Shalom,

Meaning Transliteration
- Hi man, what’s up? - alan axi, mamatsav? ?‫‘ַאְהָלן ָאִח‬, ‫ַמַּמָּצב‬
- Great, what about you? - sababa, ma itxa? ?‫ַסָּבָּבה‬, ‫ָמה ִאְּתָך‬
- Perfect (all’s sweet). - hakol dvash. .‫ש‬
ׁ ‫ַהֹּכל ְּדַב‬
- Must get moving. - xayav lazuz. .‫ ַחָּיב ָלזּוז‬-
- Bye. - tov, yala bye ‘‫טֹוב‬, ‫ ַיאְלָלה ַּב‬-
This newsletter is about to give you a glimpse into the Hebrew colloquial language. The spoken Hebrew is being influenced by
various foreign languages, like Arabic, Yiddish, and English. The slang many times takes words or expressions from the
“proper language” and gives them a little twist that changes their original meaning. Hebrew slang words and expressions have
been developed in the Army, in satiric comedies, and by various groups in the society.
Let’s meet some common slang words and expressions.
I’ll say goodbye in a very Israeli way, in an expression that integrates three languages: Hebrew, Arabic, and English.

“Tov” (‫ )טֹוב‬is a Hebrew word meaning “well”, “yalla” (‫לה‬

ָ ‫ )ַיאְל‬comes from Arabic and means “come on”, and “bye” (
‫ – )ַּבי‬well, you don’t need translation for that…
‘‫טֹוב‬, ‫ַיאְלָלה ַּב‬,
Tov, yala bye,
Shira Cohen-Regev
The HebrewOnline Team
January 14, 2010

Hebrew Slang Words

‫ַסָּבָּבה‬
Transcription: sababa Meaning: (1) great, terrific, "cool"; (2) OK, all right
Origin: “tsababa” in Arabic means “great, excellent”

‫חָלה‬
ְ‫א‬ַ
Transcription: axla Meaning: similar to “sababa” – (1) excellent; (2) sure.
Origin: “axla” in Arabic means “the sweetest”

‫הָלן‬
ְ‫א‬ַ
Transcription: Ahlan Meaning: Hello
Origin: Ahlan in Arabic means “hello”

?‫צב‬
ָּ ‫מ‬
ַּ ‫מ‬
ַ
Transcription: mamatsav? Meaning: What’s up?
Literal translation: What is the situation?
Origin: Shortened form of the slang expression “ma hamatsav” (‫)ָמה ַהַּמָּצב‬.
‫מְגנּוב‬
ַ / ‫מאְגִניב‬
ַ / ‫מְגִניב‬
ַ
Transcription: magniv / ma-gniv / magnuv Meaning: cool, great, lovely
Origin: Unclear – may be derived from the English word: Magnificent

‫איּלּו‬
ִ ‫ְּכ‬
Transcription: ke’ilu Meaning: (1) in a cheating manner; (2) a sentence filler – a meaningless word in a sentence
simply being there without giving any additional information to the sentence.
Origin: English – like.

‫מס‬
ֵּ ‫ְלַס‬
Transcription: lesames Meaning: To send a text message
Origin: Text message is known in Israel as SMS (Short Messages Service). In this case, Hebrew took the foreign
acronym and created a verb out of it.
Weekly Hebrew Song
Ata Totax ‫תח‬
ָ ‫תֹו‬
ּ ‫תה‬ ָּ ‫א‬
ַ
Performer: Sarit Hadad ‫עת‬
ַ‫צ‬ַּ ‫מַב‬
ְ : ‫שִרית ָחָדד‬
ָׂ
Lyrics: Yosi Gispen ‫מִּלים‬ִ : ‫יֹוִסי גיספן‬
Music: An Uzbeg folk song
Translation * Transliteration
You’re the best ata totax ‫ַאָּתה ּתֹוָתח‬
There no one like eyin, eyn alexa ‫ֵאין‬, ‫ֵאין ָעֶליָך‬
you meta alex ‫ֵמָתה ָעֶליָך‬
I love you ata hagadol mikulam ‫ַאָּתה ַהָּגדֹול ִמֻּכָּלם‬
You’re the greatest
* Every line in this love song contains a slang phrase:

‫תח‬
ָ ‫תֹו‬
ּ ‫תה‬
ָּ ‫א‬
ַ
Totax literally means “a canon”, but when referring to someone as a “totax”, one actually means “someone who’s the
best in his field” (in this case the field of love).

