Questions tagged [hebrew]
Questions pertaining to the Hebrew language, as related to Judaism. See the help center: http://judaism.stackexchange.com/help/on-topic
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Why does Sfas Emes start his commentary on Parshat Noach by saying he doesn't know it? Is the translation faulty?
Sfas Emes begins his commentary on Parshat Noach, according to Sefaria, by saying "I do not properly remember." All the other Parshas begin with some variation of "B'H". Why does ...
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Proof reading "service" for Hebrew, Aramaic, and transliterations? [closed]
I volunteered to prepare our Yizkor book. I did my best to ensure there were no errors, but I am looking to have it proofread.
How would I go about finding competent reviewers?
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What does ציר"ו stand for?
The Chida's Bris Olam (Sefer Chasidim 315), quoted by the Kaf Hachaim Palagi (21:9), uses an acronym ציר"ו - what does that stand for?
וענין זה כשיעמיק האדם בו תסמר שערות בשרו ויהי ציר"ו ...
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Differences in nikkud between Ashkenazi Hebrew (or Yiddish?) and "Standard" Hebrew words
I have an interest in Judaism through the prism of Yiddish (specially Hasidic) culture. I'm more proficient in Yiddish but I'm slowly absorbing a bit of Hebrew. Looking through texts edited by Hasidic ...
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Does anyone have this paragraph from the Be'er HaGolah in English or Spanish?
Does anyone have the Be'er HaGolah on Shulchan Arukh in English or Spanish? Only looking for the paragraph below:
Be'er HaGolah on Shulchan Arukh, Choshen Mishpat 348
ה) וכ"כ הרמב"ם בפי"...
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What is the Halacha if I pronounced הוליכך with a patach under the כ instead of a shva?
I realize that this question may be quite specific but this is something that I am genuinely concerned about and I am beating myself up for it.
I leined this Mincha on Shabbat. In the leining, I think ...
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דרך Segol or kometz under ד
In Parshas Balak (probably other places too), the Torah usually says "derech" and at least once, it says "darech" with a kometz. Why? Also,sometimes Bilaam and Balak have a beis ...
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Are the words Shema and shemiras / shomer related?
Shalom.
Apologies for a beginner’s question - I am but a goy.
I’ve been trying to understand whether shemiras halashon / shemiras einayim / shemiras hanefesh are related to listening - to HKBH.
Is ...
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Signature of Rav Ovadia Hedaya
Rav Ovadia Hedaya ends a number of teshuvos in Yaskil Avdi with the letters וצוי״מ ומי״נ כיר׳א - what is the meaning of this abbreviation?
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Why do some Siddurim say mitzvot tluyim ba instead of tluyot?
In the part between Borchi Nafshi and the Tallis blessing there is a kavona part that ends with mitzvot tluyim ba in some siddurim.
I first thought this was a mere typo but I've now seen it in quite a ...
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Chassidish (accent) recordings of prayer
Where can one find recordings of prayers (e.g Sheme and Ashrei) said in chassidish style lashon hakodesh. YouTube isn’t great for it.
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How can we understand the timeline of the Tower of Babel? [closed]
I'm not finding a coherent explanation of the ENTIRE timing issue of the Tower of Babel. That I'm seeing the issue talked about so little baffles me, as the basic math from a plain reading doesn't ...
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How לִקַּטְתְּ should be read
When reading Meghilath Ruth, How should I read the word לִקַּטְתְּ in 2:19?
Should I attempt to pronounce the ט separately from the תּ (which, as far as I know, isn’t possible without an awkward-...
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Body part associations with letters [duplicate]
I was curious, since I meditate by first focusing on each of my body parts to help calm myself, if there is designated corresponding letters for each part. I figured this would further deepen my ...
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Pronunciation of Vav in Talmud Bavli
Did certain traits of the Babylonian Masoretic pronunciation, also apply to the aramaic of the Talmud Bavli?
For example, in Tanakh, according to the most common tradition, dating from the Tiberian ...
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How could the words עשב בשדך run together?
Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 61:20 states:
One should put a gap between a word whose beginning [letter] is like
the end [letter] of its predecessor, for example: "b'chol l'vav'kha",
"al ...
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What’s the difference between “לְדָוִד מִזְמוֹר” and “מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד” in Tehilim?
Tehilim 110 for example begins with “l’David mizmor”, while 108 starts with “mizmor l’David”. Is there a difference in meaning? Does one denote authorship and the other does not?
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What is function of בו?
A grammar question
הן עבדי אתמך בו בחירי רצתה נפשי נתתי רוחי עליו משפט לגוים יוציא
Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall ...
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What does the superscription עַל־מוּת לַבֵּן in Tehilim 9 mean?
Tehilim 9 begins like so:
לַמְנַצֵּחַ עַל־מוּת לַבֵּן מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד׃
It contains the unfamiliar words עַל־מוּת לַבֵּן in the opening. What does this phrase mean?
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Question on distinguishing similar words: שׂכל ,בין ,חכם ,ידע
How does one distinguish between שׂכל, בין, חכם, ידע?
And their respective nouns: שֶׂכֶל, בִּינָה, חָכְמָה, מַדָע, דַּעַת
When comparing the lexicons Dictionary of Classical Hebrew and HALOT I see ...
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What is the "language of Canaan" in Yeshayahu 19:18?
Isaiah 19:18 says
בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֡וּא יִהְיוּ֩ חָמֵ֨שׁ עָרִ֜ים בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֗יִם
מְדַבְּרוֹת֙ שְׂפַ֣ת כְּנַ֔עַן
What is שְׂפַ֣ת כְּנַ֔עַן in this context? Why does Yeshayahu identify the language ...
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How would rabbinic law be derived from a Sefer Torah written in another language?
