by ourselves, it is convention to daven with male-gendered words ("modeh" vs "moda" as one of many examples). Why is this; are there sources that say we should be doing ...
3
votes
2answers
80 views
Why does “ateres roshi” mean “my parent”?
The phrase "עטרת ראשי" (ateres roshi == my head's crown) appears in many Hebrew texts to refer to respectable individuals. I heard in a shi'ur recently that it specifically refers to the father of the ...
0
votes
4answers
722 views
Most original form of the Hebrew Bible/Tenach
Not sure if they are the same thing (the Hebrew Bible and the Tenach). I read in this link that "there are many different Jewish translations of the Hebrew Bible". This kind of confuses me because I ...
10
votes
5answers
187 views
Meaning of ודו"ק
It is fairly common to find the abbreviation ודו"ק at the end of a complex explanation of a Torah thought (Maharsha, for example, famously does this very often). Roughly, it means: "I didn't explain ...
1
vote
2answers
117 views
What does adukin (אדוקין) mean?
Rashi, in Mesechta Gitin on דף טז עמוד א says שנים אדוקין. What does adukin (אדוקין) mean?
4
votes
1answer
703 views
Davka, Mamash, and B'Emet
When speaking in primarily English but using the words Davka, Mamash, or B'Emet:
How do you define them into English?
What is the difference between them?
How do you use each one properly?
2
votes
3answers
96 views
What is the meaning of the words כהיום הזה in the prayer על הניסים ?
What is the meaning of the words כהיום הזה in the prayer על הניסים ? Are there options other than the Artscroll interpretation, "unquestionable clarity"?
4
votes
3answers
96 views
Pronunciation of חשמונאי
A friend today told me that the word חשמונאי traditionally pronounced "Chashmonai" should really be pronounced "Chashmunai" with the vav being read as a shuruk vowel instead of a cholom.
Is this ...
4
votes
1answer
61 views
Parshat Zachor - Do you need to understand or just hear
The responsibility of reading Zachor is in order to remember to wipe out Amalek. Therefore we read it annually.
Does someone who hears the words of Zachor, but does not understand them, still ...
4
votes
0answers
53 views
How did the Parshiyot get their names [duplicate]
and what are the names' significance?
Thanks
Naomi
Duplicate of:
Where are the rules for naming parshiyot explained?
2
votes
4answers
335 views
Looking for a good English-to-Hebrew translation software
I'm looking for a translation software, or website, that accurately translates entire sentences and paragraphs from English to Hebrew, without grammar mistakes or funny language usage. Anyone know of ...
9
votes
1answer
107 views
When do we read a vav prefix as “or” rather than “and”?
This answer cites the Ralbag as interpreting a (critical-to-the-question) vav prefix on a verb as "or". I've heard before that a vav prefix is not always "and" and can be "or" or even "but". Is ...
2
votes
0answers
130 views
Hebrew Grammar: How did Nif'al end up as the passive/reflexive of pa'al? [closed]
I have been trying to figure this out by comparing Hebrew binyanim to Arabic and Akkadian conjuations. But I cannot figure it out.
Is Nif'al a natural part of the G-stem (like pa'al) or has it ...
3
votes
2answers
79 views
איש אחד What does the Echad refer to and where else in the Tanch is it found?
In Shmuel Aleph Perek Aleph Elkana is refered to as Ish Echad before his name is given. The Midrash, according to Meam Loez, says that the Echad means Singular or Special. I was wondering where else ...
7
votes
2answers
167 views
Why do many (most?) people call the upcoming holiday “Peysach”?
In some Ashkenazic dialects, lots of words in which the first syllable is accented and the vowel is segol are pronounced as though they had a tzeirei. Examples include "meylech," "tzeydek," and ...
5
votes
1answer
322 views
How is “Jerusalem” pronounced when reading a Ketubah?
"Jerusalem" is spelled the same way in Hebrew and Aramaic (if you ignore the vowels); but in Hebrew it's pronounced "Yerushalayim", and in Aramaic it's pronounced "Yerushleim" (as it appears in the ...