‫עֶליָך‬
ָ ‫אין‬
ֵ
Eyn alexa says the same thing in different words – you’re the best / no one is better than you.

‫עֶליָך‬
ָ ‫תה‬
ָ‫מ‬ֵ
Meta alexa literally means “I’m dying about you”. The actual meaning is “I love you / I adore you”.

‫מֻּכָּלם‬
ִ ‫הָּגדֹול‬
ַ ‫תה‬
ָּ ‫א‬
ַ
Ata hagadol mikulam means that you’re the greatest

Tu biShvat WordSearch
See if you can find all of the words in the puzzle below:

Weekly Hebrew Name

‫שִרית‬
ָׂ
Name:Sarit Gender:female Time Of Appearance:The Modern Era
Meaning:The name "Sarit" is probably derived from the name "Sarah".

‫יֹוִסי‬
Name:Yossi
Gender:Male
Time Of Appearance:The Modern EraMeaning:"Yossi" is the pet name derived from the name "Yosef" ("Joseph").
Shalom,
On Tu BiShvat (‫שָבט"ט‬ ְׁ ‫ )ו ִּב‬we celebrate the New Year of the trees and the fruits, by planting trees or eating dried fruits from the Land of
Israel. It is also a good time to think about the special relationship between us, human beings, and the trees or nature in general.
In the book of Deuteronomy (20:19) it is written that a man is the tree of the field:

(‫שֶד‬
ָּׂ ‫ְּדָבִרים כ( "הִּכי ָהָאָדם ֵעץ ַה‬, ‫ט"י‬
There truly is much resemblance between the life of a tree and the life of a person, beginning as a fertilized seed and needing much care
and support in their first days. As they grow, they develop roots and produce their own fruits/babies. Eventually, man, just like the tree
dies.
The Hebrew language expresses the similarity between man and the tree by using the same terminology for both human beings and
trees: ‫( ְצִמיָחה‬tsmixa, growth), ‫( ִהְתַּפְּתחּות‬hitpatxut, development), ‫( ְּפִריָחה‬prixa, bloom), ‫( ְקִמיָלה‬kmila, withering).
Remembering how similar we are, how dependent we are on each other, and how precious our relationship is, gives this special holiday
a deeper meaning.

Happy Tu Bi’Shvat!
!‫שֵמַח "ט‬
ָׂ ‫שָבט‬
ְׁ ‫ו ִּב‬
Shira Cohen-Regev
The HebrewOnline Team
January 27, 2010

‫עץ‬
ֵ ׁ ‫שֶר‬
‫ש‬ ֹׁ ‫ֶּגַזע‬
Transcription: ets Transcription: shoresh Transcription: geza ‫עָנף‬
ָ
Part of speech: Noun, Part of speech: Noun, Part of speech: Noun, Transcription: anaf
Masculine Masculine masculine Part of speech: Noun,
Translation: tree Translation: root, Translation: trunk, Masculine
source stem, stump Translation: branch

A Talmudic Story
An old man planted a tree. A young man passing by asked him:
“What are you planting?” The old man answered that he was planting a carob (‫ָחרּוב‬, xaruv) tree.
“Don’t you know that it takes 70 years for a carob tree to produce fruit? You won’t live to enjoy it!”
The old man said: “Others planted for me and I plant for the generations to come.”

