Questions tagged [grammar-dikduk]
Questions about Hebrew grammar as related to Judaism.
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Talking to other people inside a bracha
A bracha always starts and/or ends with ברוך אתה ה'. However, in a few selected brachos, we also talk to other people in the second person in the middle of the bracha.
Examples:
The bracha in a ...
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Tzerei vs. Sh'va vs. Segol
Are there examples of words where pronouncing a sh'va as a tzeirei or a segol (or pronouncing a tzeirei as a sh'va or a segol or a segol as a sh'va or a tzeire) creates a different meaning? I'm ...
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What are the best books that teach Dikduk? [duplicate]
What are the best books to learn Dikduk? Both Lashon Hakodesh and Rabbinic/Mishnaic Hebrew.
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Should we be careful not to mispunctuate prayers?
There are a few times that we ten to (from personal experience) punctuate parts of songs/ piyutim/ prayers wrong.
For example, in Modeh Ani people tend to punctuate as follows:
שהחזרת בי נשמתי בחמלה ...
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Hei in front of His name
What is the grammatical reason for the "Hei" bolded in the pasuk below?
Is there a spot in the Torah where there is a "Hei" in front of the Tetragrammaton name? ( Is there a spot ...
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Mishloach Manos or Shalach Manos?
What is the proper grammar of giving/receiving mishloach manos/shalach manos? I've heard people use both terms as in, "I'm preparing mishloach manos for tomorrow" and "I hope to bring the shalach ...
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Theological Aspects of Hebrew Grammar
Are there any aggadic, kabbalistic, halachic or other theological teachings related to the grammar or morphology of Hebrew?
I am not referring to the orthography (or anything at all related to ...
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Question on the Grammar in Genesis 27:15 and Exodus 12:16
I am curious regarding the phrase "bigdei Esav, b’nah hagadol, hachamudos" (Genesis (Toldot) Chapter 27, Verse 15). Beged is masculine, referring to clothing, and chamudos, seemingly related ...
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Leshabeichacha and loseis/latet shevach
Towards the beginning of the נוסח אשכנז version of davening, in the section beginning לעולם יהא אדם ירא שמים, we say as follows:
לפיכך אנחנו חייבים להודות לך ולשבחך ולפארך ולברך ולקדש ולתת שבח ...
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First-person grammatical changes in tefillah [duplicate]
Someone mentioned to me the idea that women should be saying "Modah ani" in the morning instead of "Modeh ani," which, grammatically speaking, makes sense. I've never seen any ...
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What is the difference between the פְּעַל and פְּעֵל in Aramaic?
[As a preface I recognize this could be seen as an off-topic language question, but the question came up in the context of Gemara study using a book explaining the Grammar of the Bavli specifically ...
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What does midbar mean?
Midbar is commonly translated as desert or wilderness. It seems to come from the root davar (word) so I'm guessing the idea is that a midbar is a place where survival is most evidently dependent on ...
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Shva in היצור/היצורים
I have a similar question to Why is it a sheva na in ha-leviyim?
I have seen some siddurim indicate a shva nach in the yud of שֶׁכֵּן חובַת כָּל הַיְצוּרִים (shacharis of Shabbos, before yishtabach). ...
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Translating Genesis 1:1 "בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית" to "in the beginning"
Apologies if this is a stupid question (or belongs in a different group). Since I'm not Jewish & only beginning to learn Hebrew I lack the background to pose an intelligent question.
English uses ...
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Aser titasher Talmud bavli Taanith 9a-b
As for the advice to give maaser kesafim, מעשׁר כספים to become rich:
Talmud Bavli Taánith 9a-b
עַשֵּׂ֣ר תְּעַשֵּׂ֔ר becomes תִּתְעַשֵּׁר עַשֵּׂ֣ר.
Why does the Talmud uses ithpael ThiTh’ASheeR in ...
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Ambiguous cantillation notes
Today, while teaching someone the verse Genesis 2:7, I had cause to be puzzled as to the correct accentuation of its first word, וַיִּיצֶר֩. I corrected the student's milra accentuation and said it ...
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What are the rules for sh'va na?
What is the full list of rules for when to pronounce a sh'va (i.e. na) during tefillah and keriat hatorah?
When I was in school, I remember being taught that a sh'va was na in the following 5 cases (...
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Why does Artscroll indicate that the מ of למנצח should have a שוע נע?
