Questions tagged [grammar-dikduk]
Questions about Hebrew grammar as related to Judaism.
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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 ...
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Zeraim Moed Nashim Nezikim Kodshim Taharos - why not Moadim?
The names of the Shisha Sidrei Mishna (Six Orders of Mishnah) are: Zeraim, Moed, Nashim, Nezikim, Kodshim, Taharos. All of them besides Moed are in plural form. However Moed is in singular form. Why ...
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Why so many vocalized shvas in Siddur Tehillat Hashem?
I prayed using a Siddur Tehillat Hashem the other day, and I noticed that many more shvas were marked with an asterisk above, indicating that they should be vocalized, than I'd expect. In particular, ...
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Which books help one acquire a systematic understanding of Biblical Hebrew grammar?
A question for the grammar experts. How can I learn Hebrew grammar in a systematic way? Especially a book that would help me understand how to layn properly. Something that covers rules of nikkud, ...
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Why is "Shalom Aleichem" always plural?
Why do we say Shalom Alaichem to one person if Alaichem is plural?
Is it saying you and all of the Jews? Is that why it's plural?
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Why are there two different forms of the mitzvah brachot ("l-" and "al")?
Some mitzvah brachot are of the form ...vitzivanu "l'X" ("to X", infinitive verb), and others are of the form "al X" ("upon X", gerundive verb). I particularly noticed this during Sukkot with two ...
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3
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Grammatical function of Emet te'amim?
The Emet books (Iyov, Mishlei, Tehillim) have a cantillation system that is not used elsewhere in Tanach. In addition to the use of cantillation marks not found elsewhere (iluy, ole, dehi, geresh ...
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Proper recitation of Hamakom Yenachem
Is the proper phrase to console a mourner always the plural המקום ינחם אתכם בתוך שאר אבלי ציון וירושלים or should it be changed depending on whom it is said to (singluar, feminine, etc.)?
user1552
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Aleph with a Dagesh
In four places in Tanakh, our text has an aleph with a dagesh: Gen 43:26, Lev 23:17, Job 33:21, and Ezra 8:18. What is the significance of this, and for the first two examples, how would you indicate ...
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Were our symbols for trope and nekudos created by the Masoretes, or transmitted by them?
It is commonly said in secular sources that the shapes of the trope and nekudos we use today were invented by the Masoretes (7th to 11th Century CE), but I cannot find any source in our mesorah to ...
- 7,210
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Yisgadal or Yisgadel?
I've noticed that some people, when reciting kaddish, pronounce the first words as "yisgadal v'yiskadash" with a patach under the dalet of both words, while others say "yisgadel v'yisgadesh" with a ...
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Plural of "Nafka Minah"
(Inspired by HodofHod's commment here: Four Holy Cities)
What is the proper plural for the common Aramaic phrase Nafka Minah נפקא מינה which means something along the line of "practical differences"?
...
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Why "Lach" not "Lecha" in "Modim Anachnu Lach"
Could someone please explain why the "Lach" in Modim Anachnu Lach is not "Lecha"... I guess this is some grammatical point rather than the use of the feminime "you"?
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וינוחו בה\בו\בם ישראל in Shabbat shemoneh esrei -- why the change?
I've noticed that the Friday night shemoneh esrei (nusach Ashkenaz) uses the line "בה", shacharit and musaf use "בו", and mincha uses "בם" in the phrase "וינוחו _ ישראל מקדשי שמך..."
What is the ...
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Meaning and pronunciation of יישר כחך
What is the exact meaning of the phrase "יישר כחך", and what is the gramatically-correct way to pronounce it?
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הוא is he? Or is it?
The third-person feminine pronoun in Hebrew is היא, "hee." But in most instances in the Torah, the word is spelled הוא, with a vav rather than a yud as the middle letter. How does this make sense ...
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Why are the names of some Masechtot in Aramaic while others are in Hebrew?