Man and Tree in the Bible

The bible uses the traits of trees to describe human beings; for example, a righteous person (‫ַצִּדיק‬, tsadik) is as strong as a
tree planted on a source of water:
(“‫שתּול ְּכֵעץ ְוָהָיה‬
ָׁ ‫שר ַעל ַּפְלֵגי‬
ֶׁ ‫שר ִּפְריֹו ִיֵּתן ְּבִעּתֹו ְוָעֵלהּו ֹלא ַמִים ֲא‬
ֶׁ ‫שה ַיְצִליַח ִיּבֹול ְוָכל ֹא‬
ֶׂ ‫א ְּתִהִּלים( "ַיֲע‬,‫ג‬
"And he shall be like a tree planted by streams of water,
that bringeth forth its fruit in its season, and whose leaf doth not wither; and in whatsoever he doeth he shall prosper."
(Psalms 1:3)
The righteous person is also compared to the stable palm and cedar trees:
(“‫שֶּגה ִיְפַרח ְּכֶאֶרז ַצִּדיק ְּכָתָמר‬
ְׁ ‫ְּתִהִּלים צב( “ַּבְלָבנֹון ִי‬, ’‫ג‬
"The righteous shall flourish like the palm-tree; he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon." (Psalms 92:13)

Tu biShvat Song
‫שִבים‬
ָׂ ‫ע‬
ֲ‫ה‬ָ ‫שיַרת‬ ִׁ Song of the Weeds
‫מִּלים‬
ִ : ‫שֶמר‬
ֶׁ ‫שָרַאת ר ָנֳעִמי‬ ְׁ ‫ַנְחָמן ִמְּבֶרְסָלב ‘ְּבַה‬
‫חן‬ַ ‫ַל‬:‫שֶמר ‘ָנֳעִמ‬ ֶׁ
Reb Nachman of Bratslav saw nature as a source of spiritual inspiration. When walking through the countryside he once
told his companion that the weeds sing and praise G-d and their singing is so beautiful and honest that it feels very good
to worship G-d among them. He later elaborated on the fact that each weed and every creation on earth has its special
“melody” and we should all be sensitive to the melodies of others.
In 1976 Neomi Shemer wrote and composed the following song inspired by Reb Nachman’s words.
 Translation Transliteration

You should know da lexa ‫ַּדע ְלָך‬

That every shepherd shekol ro’e vero’e ‫שָּכל רֹוֶעה ְורֹוֶעה‬ ֶׁ
Has a special melody yesh lo nigun meyuxad ‫ש לֹו ִנּגּון ְמיּוָחד‬ ׁ ‫ֵי‬
Of his own mishelo ‫שּלֹו‬ ֶׁ ‫ִמ‬
You should know da lexa ‫ַּדע ְלָך‬
That every weed shekol esev ve’esev ‫שב‬ֶׂ ‫שב ְוֵע‬ ֶׂ ‫שָּכל ֵע‬ ֶׁ
Has a special song yesh lo shira meyuxedet ‫שיָרה ְמיּוֶחֶדת‬ ִׁ ‫ש לֹו‬ ׁ ‫ֵי‬
Of his own mishelo ‫שּלֹו‬ ֶׁ ‫ִמ‬
And from the song of the weeds umishirat ha’asavim ‫שִבים‬ ָׂ ‫שיַרת ָהֲע‬ ִׁ ‫ּוִמ‬
Becomes a melody na’ase nigun ‫שה ִנּגּון‬ ֶׂ ‫ַנֲע‬
Of a shepherd shel ro’e ‫של רֹוֶעה‬ ֶׁ

Tu biShvat WordSearch
See if you can find all of the words in the puzzle below:

‫ֶאֶרז‬, ‫ֶּגַזע‬, ‫ִהְתַּפְּתחּות‬, ‫ָחרּוב‬, ‫ָעָנף‬, ‫ֵעץ‬, ‫שב‬

ֶׂ ‫ֵע‬, ‫ְּפִריָחה‬, ‫ַצִּדיק‬, ‫ְצִמיָחה‬, ‫קְִמיָלה‬, ‫ש‬
ׁ ‫שֶר‬
ֹׁ , ‫ָּתָמר‬

