Category Archives: Hebrew language

Jewish Word of the Day

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Continuing with the wedding theme, words for bride and groom:

Chatan – Hebrew word for groom.

Kallah: Hebrew word for bride.

Chossen: Yiddish word for groom.

Chatan also refers to a son-in-law, and other connotations, including guest of honor or star of the day. As a verb, it means to ‘tie, connect or covenant.’

This verse is commonly recited at Jewish weddings:

The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who shall say, Praise the Lord of Hosts; for the Lord is good; for his mercy endures for ever; and of those who shall bring the sacrifice of praise to the house of the Lord. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, says the Lord’. Jeremiah 33:11

Sources: Reform Judaism.org, The JC

Jewish Word of the Day

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Aid/Aidim (also spelled Edim) (In Hebrew: עֵד/עֵדִים

‘witness; Jewish law requires two witnesses sign the ketubah (Jewish marriage contract). Customarily, both are Jewish men who are not related to either marriage partner or to one another.  In Reform Judaism both men and women serve as witnesses. ‘

Source: Reform Judaism.org

Jewish Word of the Day

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Gaon/Gaonim – ‘The Jews have never had a papacy, but the nearest thing in moral force in our history was the Gaonate, which lasted from the close of the Talmud to about the year 1000. The decisions of the Gaonim, clarifying and spelling out Talmud law, shaped the life of Jewish settlements all through Europe and Asia. The Gaonim came to an end with the disasters that overwhelmed the community in Babylon… The word ‘Gaon’ survived as a term of honor among Jewish scholars.’

Source: Herman Wouk (1959): This is my God: pp. 213

Jewish Word of the Day

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Chazara b’teshuvah/ Baal Teshuva ‘the term refers to secular Jews who have “returned” to their faith with a newly observant dedication to strict Orthodoxy, and is interchangeable with the term baal teshuvah, used more widely in the United States.’

Source: Tablet

‘The term baal teshuva is from the Talmud, literally meaning “master of repentance”

‘It began during the mid-twentieth century, when large numbers of previously highly assimilated Jews chose to move in the direction of practicing Judaism.’

Source: Wikipedia

Jewish Word of the Day

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I used to get confused when I read about ‘being called up for aliyah’ as I only thought of it as referring to a Jewish person moving to Israel. So I initially understood it as ‘being called to return to Israel’, haha! Fortunately now I know the word actually has two meanings:

Aliyah: “The Hebrew word aliyah translates as “elevation” or “going up.” It is, in fact, used both for being called up to the Torah reading and for moving to the Land of Israel.: ”

Source: Chabad.org

Jewish Word of the Day

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בית המקדש

= Bet Hamikdash

”Beit Hamikdash is the Hebrew phrase for the Temple that was first built by King Solomon. A bayit is a house. Mikdash comes from kadosh, meaning holy. In the Tanach, it is usually referred to simply as the “House” in which God especially dwells, a domestic image of the place where God and the Jewish people met in holiness.”

Source: thejc.com

Jewish Word of the Day

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Nigun/niggun (Hebrew: ניגון‬ meaning “tune” or “melody”) “A nigun or niggun is a form of Jewish religious song or tune sung by groups. It is vocal music, often with repetitive sounds such as “bim-bim-bam”, “lai-lai-lai”, “yai-yai-yai” or “ai-ai-ai!” instead of formal lyrics. Source: Wikipedia

Side note: I love that the Chassidic music is often so cheerful – in comparison to the solemnity of their very strict religious observance.

Learning the Nikkudim

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I’m on holidays and I am trying to spend as much time as I can reading and learning for the next few weeks.

My Hebrew is still very rudimentary, and although I can recognize the letters and slowly spell out some words, knowing the right vowel sounds is still a mystery for me. I can’t decide whether it would be better for me to learn without nikkudim or with them.. I know there are different views on this. To read Biblical Hebrew yes, but for learning modern Hebrew I don’t know if it will just make it more difficult depending too much on the vowel markings. The mystery is though, how can you tell the correct pronunciation of a word if you are not familiar with it and don’t know which vowel sounds should be used?

Other Hebrew learners, please do share your thoughts on this. If I can just find the right logic ‘deciphering’ the writing, I’m sure I will get on with it.

I have saved lots of pictures like this from My Hebrew Learning on Instagram, I find it a nice source to learn some Hebrew basics. Rather than going through a course book, I’ve been gathering material from various online sources, as I feel the more material from different authors the easier it will be to get to grasps with a new language.