I noticed that the names of some Masechtot have an Aramaic plural ending - nun - such as "Gittin", while others have a Hebrew ending - mem - such as "Bikurim". Was there some pattern or logic in ...
- 70k
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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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Why does Yitzchak's blessing of Yaakov refer to Yaakov's mother's *sons*?
B'reishit 27:29 reads:
Let peoples serve thee, and nations bow down to thee. Be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother's sons bow down to thee. Cursed be every one that curseth thee, and ...
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Dreamed vs. Dreaming a Dream
Posting for another friend.
When does Lashon Hakodesh (throughout Tanach) use "ויחלם" (and he dreamed") by itself and when is "ויחלם חלום" ("and he dreamed a dream") used?
It seems that most of the ...
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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 ...
- 56.4k
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What does the /shin/ marker (like Petucha/Setuma) at the end of Torah books mean?
I've been reading about details of Torah sofrut, and after learning about the paragraph markers peh / פ (petucha) and samekh / ס (setuma), I noticed some similarly placed shin markers (mostly at the ...
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"־הם" versus "־מו"
Usually, the suffix "־הם" is used to mean "them" as an object, as is "להם" or "אליהם". Or it is used to mean "their" in possessive form, as in "כליהם" or "אבותיהם".
But sometimes, the very same usage ...
- 28.5k
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3
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Disparity between male and female pronunciation of Cholam
In many Yeshivish communities in the US, the male segment of the population vocalizes the cholam as "oi," while their female counterparts vocalize it as a long "o". How did this come about? Does the ...
- 21.1k
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3
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Grammar question in Vayera
I've been learning Bereshit with Rashi in school, and while reading a part of Vayera, I noticed that there were two grammatically different statements in one Pesuk.
Bereshit (18:7)
וְאֶל הַבָּקָר ...
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Is there a reason or pattern as to when the Torah uses אֵת instead of אֶת?
I noticed a mix of the two forms of the Hebrew objective marker commonly pronounced אֶת. in the Torah. (There is no English translation of this word. It is used only to notify that an object follows ...
- 70k
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Is the bracha pronounced "ha-MO-tzee" or "ha-mo-TZEE"?
The blessing we say on bread, "hamotzee lechem min ha'aretz" -- on what syllable is the stress in the word "hamotzee"?
Is the bracha pronounced "ha-MO-tzee" or "ha-mo-TZEE"?
In Psalms 104:14 we find ...
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verb + its infinitive
Many, many times in Tanach, including Chumash, a verb has its infinitive nearby. Examples include B'reshis 2:16 מִכֹּל עֵץ הַגָּן אָכֹל תֹּאכֵל (I think that's the first example in Chumash) and ...
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impure animals: present, future, past
The verses in Vayikra 11:4-6 gives 3 examples of different impure animals which don't have split hoofs, namely: the camel, the 'hyrax' (shafan) and the hare. An interesting thing I once noticed is ...
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Why דָּת in Esther but דַּת in kidushin?
There are two places "דָּת" appears in Tanach in a form that means "the law of": Esther 2:12 and 9:13. In both places it appears as "דָּת" with a kamatz.[1]
Yet, when we marry, according to the ...
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Why is there a custom to join "Hashem" and "Elokenu" together in the line Al Taazvenu in Shema Kolenu in Selichot
In Shema Kolenu, based on the Posuk in Psalms 38:22 we say the phrase:
Al Taazvenu Hashem Elokenu Al tirchak mimenu | Don't leave us Hashem Our God Don't distance yourself from us.
The interesting ...
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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 ...
user5540
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Does the vav hahipuch also mean "and"? Do all those extra "ands" belong in the Bible?
I know that in Biblical Hebrew, take a word like "Vaydaber." "Yedaber" = "He will speak"; the "v" flips the word from future tense to past, so it's "he spoke."
Most translations understand the "v" ...