Tu biShvat Names
‫מר‬
ָ‫ת‬ָּ
Name:Tamar Gender:female Time Of Appearance:The Biblical Era Meaning:Palm tree; date.
History:There are three women in the bible named Tamar: Judah’s daughter in law, Absalom’s sister and Absalom’s
daughter. Citation: “And it came to pass after this that Absalom the son of David had a fair sister whose name was
Tamar, and Amnon the son of David loved her.” 2 Samuel 13, 1

‫אֶרז‬
ֶ
Name:Erez Gender:Male Time Of Appearance:The Modern Era Meaning:Cedar tree. Grows in the mountains of
Lebanon. Was used in constructing the Temple
Eighty years ago, on July 13th 1930 (‫ תר"צ‬,‫מּוז‬
ּ‫ת‬
ַ ‫ )י"ז ְּב‬on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, an Israeli musician was born
– her name was Naomi Shemer (Sapir). Naomi was the daughter of Rivka and Yosef Sapir, who helped found a Kibbutz
called Kvutzat Kinneret.
In the years to come, Naomi Shemer (‫מר‬ ֶ‫ש‬ ֶׁ ‫מי‬
ִ‫ע‬
ֳ ‫ )ָנ‬became the "first lady of Israeli song and music". Shemer composed
music for her own lyrics, as-well-as others. She translated and adapted well-known songs into Hebrew in such an
excellent manner that many Israelis believe that these are original Hebrew songs.
Naomi Shemer songs related to many historical and national as-well-as private and intimate events. Her lyrics related to
the Jewish and Israeli culture and tradition with many biblical references. Her famous song Yerushalyim shel Zahav (
‫הב‬ָ ‫של ָז‬
ֶׁ ‫שַלִים‬
ָׁ ‫ְירּו‬, Jerusalem of Gold) was written just before the Six-Day-War (1967), describing the Jewish people's
2000-year longing to return to Jerusalem. Three weeks later, when the Old City of Jerusalem was redeemed from the
Jordanians and Jerusalem was unified, the song became something of a national anthem. Six years later, During the Yom-
Kippur War (1973) Naomi Shemer gave a Hebrew interpretation to the well-know song of the Beatles “Let it be". In her
song “Lu Yehi” (‫הי‬ ִ ‫)לּו ְי‬, she described the national mood during the war and added some words of peaceful hope. The
song soon became the musical icon of the Yom-Kippur War.
A year after the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Shemer translated the song of the American poet Walt
Whitman "O Captain! My Captain!" (‫בל‬ ֵ ‫ ַרב חֹו‬,‫ )הֹו‬and composed it. Whitman wrote this song after the assassination of
Abraham Lincoln and Shemer dedicated it to Rabin.
Shemer wrote for children and adults, she wrote about her personal experience (like growing next to the Kinneret in the
well known-song “Xurshat Ha’Ekaliptus”) and about the national wishes (rebuilding the temple, building the country).
Her songs are loved and valued by the whole society, as they touch the hearts of every soul. The State of Israel awarded
her the state’s highest honor – The Israel Prize (‫אל‬ ֵ ‫שָר‬
ְׂ ‫ְּפַרס ִי‬, Pras Yisrael) for her contribution to Hebrew Song and
Music.
Naomi Shemer died of cancer on June 26th 2004 (‫ תשס"ד‬,‫מּוז‬
ּ‫ת‬
ַ ‫ְּב‬ '‫ )ז‬and was buried next to her parents in Kvutzat
Kinneret.
‫שלֹום‬ ֱ!
ָׁ ‫היּו‬
Heyu Shalom!
Farewell!
Shira Cohen-Regev
The HebrewOnline Team
July 21, 2010

Naomi Shemer Song

It’s sad to die in mid-Tamuz ‫מּוז‬
ּ‫ת‬
ַּ ‫ה‬
ַ ‫צע‬
ַ‫מ‬ְ‫א‬
ֶ ‫עצּוב ָלמּות ְּב‬
ָ
In the late 1970s Naomi Shemer faced a life-saving operation. She was unsure that she would survive this operation and wrote a song
describing how sad it is to die in the middle of the Hebrew month of Tamuz. The operation was successful and she had more than 20
fruitful years to live after it. The song became tragically authentic when she actually died in the middle of the month of Tamuz.

