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Hebrew to English
Translating Hebrew words into English. How you say and spell Hebrew language words and phrases in the English language.
1,276 Questions
What does the word bar mitzvah mean in English?
A ceremony in Judaism to signify the initiation of a Jewish girl (at the age of 12) into adulthood in Judaism, and shows the beginning of full religious responsibility.
Bat mitzva is for girlsand Bar mitzva is for boys.
Bar Mitzvah (Hebrew: בר מצוה) and Bat Mitzvah (Hebrew: בת מצוה) are Jewish coming of age rituals. Bar "בר" is a Jewish Babylonian Aramaic word meaning son, in Hebrew it's Ben "בן". Bat "בת" is Hebrew for girl, and Mitzvah "מצוה" is a commandment and a law. According to Jewish law, when Jewish boys become 13, they become responsible for their actions and become a Bar Mitzvah (plural: B'nai Mitzvah). The age for girls is 12.
Some Jews do eat pork. Those who choose to avoid it typically do so in observance
of the "kosher" laws, whose origin appears explicitly in the text of the Torah (Bible).
Why is shalom sometimes spelled differently?
"Shalom" is sometimes spelled differently in English because it is not an English word. It is a Hebrew word. The letters and sounds in Hebrew differ from those in English, so there is some variation in how to transliterate the words from one language to the other.
You might see a variation like "sholom" - but it means the same thing and refers to the same word as "shalom."
The most common spelling is "shalom."
When someone says mazel tov how do you respond?
When someone says "mazel tov," the appropriate response is to say "thank you" or "mazel tov" back to them. "Mazel tov" is a Hebrew and Yiddish phrase used to offer congratulations or good wishes, particularly in Jewish celebrations such as weddings, bar/bat mitzvahs, or other joyous occasions. It is a way to express happiness and blessings for the person being congratulated.
The Kaddish is a vigorous declaration of faith. It is one of the most beautiful, deeply-significant and spiritually moving prayers in the Jewish liturgy. It is an ancient Aramaic prose-poem, a litany whose word-music, strong rhythms, stirring sounds, and alternating responses of leader and congregation, cast sheer hypnotic power over the listeners. It has well been noted that the Kaddish is the echo of Job in the prayerbook : "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him." It is a call to God from the depths of catastrophe, exalting His name and praising Him, despite the realization that He has just wrenched a human being from life. Kaddish is a response from the sub-vaults of the soul almost a primitive, mesmerized response to the sacred demand to sanctify Almighty God. Its passionate recitation has inspired a "healthy, cheerful manliness" in a time of deep sorrow.
What does the Hebrew word bevakasha mean?
Bevakasha ֻ(בבקשה) literally means "in a request". It is used for "please" and "you're welcome".
Mazel Tov, or Mazal Tov, is a Hebrew or Yiddish term. It is a Jewish word for congratulations, literally "good luck" (has occurred). Mazal = Luck
Tov = Good
It literally means "good luck", but it's used for "congratulations".
Going way back, it's interesting to notice that the constellations, particularly those of the zodiac,
are known in Hebrew as the "mah-zah-LOTE", singular "mah-ZAHL". It's pretty clear that way back
in the day, when you wished someone "mazal tov", you were wishing him "good constellations",
or "good horoscope".
What does the Hebrew word 'nehadar' mean in English?
In every-day Hebrew, it means great, or wonderful
What does the Hebrew word 'Dayenu' mean?
The basic idea is to recognize all that G-d did for the Israelites in leading us out of Egypt. Thus, we say, if G-d had led us out of Egypt, that would have been enough to make us grateful, but look at all these other things he did to help us, so we should be superthankful to Him.
Dayenu (or Dayeinu) is a song/poem that is part of the Passover Haggadah, which is recited at the Seder.
The word "dayenu" is Hebrew for "it is enough for us" or "we would have been satisfied." The song lists the miracles that G-d performed for the Jewish people, and gifts bestowed upon them, during the time of the Exodus from Egypt and immediately after. After each item, we say "dayenu."
The song follows the format "If G-d had done x and not done y, dayenu. If G-d had done y and not done z, dayenu," and so on. This detailed itemizing is an expression of gratitude for blessings received, and it helps to inculcate a mindset of thankfulness that is appropriate outside the confines of the Seder as well.