4
votes
2answers
131 views
Translation Issue, Exodus 21
Exodus 21:22 - This verse deals with two men fighting, and injuring a pregnant woman causing her to [miscarry] | [give birth prematurely]. The bracketed terms are in dispute due to different ...
7
votes
3answers
735 views
Two words for “redeem”: what's the difference?
When we talk about "redeeming" a first-born son or a captive, we use "pidyon" (root פדה). When we talk about what God does for us we use "goel" (גאל). My dictionary translates both of these roots as ...
8
votes
2answers
192 views
Meaning of ח-ל-צ
Words of the root חלצ seem to have contradictory meanings. On the one hand it is used in the sense of "removing," as in בית חלוץ הנעל and כי חלצת נפשי ממות. On the other hand, warriors are called ...
4
votes
2answers
451 views
Hebrew letters Hey-Yud-Dalet after a name
I'd seen some stuff written about a man, with the Hebrew הי"ד (Hey-Yud-quotes-Dalet) after his name. What does that mean?
15
votes
2answers
428 views
Why does the Hebrew alphabet not have letters representing vowels?
(Re-asking this question in a way more suited to SE.)
The Hebrew alphabet is actually an abjad rather than a "true" Western-style alphabet, in that every letter represents a consonant, and vowels, if ...
11
votes
2answers
315 views
What does “prohibited l’chatchila” mean?
To me the phrase prohibited l’chatchila seems a bit confusing. Can someone explain what this means in plain and simple english?
(context: someone says "action X is prohibited l’chatchila")
5
votes
1answer
75 views
How and when did the word “Kollel” come to mean “an institution for paying scholars to study Torah”?
How and when did the word "Kollel" come to mean "an institution for paying scholars to study Torah"?
If I'm not mistaken, the Hebrew word "kollel" means "includes."
But today we've all heard of the ...
12
votes
1answer
192 views
Kubutz and shuruk in Polish/Hungarian pronunciation
What is the origin or basis of the Polish and Hungarian prevalence for pronouncing "oo" vowels as "ee"? The variants of other vowels are easier to understand in the context of phonological shifting, ...
6
votes
1answer
1k views
what is “kodesh”?
What does the word קֹדֶשׁ (sometimes קודש), kodesh, mean?
Its form is that of a noun, like אֹכֶל or בֹּקֶר or לֹבֶן. But קדושה is a noun, and (I'm pretty sure) it means "the state/quality of being ...
3
votes
1answer
128 views
Meaning of Mappik in יה
One more question about mappik
(I don't know what happened to me, but this topic somewhat disturbs me lately :))
What is the meaning of the mappik in the following Hebrew words:
יָהּ
הַלְלוּיָהּ
...
4
votes
2answers
167 views
sameach vs. samach
Nusach S'farad, in the amida ("sh'mone esre") of holidays and Shabas, has "וְשַׂמַּח נַפְשֵׁינוּ בִּישׁוּעָתֶךָ" ("v'samach..."), but in sheva b'rachos it has "שַׂמֵּחַ תְּשַׂמַּח" ("sameach...").
...
4
votes
1answer
92 views
Father the mercy
Lubavitch prayer books include the words אָב הָרַחֲמִים where other prayer books have אַב הָרַחֲמִים (specifically, in the amida of musaf and mincha of Shabas Shuva, and in a prayer said after ...
7
votes
4answers
887 views
Hard Yeshivish phrases to translate
Does anyone ever have trouble finding good English translations of certain yeshivish phrases, especially when in conversation with someone who would not understand the original?
Post your favorite ...
2
votes
0answers
105 views
Are there any good podcasts in Hebrew? [closed]
One of the things I'm missing in the US is lack of easy access to spoken modern Hebrew. Can anyone recommend a good podcast featuring news (as well as possibly other subjects) in Hebrew for offline ...
3
votes
1answer
119 views
How do Jews understand this idiom in Psalm 40:7
Inspired by http://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/1294/hebrew-ot-translation-to-greek-nt, I wonder what Jews interpret this idiom, "אָזְנַיִם כָּרִיתָ לִּי," to mean.
The English Standard ...
4
votes
1answer
127 views
BinyOn or binyAn adai-ad in one of the sheva brochos?