Translation Transliteration
‫ָעצּוב ָלמּות ְּבֶאְמַצע‬
It’s sad to die in mid-Tamuz Atsuv lamut be’emtsa ‫ַהַּתּמּוז‬
Summer’s flags are highly raised hatamuz ‫שִאים‬ ָּׂ ‫ִּדְגֵלי ַהַּקִיץ ִנ‬
On top of the pole a dove is Digley hakayitz nisa’im el-al ‫ֶאל ָעל‬
cooing – it will not cease Al rosh hatoren tor homme ‫ש ַהֹּתֶרן ּתֹור‬ ׁ ‫ַעל ֹרא‬
For upon thy summer fruits and velo yexdal
upon thy harvest the battle shout Ki al keytsex ve’al ktsirex ‫הֹוֶמה ְוֹלא ֶיְחַּדל‬
is fallen. heydad nafal ‫ִּכי ַעל ֵקיֵצְך ְוַעל‬
‫ְקִציֵרְך ֵהיָדד ָנַפל‬.
Weekly Hebrew Words
‫הב‬
ָ ‫ָז‬
Transcription: zahav Part of speech: Noun, Masculine Translation: gold
‫מּוז‬
ּ‫ת‬ַּ
Transcription: tamuz Part of speech: Noun, Masculine Translation: 10th month of the Hebrew year
‫ַרב חֹוֵבל‬
Transcription: rav-xovel Part of speech: Noun, Masculine Translation: captain (of ship)
‫חיָנה‬
ִ ‫מְל‬
ַ
Transcription: malxina Part of speech: Noun, Feminine Translation: composer, songwriter
Weekly Hebrew WordSearch (‫)ִּתְפֹזֶרת‬
See if you can find all of the words in the puzzle below:
‫ָזָהב‬, ‫שַלִים‬
ָׁ ‫ְירּו‬, ‫שָרֵאל‬
ְׂ ‫ִי‬, ‫לּו ְיִהי‬, ‫ַמְלִחיָנה‬, ‫שֶמר‬
ֶׁ ‫ָנֳעִמי‬, ‫ַרב חֹוֵבל‬, ‫ַּתּמּוז‬

Weekly Hebrew Names

‫מי‬
ִ‫ע‬ֳ ‫ָנ‬
Name: Naomi (No'omi) Gender: Female Time Of Appearance: The Biblical Era History: The mother in
law of Ruth the Moabitess. After Ruth's husband's death, she stayed with her mother in law. "And Ruth
said: Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee, for whither thou goest, I will go
and where thou lodgest, I will lodge, thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God. Where thou
diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part
thee and me." Ruth 1, 16-17. Citation: "And Elimelech Naomi’s husband died, and she was left and her
two sons. And they took them wives of the women of Moab, the name of the one was Orpah, and the name
of the other Ruth." Ruth 1, 3-4
‫מר‬
ֶ‫ש‬ֶׁ
Name: Shemer Gender: Male Time Of Appearance: The Biblical Era Meaning: The name "Shemer" is
derived of the verb "‫( "לשמור‬lishmor, "keep", "guard", "protect"). History: There are several people in the
Bible called "Shemer". One of them was the owner of the hill of Samaria, before Omri, the king of Israel,
bought it from him. Citation: "And he bought the hill Samaria of Shemer for two talents of silver, and built
on the hill, and called the name of the city which he built, after the name of Shemer, owner of the hill,
Samaria." 1 Kings 16, 24