There are a number of languages associated with Judaism. The most common are:
1. Hebrew
2. Aramaic
3. Yiddish
4. Ladino
Here is a more complete list of Jewish languages, including some very rare ones, grouped by language families:
Semitic: Hebrew, Aramaic (referred to as Jewish Aramaic or Talmudic Aramaic), Jewish Babylonian Aramaic, Neo-Aramaic (dialects include: Lishanid Noshan, Lishanid Janan, Lishana Noshan, Lishana Deni, Lishan Didan), Judeo-Arabic (many dialects, including: Judeo-Iraqi - all are qeltu Arabic dialects), Judeo-Moroccan, Judeo-Yemenite, Judeo-Libyan, Judeo-Algerian, also several Judeo-Arabic dialects spoken in northern Syria and Iraq.
Berber: Judeo-Berber
Cushitic: Kayla (Qwara), Kaïliña
Germanic: Yiddish, Yinglish, Yeshivish, Klezmer-loshn, Judendeutsch (German in Hebrew characters which the Rothschilds communicated with), "Scots Yiddish"
Italic: Judeo-Latin and its putative descendants, the Judeo-Romance languages: Ladino, Shuadit (Judeo-Provençal), Zarphatic (Judeo-French), Judeo-Portuguese, Judeo-Italian, Judeo-Piedmontese, Bagitto (Jewish Livornese dialect), Catalanic (Judeo-Catalan), Judeo-Aragonese
Slavic: Knaanic (Judeo-Czech)
Greek: Yevanic (Judeo-Greek)
Indo-Iranian (Judeo-Persian languages and Indo-Aryan languages): Dzhidi (Judeo-Persian), Bukhori, Judeo-Golpaygani, Judeo-Yazdi, Judeo-Kermani, Judeo-Shirazi, Judeo-Esfahani, Judeo-Hamedani, Judeo-Kashani, Judeo-Borujerdi, Judeo-Nehevandi, Judeo-Khunsari, Juhuri language(Judeo-Tat), Judeo-Marathi
Turkic: Krymchak (Judeo-Tartar), Karaim language (Spoken by the Karaites of Crimea and Lithuania)
Kartvelian: Gruzinic
Dravidian: Judeo-Malayalam
What does the Hebrew word Tefillah mean?
The word tfila (תפילה) means "prayer" or "praying"
In English, this word can be spelled:
- Tefillah
- T'fillah
- Tfillah
- Tfilah
- Tfila
What does the Hebrew word tebuah mean?
tebuah is not a Hebrew word, but it sounds like tvu'ah (תבו××”) which means "cereal grain" or maybe tibuah (טיבוע) which means "sinking"
What language is mo'adim lesimkha?
Mo'adim L'simkha (מועדים לשמחה) is Hebrew, and it means "occasions of joy"
What does the Hebrew word Shema mean?
The Shema prayer is said by Jews twice a day, once in the morning prayers and once in the evening prayers. It is also said right before going to sleep.
The prayer is actually a collection of 3 distinct portions taken from the Torah. The first which begins "Shema Yisrael", is from Deuteronomy 6. The second which begins "V'Haya Im Shamoa" is from Deut. 11, and the third is from Numbers 15.
Essentially the meaning of the prayer is for a Jew to accept the yolk of heaven upon himself each and every day. The beginning of the prayer states that the Lord is our G-d and He is One. Jews are commanded to love G-d with all our hearts, souls and possessions. The second portion states the reward for following in G-d's path and the punishment for not. The 3rd portion spells out the commandment of wearing Tzitit (a Talit), and reminds us that G-d took us out of Egyptian bondage.
The prayer is repeated before going to sleep so that it should be the last thing on a person's mind before retiring for the night. This is also said with a special bracha called "HaMapil".
When a person wakes up in the morning, the first thing he says is the prayer of Modeh Ani that thanks G-d for giving us our souls back as we awake for a new day.
What does the hebrew word hanukkah mean?
Hanukkah (חנוכה) means "dedication" or "rededication". It is the name of a Jewish holiday that is sometimes called "The festival of lights" in English.
It celebrates when the Jewish nation (under the leadership of the Hasmoneans) re-dedicated the Temple in Jerusalem.
