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Jul 16, 2023, 2:31 PM

The Israeli art of arguing: what I learned in a beit midrash beginner’s program

Last year, when I was living in Israel, I decided to enroll in the beit midrash of my university, not really knowing what to expect. I just knew I wanted to get more closely acquainted with Jewish religious texts....

Jul 9, 2023, 2:53 PM

Brilliant borrowing & nifty neologisms: How an ancient language caught up with the times

It’s widely known that Hebrew was the language of the ancient Israelites that got revamped and revived by idealistic Zionists around the turn of the 20th century and eventually turned into the vibrant language today spoken by at least...

Jul 2, 2023, 4:25 PM

The inevitability and infectiousness of Hebrew’s sassy suffix

When I told someone in Tel Aviv that I was from the Netherlands and she responded with ‘aah, Amstush!’, my ears perked up. I had heard this suffix, -ush, plenty of times already but never connected to an obscure...

Jun 25, 2023, 1:27 PM

Cryptic Codes and Humorous Euphemisms: talking about taboos in Jewish languages

In over 2 millennia, Jews scattered across the Earth, yielding diasporic communities in places as culturally and geographically distinct as the urban splendor of Medieval Baghdad and the desolate plains of Belarus and countless places in between and beyond....

Jun 18, 2023, 3:00 PM

The little lady at the shuk

As much as the next guy, I love walking down the colorful Carmel Market, slowly strolling through a sea of scent and sound. But really, it’s in the bustling back streets of the market that all the interesting stuff...

Jun 11, 2023, 2:06 PM

When words wither away

(The story took place two years ago, names have been altered) Today was a beautiful day. It started off right when Rina recognized me during breakfast. That’s not always obvious in this Herzliya nursing home, that I'm recognized by the...

Jun 4, 2023, 5:50 PM

Words that ring, resemble, reverberate

(Kasper Nymann, Dreamstime)

When it comes to onomatopoeia, nothing sounds more like the thing it describes than uncorking a bottle and pouring from it - in Hebrew

May 28, 2023, 11:22 PM

The prettiest Jewish language

There are a lot of Jewish languages and they all have their own wonderful quirks, profound idioms and fascinating histories. When it comes purely to sound, though, the absolute beautifullest one has to be Judeo-Italian. It is more a...

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About Me

Jona van der Schelde loves language and cycling. He lives in the Netherlands and teaches Hebrew.

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