All Questions
Tagged with hebrew aleph-bet-letters
58 questions
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Was the world really created by the Hebrew letters?
There’s a somewhat-famous Kabbalistic concept, recorded first in the Sefer Yetzirah, that Hashem created the world by using the letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
Assuming Hebrew indeed evolved from an ...
- 1,904
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0
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40
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Which script was the Torah given in at Sinai? [duplicate]
Background
Sifrei Torah today are written in kethav Ashurith, the Aramaic square script:
But this script is newer than "Paleo Hebrew"/Phonecian script, and historians say that the square ...
- 452
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0
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63
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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 ...
- 11
2
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1
answer
108
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Translation of Hebrew letters [closed]
I hope that this is not off-topic for this forum. If so, please let me know and I will delete it.
I'm trying to understand the meaning of these letters which I believe are Hebrew. Can someone who is ...
- 123
1
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2
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191
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Dagesh in pe lefufah
If you were writing pointed text with a pe lefufah (or doubled/spiral pe, or pe kefulah) for pedagogical purposes, and the pe had a dagesh, would you write the dagesh inside the inner spiral, or ...
- 71
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0
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101
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Group symmetry in the letters of Genesis [closed]
Forgive me if this is not the sort of question you like. I'm new here.
Several years ago I came across the work of Stan Tenen, available at meru.org, who appears to have made some impressive ...
- 141
1
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1
answer
100
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Are there words in the Hebrew bible where we find the letter Hei/Yod subsituted for an Alef?
For example, עמק הבכא in Psalams 84:6 is often translated as "Valley of weeping", even though we should expect the word weeping to be בכי, and not at all with an Alef.
Do we have more ...
- 492
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1
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Ribono Shel Olam pronunciation
I haven't studied Hebrew in 50 years and cannot read it anymore. I wonder if anyone has any suggestions on how I can get the pronunciation of Rabbi Nachman's phrase "Ribono Shel Olam" both ...
- 31
2
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1
answer
452
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Reason for different punctuation of the prefix vav?
In the Siddur, the prefix vav is seen with various punctuations (e.g., shva, kamatz, patah, shuruk). When is each of these different punctuations used with a prefix vav and how does each affect the ...
- 8,383
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0
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Where is a free online copy of the Torah with the "correct" number of letters in it?
First off, my intention is to create a pretty decent replica of the Hebrew text close to the formatting of the Sefer Torah or a Tikkun, for personal documentation purposes. My question though is 2-...
- 411
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4
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Is there math in Torah?
I have watched a nice movie back in the day that deals with numbers.
In one of the scenes. A Jewish man comes to The Mathematician and tells about how the Hebrew uses the same "letters" as letters ...
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2
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Hebrew Letters and corresponding body parts
When I was a little child, I remember being taught that each of the Hebrew letters had a corresponding body part. I am sure I learned what they were at the time, but I've long forgotten most of them.
...
- 53
3
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0
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88
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Minhag Hebrew Pronunciation each letter
Is the pronunciation of the Hebrew letters a minhag or is the pronunciation of each individual letter each an individual minhag itself?
For example would the pronunciation of the letter dalet be one ...
user17175
1
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0
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58
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Asking about final letters [closed]
Is there a specific reason that when letters such as mem & nun are written at the end of a sentence they are written differently?
1
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1
answer
227
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Did the Masoretes add the yud symbols?
My unfamiliarity with the history of the Hebrew language has created some confusion for me. I believe that that it was the Masoretes who had added some of the vowel points and markings which did not ...
5
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1
answer
506
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Is the letter Aleph (א) also a word that means "to teach, inculcate"?
This Aish article about the meaning of the word "Adam" states the following:
The letter aleph is also a word which means to teach or inculcate. It similarly indicates leadership, as implied by ...
- 525
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1
answer
400
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What is the origin of the Rashi script?
I believe the script which is called "Rashi script" was invented to avoid using the normal Hebrew alphabet for things which weren't strictly Torah. Is this true?
If so - why are only TWO letters ...
- 69
7
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1
answer
397
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Why do older Anglo Ashkenaz texts transliterate ת as "th" and how was it pronounced?
Many older (19th and 20th century) Anglo Ashkenaz seforim translate ת (without a dagesh) as "th" - resulting in transliterations like "Sukkoth", "haftaroth", "mishnayoth" - when the general Ashkenazi ...