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Accent mark in וישבע לו
In many Chumashim, the word וישבע in Parshas Chayei Sara (24:9) contains both a munach and a meseg (meteg). One example:
I do not understand what the meseg is doing there under the beis. Typically a ...
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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 ...
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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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Why is future tense used in Esther 3:2?
In Megillas Esther 3:2 we are told: וּמָרְדֳּכַי--לֹא יִכְרַע, וְלֹא יִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה. Why is this sentence in future tense? Why does it not it say לא כרע ולא השתחוה, in the past tense?
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Chassidic Rebbes don't use Hebrew Grammar?
I have not witnessed enough test cases to statistically verify anything, but I have heard various Chassidic Rebbes make b'rachos and daven out loud, and without fail, they mispronounce a majority of ...
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Ashkenazic vs. Sefardic grammar tendencies
I notice that when referring to God in the second person in a possessive form, Sefardim often use the female form where Ashkenazim use the male form.
For example, where Ashkenazim say in kedusha, "...
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Origin of the term Motza'ei Shabbos
I often hear that מוצאי שבת means "departure of the Sabbath," but it seems to me that the phrase for this should be צאת שבת (or יציאת שבת).
The phrase מוצאי שבת seems to me to mean המוצאים של שבת, ...
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How come Sepharadim say "Boreh peri haGEFen" but "Shelo Asani AVed"
I think Hacham Ovadia has a footnote in Hazon Ovadia on Pesach (and probably elsewhere) in which he discusses why we don't use the pausal form of gafen instead of gefen. He writes (if i remember ...
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Their altars...and *his* asheirah?
Shemot 34:13:
כִּי אֶת מִזְבְּחֹתָם תִּתֹּצוּן וְאֶת מַצֵּבֹתָם
תְּשַׁבֵּרוּן וְאֶת אֲשֵׁרָיו תִּכְרֹתוּן
For you shall dismantle their altars, break their monuments,
and cut down his ...
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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 are the words Kiddushin, Erusin, Nissuin plural?
The Mishnah says "האיש מקדש", just like on Shabbos. Nevertheless, on Shabbos we call it a Kiddush (single) but on wedding we call it either Kiddushin, Erusin, Nissuin which are all plural.
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Why does Naomi talk in masculine form to her daughters-in-law?
In Rus 1:8, Naomi is telling her two daughters-in-law that they should return to their homes.
וַתֹּ֤אמֶר נָעֳמִי֙ לִשְׁתֵּ֣י כַלֹּתֶ֔יהָ לֵ֣כְנָה שֹּׁ֔בְנָה אִשָּׁ֖ה לְבֵ֣ית אִמָּ֑הּ יעשה [יַ֣עַשׂ] ...
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Borei P'ri or Borei F'ri hagefen?
Have heard a few older mizrahi recordings for qiddush and am noticing that some of them use borei f'ri hagefen. When i looked up Qiddush in my Egyptian siddur (Farhi Siddur) i noticed the Pei had no ...
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מֶה, מָה, מַה - mɛ, mʌ, ma - What's the difference?
What causes the difference in vowelization of the Hebrew word for "what" in the Bible and classical Jewish texts? In some contexts it is מֶה, in others - מָה, and in yet others - מַה. The hypothesis ...
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Difference between El and Eloah
El(אל) and Eloah(אלוה) are both singular forms (nouns), but its אל thats being used to form the plural Elim (אלים), and אלוה thats being used to form the plural Elohim (אלוה׳ם). Both singular forms ...
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Where can one learn the grammatical functions of the te'amim
I can chant the melodies of the te'amim but I'm having a hard time learning their grammatical functions and structure. Many websites that talk about the te'amim are quick to jump into the ideas of "...
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Change of name in Megillat Esther from Hegeh to Hegai?
In Megillat Esther, the Pasuk (2:3) says that Achashverosh gathered the girls and placed them in the women's house, and the one who guarded them was הגא (ending with an א and with a segol under the ג)....
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