The Artscroll siddur indicates that the שוע on מ of למנצח (e.g. תהלים כ א) is a שוע נע, but I am not sure why this is the case. The vowel beforehand is a פתח (a תנועה קטנה) and none of the other rules ...
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Nikkud of the word ים
Why in Tanach, does the word יָם always have a Komatz, even when נסמך/connected to the next word, such as יָם המלח and יָם פלשתים and even when attached with a מקף such as יָם-כנרת (Bamidbar 34:11) ...
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Why are Hebrew cardinal numbers switched to the other gender after the first two?
When counting in Hebrew, the first two cardinal numbers are in the correct gender, but all subsequent numbers seem to be in the opposite gender?
For example:
Feminine Numbers are: אַחַתֹ-שְתַּיִםֹ-...
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what is the difference between שלל, ביזה, and חרם?
We know that there are no true synonyms in the Torah. What does each of these connote? (to pass the test here - i googled and did not find anything)
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Hei hayedia on second word of a smichut pair
I recently corrected someone's use of beit hamidrash to beit-midrash, explaining that it is a smichut pair like the similar pairs, beit-knesset and beit-sefer, and that the added hei is only ...
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Psalms/Tehillim 18:26
In Psalms 18:26:
עִם־חָסִ֥יד תִּתְחַסָּ֑ד עִם־גְּבַ֥ר תָּ֜מִ֗ים תִּתַּמָּֽם
Why is the word עם־גבר vocalised as עִם־גְּבַ֥ר ʕim-ggəvár instead of עִם־גֶּבֶר ʕim-ggέvɛr? I am asking this because ...
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Difference between chataf patach alef and kamatz alef
In yoel 2:27
The pasuk states
וִידַעְתֶּ֗ם כִּ֣י בְקֶ֤רֶב יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ אָ֔נִי וַאֲנִ֛י
What is the difference in nekudot usage of the words אני?
More specifically, the difference between chataf ...
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Kammatz katan in Kaddish
In the Kaddish, the words בעלמא, לעלם, ולעלמי, עלמיא are all related to the Hebrew word עולם, from which I conclude that in each of those four words, the kammatz vowel below the ע is a kammatz katan ...
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What is the difference in meaning between the words עֵ֭דֹתֶיךָ and עֵדְוֺתֶ֥יךָ
The word for “Your decrees” (Sefaria) appears in Tehillim 119 (& elsewhere) in two forms with and without the letter “vav”. The meanings seem to be identical but the pronunciation is different.
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Using meteg to mark non-ultimate accented syllables
The common practice in current prayer books is to use a meteg to mark the stressed syllable in non-biblical texts if it's not the last one. The earliest edition using this method I have found is R' ...
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מַה נִּשְּׁתַּנָה הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה מִכָּל הַלֵּילוֹת - What is the etymology of נִּשְּׁתַּנָה (nishtana)? [closed]
I can find לְהִשְׁתַּנּוֹת where נִשְׁתַּנֶּה (nishtane) would translate to "we will change (ourselves)", but i cannot find where נִּשְּׁתַּנָה (nishtana) derives from. Or is it just old ...
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Genesis 6.4: Nephilim, Gibborim and Benei ha’Elohim
The question I’ve asked is not centered on the identity of the benei ha’Elohim but on the text itself and whether the text has sufficient grammatical support to identify the subject with respect to “...
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Is there a Jewish database on Tanach syntax?
Westminster is a downloadable version of the Leningrad Codex [version of Tanach], http://tanach.us/Tanach.xml. One thing they have there is a database that includes syntax for all of Tanach. It was a ...
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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 ...
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Does it suffice to know the pronounciation of a name without its spelling?
Today, I asked a friend what his Hebrew name is to daven for him. He said his full name but did not know the spelling of his mother's name (Perel).
This made me wonder: Is there any relevance to the ...
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What is the translation of דורמיטא? (Dormita)
What is the translation of דורמיטא? (Dormita)
Is this something from the realms of kabbalah?
When I searched Sefaria here, I found it mentioned many times in the context of Kabbalah, but I still don't ...
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What are some good resources for advanced Biblical Hebrew study?
I have been studying Biblical Hebrew for over a year, and have come to the point where I can read most of the prose text in the Hebrew Bible without trouble. I started with a beginner's textbook and ...
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Judge The “Entirety of a Person” or “Each Person” Favorably?
