Hebrew Language

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Annette Poizner

Jul 15, 2025, 10:33 PM

When Symbols Speak: A Dialogue Between Hebrew and Chinese

In a world fractured by difference, language can be a bridge — not merely of communication, but of worldview. At first glance, Hebrew and Chinese might appear as distant cousins on the vast linguistic tree: one the ancient tongue...

Reuven Chaim Klein

Jul 13, 2025, 2:49 PM

Standing on Stage – kan, duchan, bimah, basis

When I was a kid, we used to refer to the Kohanim engaged in Birkat Kohanim as going up “to duchan” or “duchening.” Because of that usage, I always thought that duchan was a verb in Yiddish that referred to the act of “blessing”...

Sam Lehman-Wilzig

Jul 11, 2025, 7:42 AM

Who is a Jew(ish Israeli)?

Once again, the question of “Who is a Jew?” has arisen in Israel – one of the most volatile and controversial since the country’s establishment back in 1948. The issue is important because of Israel’s nature as a “nation-state.”...

Reuven Chaim Klein

Jul 6, 2025, 5:29 AM

Take a Licking – Synonyms lekikah and lechicha

When the Moabites led by Balak turned to their mortal enemies the Midianites to ally with them against the impending threat of the Israelites, the Moabites said to the Midianite elders, “Now the congregation will lick away all...

Orly Lavi Travish

Jul 5, 2025, 9:02 AM

Hot Dogs, Hummus, and Heart: My American Journey to the Fourth of July

The image was created by Orly Lavi Travish using ChatGPT and Canva As an Israeli educator now living in the United States, I’ve discovered that some of life's most profound cultural lessons aren't found in textbooks, but rather in the...

Alexander A. Winogradsky Frenkel

Jul 2, 2025, 10:34 PM

Homeless at home, in our House

This is the first in a new series of reflections exploring keywords and their echoes across languages, histories, and spiritual traditions, in light of today’s fractured reality. Words from the Borderlands – I Homeless at Home, in Our House There is no...

Reuven Chaim Klein

Jun 29, 2025, 2:16 AM

Public Displays – rabim, parhessya, pirsum, pumbi

In Parashat Chukat, the Torah records a very public affair wherein Moses spoke and/or acted improperly at the Waters of Merivah, leading Hashem to say, “Because you did not believe in Me to sanctify Me in the eyes of the...

Reuven Chaim Klein

Jun 22, 2025, 11:07 AM

The Unbelievers – minnim, apikorsim, & kofrim

The Hebrew language has no shortage of colorful insults and epithets that can be hurled at Jewish heretics and other disbelievers. In this essay, we explore some of those words used in reference to such people — like min, apikores,...

Jun 22, 2025, 6:07 AM

Language, genius, prayer, and God

As a linguist, I continue to be amazed by how much language influences who we are. Our identity. Indeed, one could assert that languages we speak not just shape, but influence, how others see us and how we see...

Reuven Chaim Klein

Jun 15, 2025, 2:20 PM

Of Miracles and Poles – Neis, Badd, Shapud, Toren

Before the Jews entered the Holy Land, they demanded of Moses to send a group of spies to it scout out that and uncover its weaknesses. In that unfortunate incident, the spies ended up returning to the Jewish People...

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