- 1,351
1
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1
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Does Psalm 37's 1st verse in the Dead Sea Scroll named 11QPsd start with Aleph?
My question is whether Psalm 37's 1st verse in the Dead Sea Scroll known as 11QPsd starts with the letter "Aleph," because it is supposed to be an alphabetical acrostic poem. The reason why I'm asking ...
- 125
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2
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3k
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Interchangeable usage of Hebrew letters (such as Beis and Vav, etc.)
I don't know if there is another post about this issue, but forgive me if there is.
Here is my question. I recently read somewhere that there are letters that can be interchanged for various reasons....
- 187
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6
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Why is the Aleph diminished in size in Vayikra 1:1?
Vayikra 1:1 "And He called to Moshe and spoke..."
In some Torah scrolls the Aleph in the first word is diminished in size. What is the significance of this anomaly? (The very next word — to Moshe — ...
- 751
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2
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403
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Why is the HEY enlarged in Deut. 32:6?
"To" Ha Shem.... In some Torah scrolls the HEY is enlarged for the word "To" which proceeds Ha Shem, What is the significance? I have not seen this in other verses of Torah where the word proceeding ...
- 751
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3
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647
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How is there Torah about Hebrew letters if the letters are not original?
Occasionally I hear Torah that relates to the iconography of Hebrew letters, like the significance around the fact that the yud is a small point, and how the hey has two openings, allowing repentants ...
- 383
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114
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Midrash Genesis Rabbah 1.11 -- clarification to the answer the children recieved about the two forms for mem, nun, zade, peh, & kaf?
I'm currently reading Midrash Rabbah (Bereshis), and I'm intrigued by the story in 1:11, where the children attend the House of the Assembly on a stormy day and ask why there are two forms to the ...
1
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1
answer
122
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Where can one find a complete guide to Hebrew numerals?
I am looking for an instruction resource on Hebrew numerals that is comprehensive, insofar as it:
lists all (or nearly all) of the euphemistic exceptions in frequent use (such as "chai" for 18, רחץ ...
- 20.2k
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2
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1k
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Why is hebrew, the holy language, so messy?
Something that has always bothered me and I've never really understood is why Hebrew is so messy. If it is the language of G-d, the language in which the world was created and the language in which ...
- 4,666
1
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0
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755
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Why are there so many Nikkudot? [closed]
1) Why does every vowel has more than one way to be written?
2) Does every nekkud has a slightly different pronunciation?
- 4,666
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1
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920
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What is the reason that the Torah uses a ן (final "Nun") at the end of 2nd person plural verbs?
Frequently, the Torah uses a final nun (ן) at the end of verbs. They seem to be 2nd person plural verbs. An example:
Deuteronomy 5:30:
בְּכָל־הַדֶּ֗רֶךְ אֲשֶׁ֨ר צִוָּ֜ה יְהוָ֧ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֛ם ...
- 71.5k
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ד mi yodeya (the pronunciation)?
The gemara (Brachoth 13b) records that one is supposed to draw out the ד of "אחד" in the first verse of the Shema:
.תניא: סומכוס אומר: כל המאריך באחד מאריכין לו ימיו ושנותיו
אמר רב אחא בר ...
- 17.9k
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0
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190
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ג (gimel) mi yodeya (the pronunciation)?
From a halachik perspective, what are the correct ways to pronounce the ג (gimel)? Are there variant traditions? Is there an academic/linguistic opinion on how it was most likely pronounced from the ...
- 17.9k
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2
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208
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ב (bet) mi yodeya (the pronunciation)?
What are the correct ways to pronounce the ב (bet)? Are there variant traditions? Is there an academic/linguistic opinion on how it was most likely pronounced from the time of the giving of the Torah ...
- 17.9k
3
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1
answer
166
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א mi yodeya (the pronunciation)?
What is the correct way to pronounce the א (aleph)? Are there variant traditions? Is there an academic/linguistic opinion on how it was most likely pronounced from the time of the giving of the Torah ...
- 17.9k
5
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2
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762
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Unexpected Dagesh in Reish
I learned that a rule of Dageshim is that gutteral letters (אהחע''ר) reject dageshim.
My question is why do we find 17 reishs (1 Samuel 1:6, 1 Samuel 10:24, 1 Samuel 17:25, 2 Kings 6:32, Jeremiah 39:...