In Avos 1:6 it says …והוי דן את כל האדם why כל האדם and not כל אדם? Are we being told to judge the “entire” person favorably or “each” person favorably?
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What is the proper prefix for a rabbi? [duplicate]
What are the different prefixes for a rabbi, what are their differences, and when is it appropriate to use them?
Example: ר',הרב, מרן, הרה"ח, הרה"ת, הרה"ג, הרה"ק
(This question ...
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What is the proper suffix for a deceased person? [duplicate]
What do the different suffixes mean, what are the differences between them, and which suffix is used for which people?
Example: ז"ל, זצ"ל, זצוק"ל, זי"ע, נבג"מ
(This question ...
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Who delves into "dikduk"?
i am looking for seforim \ rabbis that discuss the specific details of dikduk \ grammar as well as "explanations" of the different tagim and trop (tunes) for the Torah reading.
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Why does רבי עקיבא say "50 אמה", and not "50 אמות?"
In the first Mishna on Mesechta Bava Kama Daf סא עמוד ב (https://www.sefaria.org/Bava_Kamma.61b?lang=he), there is a מחלוקת about how far does a fire have to pass in order to be פטור.
When רבי עקיבא ...
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Why is there variation in number regarding entering the land?
In some situations, the Torah, when issuing a commandment regarding being in Israel uses the singular and in other cases, the plural:
Dev 26:1 -- וְהָיָה֙ כִּֽי־תָב֣וֹא אֶל־הָאָ֔רֶץ
Bam 15:2 -- כִּ֣י ...
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Grammar: missing dagesh forte in "yitzok"
The word yitzok (יִצֹק), meaning he shall pour, which appears in Leviticus 14:26 and Numbers 5:15, should, by the rules of biblical grammar have a dagesh forte in the second letter (צ) because the ...
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Why don't we count sfeirah **m**'omer (from the omer)?
There are different nusachot that count sfirah as "ba'omer" or "la'omer." But shouldn't we count days m'omer? The omer was brought on the 16th and that's what we are counting from. ...
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לְךְ - what is this grammatical form?
Occasionally in a sefardi siddur, I see לְךְ. The first shva is a shva na, and the last is a shva nach. I always thought it was a typo but I keep seeing it now so I thought I'd ask a grammatical ...
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Shabbat vs. Other days, Singular vs. Plural
Why, in middle blessing of the amida for Shabbat is the blessing's conclusion in the singular (mekadesh hashabbat) while for holidays and Rosh Chodesh, the wording is in the plural (z'manim and roshei ...
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Is the Yemenite pronunciation of Hebrew closest to correct? [duplicate]
Is the Yemenite pronunciation of Hebrew closest to correct? If so, would that mean that we should use the Yemenite pronunciation when davening or leining the Torah?
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Use of definite article (ה) in יהי רצון ... מצות התלוים
The paragraph after the ברכה (b'racha) of ציצת (tzitzis) ends with the expression " וְתַרְיַ"ג מִצְות הַתְּלוּיִם בָּהּ".
My question is why does the word "התלוים" start with "ה"? It appears like ...
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Torah or Sorah?
What is the difference between Torah with a taf and Sorah with a saf?
For example, in Tehillim 119, the word תורתיך or תורת is written about 20 times, half of the times it is written with a taf, and ...
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Why don’t we say ״המלביש ערומים״ in the morning blessings?
It says (Yerushalmi Berachos 6:1) that the reason we don’t say ״motzi lechem min ha’aretz”(which would have been more preferable) but “hamotzi”, is in order to separate between the מ״ם of “ha’olam” ...
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Exceptions to pausal form [duplicate]
The pasuq reads, (Vayiqra 3:14)
ג,יד וְהִקְרִ֤יב מִמֶּ֨נּוּ֙ קָרְבָּנ֔וֹ אִשֶּׁ֖ה לַֽיהוָ֑ה אֶת־הַחֵ֨לֶב֙ הַֽמְכַסֶּ֣ה אֶת־הַקֶּ֔רֶב וְאֵת֙ כָּל־הַחֵ֔לֶב אֲשֶׁ֖ר עַל־הַקֶּֽרֶב׃
Why does the segol of ...
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What does מחיה מתים אתה mean?
In the Amidah, does מחיה מתים אתה mean "You revive the dead" or "You are a reviver of the dead"?
If it means the former, how does God presently revive the dead?
Please provide ...
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