At a chupah today, in the brocho of “asher yotzar es ho’odom betzalmo” a learned Rabbi said the word “binyOn” before “adai-ad” rather than the more usual “binyAn”. “binyOn” is the text in the Baer ...
7
votes
4answers
416 views
Does “ki” have four meanings or one?
There is a well-known statement by Resh Lakish in Gitin (90) that
כי" משמש בד' לשונות: אי, דלמא, אלא, דהא"
"ki" expresses four meanings...
There has been discussion over the ages as to what ...
4
votes
1answer
124 views
Closing abbreviation ושכמ"ה
Every [anonymous] question asked in the responsum Torah Lishmah ends with an address to the answerer and the abbreviation ושכמ"ה (e.g.). The Otzar Rashei Teivos had only one entry for this ...
14
votes
3answers
326 views
Why aren't Tefillin called Totafot?
They're called Totafot in the Torah, so why do we call them Tefilin?
5
votes
2answers
238 views
Davening not in Hebrew
Isn't it better to daven in your first language rather than davening in Hebrew and only knowing part of what you're sayig?
4
votes
1answer
89 views
why does Ruth 1:8 use עמדי instead of עמי?
Ruth 1:8 says:
ח וַתֹּאמֶר נָעֳמִי, לִשְׁתֵּי כַלֹּתֶיהָ, לֵכְנָה שֹּׁבְנָה, אִשָּׁה לְבֵית אִמָּהּ; יעשה (יַעַשׂ) יְהוָה עִמָּכֶם חֶסֶד, כַּאֲשֶׁר עֲשִׂיתֶם עִם-הַמֵּתִים וְעִמָּדִי.
8 And ...
8
votes
2answers
177 views
Is there a difference between “p” and “f” when transliterating from English to Hebrew?
When transliterating an English name to Hebrew (e.g. for a Ketubah or Get), is there a way to distinguish between a "p" and "f" sound? E.g. Fine, NY vs Pine, CO. Would both just be spelled (assuming ...
6
votes
2answers
263 views
לשון הקדש: the oldest language?
Rashi to B'reshis 2:23 says that the language Adam spoke was one that Rashi calls לשון הקדש, lashon hakodesh (or l'shon hakodesh), and that contains the words אִשָּׁה and אִישׁ. Keeping to Rashi's ...
2
votes
1answer
72 views
Is there a chart which details the major common pronunciations of Hebrew?
I learned how to pronounce Hebrew from the book "Teach Yourself to Read Hebrew" which describes pronunciation with Sephardic vocalization. For example, patach and kamatz, according to the book, are ...
10
votes
5answers
162 views
What is the nature of the numeral “ashtei-asar” (11)?
What is the nature of the numeral ashtei-asar (meaning 11) as in וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי פָּרִים עַשְׁתֵּי-עָשָׂר (Pinchas 29:20):
What is the basic word? Is this using semichus, as in ashtaim of ...
8
votes
1answer
1k views
Does ב"ה actually stand for Boruch Hashem?
We asked here about writing either ב"ה or בס"ד on the top of a letter. In the question it was assumed that ב"ה stands for Boruch Hashem.
Do we have a source that ב"ה actually stands for Boruch ...
3
votes
3answers
211 views
Is there a chart available displaying all Hebrew letters and vowels?
I'm looking for a nice chart that will give me the following things, so I can print it out and keep it handy:
Picture of each letter in traditional "book" font =
Picture of each letter in ...
8
votes
2answers
352 views
Relationship between Samekh and Sin
What is the relationship between the letters samekh and sin? Did they ever have distinct sounds? Why do they exist as separate letters?
8
votes
1answer
207 views
Why shin and sin?
Why does Hebrew use the same letter to represent two different sounds: shin and sin? As far as I know, with the exception of when using a dagesh kal, no other Hebrew letter has this property.
5
votes
1answer
118 views
Different expressions for “permitted” in the gemoro and elsewhere
The Gemara and other sources use different words to say that something is permitted. There are "shari" "muttar" "leis lon boh".
Is there any difference in shades of meaning between these and others ...