- 3,692
6
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2
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651
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The letter Dalet
The fourth letter of the Hebrew alphabet is "dalet" and not "daled." Why, then, do Ashkenazi Jews not pronounce it as "dales." I have heard an answer that "dales" sounds too much like "dalus", ...
- 627
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1
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350
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Is a ש after a holam always a "shin" and never a "sin"?
In some siddurim that are printed in certain Hebrew fonts, you will find words such as משה (Moshe) or חשך (darkness) that do not print with two nekudot. The most explicit way to point these words ...
- 5,577
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3
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Did Rembrandt really get the 'mene, mene' inscription in his painting of Belshazzar's Feast wrong?
Forgive me if you feel this is not the best forum to ask this question on, but it seems the most apposite one out of those currently available.
The inscription that appears on the wall in Daniel 5:25 ...
- 268
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6
answers
2k
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Have any of you ever heard anyone pronouncing ayin as "ng"?
I have read that historically the letter ayin was pronounced by some Dutch, Portuguese, and Italian Jews as a velar nasal consonant (ng as in sing). Reference to this can be found here, here, and here....
- 5,577
4
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2
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353
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Are there any letters that do not have a distinct pronunciation?
Are there any two letters which do not have a distinction between their pronunciation in any tradition of pronunciation? To ask the inverse, is there at least one tradition of pronunciation for each ...
- 59.1k
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1
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A word seems to be written in an unusual way in Psalm 60,2
Why is there a medial mem rather than a final mem at the end of the word "aram" in Psalm 60:2? (Please see screenshot below.)
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1
answer
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Peh at the end of a word
Is there any where in Tanach a word that ends with a "feh sofit" (the form of the letter feh/peh that comes at the end of a word) but has the sound of a "peh" (and not "feh".)
Similarly I would ask ...
- 16.2k
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How do I pronounce "yod" when there is a dot inside of it?
I'm trying to brush up on my Hebrew. As an American Jew, it is still important to me to be able to recite my prayers from the siddur in their original Hebrew.
How do I pronounce "yod" when there is a ...
- 159
3
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1
answer
361
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Altering the Spelling out the Hebrew Year
In 1983-1984, the Hebrew year was 5744. Normally, the year would have been spelled out in Hebrew letters תשמ״ד, but according to my rabbi then, Rabbi Phillip Rabinowitz, zt'l, as pronounced the word ...
- 16.3k
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1
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Hebrew alphabet spelling for phrase in psalm 23, and the phrase "God is my refuge"?
I find the Hebrew alphabet to be very beautiful but as of right now I only know the meaning of a couple of symbols. I would love to have the correct original spelling for the beginning of psalm 23, "...
- 11
6
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2
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429
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Can we teach reading Hebrew without using the full names of the letters and vowels?
I've heard in Chabad and elsewhere that when teaching children to read Hebrew, one must call the letters and vowels only by their full traditional name. This is in my opinion very distracting for a ...
user2709
5
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2
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980
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Correcting tav/sav
If someone who usually pronounces the letter "ת" without a dagesh as "sav" is leining Torah, and he accidentally says "tav" in a place where he would normally say "sav", should the gabbai correct him? ...
- 25.1k
8
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1
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885
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How to pronounce the name of the last letter in the Hebrew alphabet?
I have heard mixed answers as to how to pronounce the letter תּ
Is it taf or tav?
(I'm referring to the halachic pronunciation not the common street way.)
Is there a difference between Ashkenazi or ...
- 21.5k
6
votes
0
answers
227
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Good resource for learning vowel pronunciation
In trying to improve my leyning, I'm trying to get the finer points of vowel pronunciation down.
What is a good resource to learn, e.g., the difference between a patach and chataf-patach or a ...
- 6,946
2
votes
2
answers
291
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Why werent Rashi letters changed back
What is the basis of the change in Rashi's letters from the standard Hebrew ones?
And if it was something that was dependent on a specific factor then, why weren't they changed back?
- 731
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votes
3
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614
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Resources for learning Hebrew from scratch?
I was raised as a Jewish identifying secular child, and it's only in my adolescence/adulthood I've really become at all observant. One of the problems is, of course, I've never had a Hebrew class! I'...
- 371
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5
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10k
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Which alphabet were the original Torah scrolls in?
I've assumed that the Torah scrolls we read today as the same that Moses wrote. I always assumed it's been the same alphabet.
However lately I came across documents explaining the evolution of the ...
- 2,689