The Seleucids (Syrian-Greeks) under Antiochus Epiphanes (2nd century BCE), at the instigation of the Hellenizers, had forbidden various Torah-practices in Judea, such as Sabbath-observance and circumcision, rededicated the Temple to a Greek idol, and pressed the Jews to offer up idolatrous sacrifices. Despite being heavily outnumbered, the Hasmoneans (a family of religious Jews) fought to retake the Holy Temple, which had been seized by the Seleucids, and to enable the people to once again observe the Torah. The Hasmoneans (also called Maccabees) were miraculously victorious. When they reached the Temple grounds, they immediately reconsecrated it to God. As part of this action, they relit the Menorah (Exodus ch.25), which was fueled with olive oil. However, it soon became apparent that there was only sufficient oil to keep the candelabra burning for one single day - and it would take eight days to make and bring some more.
Miraculously, the menorah stayed lit for eight days (Talmud, Shabbat 21b), allowing enough time for new oil to be prepared and brought.
The significance of the miracle is that it demonstrated that God's presence still dwelt in the Holy Temple. This is what Hanukkah represents: the closeness to God; and the avoidance of Hellenization (assimilation).
The Torah Sages instituted the festival of Hanukkah at that time (Talmud, Shabbat 21b), to publicize the miracle (Rashi commentary, ibid). This is why we light our Hanukkah-menorahs.
What does Torah translate to in English?
Look in the bookstore in the Judaism section for a book labled "Tanakh". It is the Old Testament. Since you probably already have a Bible, read the Old Testament. Torah itself is the first five books in the Bible, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
The following answers and opinions from our community refer to the tetragrammaton, or four letter name, which is believed to be pronounced Yahweh, sometimes translated into English as Jehovah:
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The holiest name the Jews ever had for G-d was never spoken aloud (except on Yom Kippur by the High Priest alone in the innermost sanctum of the Holy Temple). Since Hebrew is written without vowels, we don't know how precisely it was pronounced in ancient times. All we have is the consonants, in what is known as the tetragrammaton: YHVH (Hebrew yod-heh-vav-heh).
Early Christian theologians inserted vowels into this to produce 'yahweh' and 'jehovah'. Neither is ever used by observant Jews, who even omit the vowel when writing the English word "G-d" out of respect for this tradition. When Jews read the Torah aloud in the synagogue, whenever they come to YHVH, they say "Adonai," meaning "Lord."
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Basically, when God says, "I am that I am," he is giving the translation of what the word "Yahweh" means. (Literally, "I am that I am" = Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh, Exod. 3:14.) In other words, he is saying "My name is the fact that I exist." Etymologically, the word "Yahweh" is related to words that mean "to be" or "to create."
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Yahweh - Yahweh is the Hebrew God worshipped exclusively when the Hebrews became monotheists, some time after 1000 BCE. This is the God in the Hebrew Bible (what Christians call the Old Testament). The Hebrews believe that if they place their trust in Yahweh, then they will be provided for. The name "Yahweh" is often rendered "Jehovah." The Hebrew alphabet has no vowels (a,e,i,o,u). Since God is un-nameable, the Hebrews assigned the consonants YHWH as label for their god. By adding vowels (modern alphabet) the name YaHWeH, and YeHoWaH (Jehovah) was arrived at.
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Yahweh is the spelling of God's name (in the Roman alphabet) accepted by most non-Jewish scholars. Jehovah is considered incorrect by philologists.
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The name Yahweh appears to be a finite causative verb from the Northwest Semitic root hwy, which means 'to be, to come into being' which would mean that the divine name would mean 'He causes to be, or exist,' i.e. 'He creates.' Apparently Amorite personal names after 2000 BC lend support to this Haupt-Albright view, 'demonstrating that the employment of the causative stem yahweh was in vogue in the liguistic background of early Hebrew.'
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Source: Ungers Bible Dictionary p1375. Because Jews ceased to say the name YHVH aloud since before the Common Era, the pronunciation was lost and with it the knowledge of what vowels were implied in this four-consonant word, the tetragrammaton. Because ancient Hebrew used a W sound, rather than a V (vav), most scholars prefer to write the tetragrammaton as YHWH. From the poetic books of the scriptures, they believe it was pronounced 'Yahweh', and this spelling is commonly used in English translations, as well as the derivative, Jehovah.
What the meaning of Av on the Hebrew calendar?
Av is the 5th Month of the year on the Hebrew calendar. It usually occurs in June or July