Much of rabbinic law derives from the hebrew Torah's unique spelling (eg plene vs deficient) and wording (eg "את" to include) etc.
Rashbam writes that he will explain the Torah literally as ...
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What’s up with the translations of Genesis 49:22?
In Genesis 49 when Jacob blesses his sons the blessing he gives to Joseph is usually rendered (in most translations) as something similar to:
“Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, ...
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Shiurim with transcription
Occasionally, I encountered difficulties comprehending the intricate nuances of certain accents, resulting in the partial loss of content. As of late, I have been perusing episodes presented by Rabbi ...
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Yemeni manuscripts about the Hebrew expression - in Mishneh Torah Hilchot Avodah Zarah 9:4 - translated as "idolaters"
I am an Italian Noahide.
in Mishneh Torah Hilchot-Avodah Zarah 9:4-, Rambam states that Christians are idolaters.
Now, in various editions of the work, including the one available on the Chabad ...
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In Genesis 22:14, which is more accurate: Yehova Yireh or Adonai Yireh? Are they the same or not? The Hebrew is יהוה. What does it mean?
In Genesis 22:14, Abraham calls the place "Yehova [יהוה] Yireh, which I always understood as “God will provide”.
But is it really “Adonai [יהוה] Yireh” which your site has “On God's mountain he ...
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Was ancient Hebrew (Lashon Hakodesh) a language humans conversed in?
Was there a time in Jewish history when Hebrew (Lashon Hakodesh) was spoken?
Was it only spoken by the ancient Hebrews and not the surrounding nations? If so how would said nations refer to their &...
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R. Shlomo Klonitsky-Kline's dictionary of synonyms and homonyms
According to the Hebrew Wikipedia article on R. Shlomo Klonitsky-Kline it is said that he composed a dictionary of Hebrew synonyms and homonyms titled מלון דקדוקי (CMIIW, all of them related to Torah ...
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If we know for certain that certain types of Hebrew pronunciation aren't correct to the biblical standard, why still use them? [duplicate]
This question may be controversial but it isn't meant as an insult to any specific community. In fact, it kind of targets everyone if the hypothesis is correct. It speaks to the reality of the exile ...
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Online Hebrew Lexicon for learning Tanakh
Shalom, it is my goal to significantly improve my Hebrew this year.
It was recommended to me that an online Hebrew Lexicon, which allows you to analyze each word of Tanakh, including grammar, ...
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Is there an online source for clipped verb forms?
It is wonderful to have pealim.com to look up verb forms, but as far as I know, it does not include clipped forms. Is there any online source that allows looking up clipped forms, or at least a site ...
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Yaakov's thigh and the side of the altar
When Yaakov wrestled with the angel (Bereishis 32:25-26), the angel was losing the fight, and touched the hipsocket of Yaakov, making it go out of the socket. The word for hip/thigh used here is ...
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Chanukah greetings proper form
why is the greeting for Hanukah
חג אורים שמח "chag urim samach"
And not חג אורות?
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How does a Jewish community recognize a Jewish person they hadn't seen ever before?
Let's say there is a Jewish community where everybody knows each other, for example in a city. Let's say a new Jewish person arrives and manifests their will to get integrated with them. Nobody knows ...
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What is the term for esoteric exegesis (of the Jewish texts) in Hebrew?
Is there like a nice one-word term to use when describing any estoeric reading/exegesis of any Jewish text, but specifically the Tanakh and the Oral Torah?
I think that there should be at least some ...
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What’s the meaning of the abbreviation (ז"פ)?
What’s the meaning the abbreviation (ז"פ)?
Example as found in Sefer HaGoralot by Rabbi Chaim Vital:
“ וזאת היא התפלה שצריך להתפלל קודם שישליך הגורל: אנא בכח גדולת ימינך תתיר צרורה ז"פ.”
...
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What did Abraham call himself in his language?
Curious to know what did Prophet Abraham call himself from a religious perspective in the language he spoke. Did he call himself "jew" or "yahood"?
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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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Why does there appear to be a ן (final nun) in the middle of a word (שןיתי), is it a typo or what?
I am working from a scanned document. There are vavs, nuns, and final nuns in the text, but there appears also to be a final nun mid word.
It makes sense if this were a vav, as it would then read as:
...
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Would Jews speak Lashon Hakodesh by default?
If my memory serves me correctly, I read in the sefer Daas Torah some while back that if one doesn't teach a [Jewish?] child a language it will start talking Lashon Hakodesh on its own accord. Is ...
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What is the nachash in Genesis 3?
I see that the Hebrew word for serpent in Genesis 3 is nachash and that according to Strongs this word is a noun which stems from the verb 'nachash' meaning to practice divination, or observe signs. ...
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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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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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Gen 3:13 Did the snake "trick" or "advise" Eve to eat?
In Genesis 3:13, while Eve is answering God, she says:
Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” (NIV)
Rabbi Manis ...
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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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Difference between a Menahel and Rosh Yeshivah
Is there a difference between a Menahel and a Rosh Yeshivah, or are they synonymous?
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Non-Hebrew Torah commentary
There is a teaching that only Torah commentary written in Hebrew, the holy tongue, will endure.
However, the entire Talmud and the Book of Daniel are not in Hebrew, but in Aramaic. Even some parts of ...
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Pronouncing the vav in mitzvot and matzot [closed]
What is the reason for the different pronunciation of the vav in the words mitzvot and matzot?
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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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Roshei Teivos in Kli Yekar
עד עלות חמ"ס
What does חמ"ס stand for? If it's just the word 'violence', why the ''?
Context:
ויבא עמלק וילחם עם ישראל ברפידים. בילקוט מסיק שעמלק דומה לזבוב כו', משל למלך שהקיף כרם כו', ...
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