Arts & Culture

The true story of a made-up Mossad operative

“Unlike their front-line soldier counterparts, these secret soldiers are armed with nothing but a foreign passport, a fake identity, extensive training, and inexplicable courage.”

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Charge Up Your Hebrew Right Here

Today’s root – “ta’an” – means “loaded” or “charged,” like charging a phone. But it can also mean “claimed” or “complained.”

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Mosquito: Roy Chen’s mini-metamorphosis

“Tel Aviv grinned like a little girl with tooth decay while she puffed on a pipe held in the corner of her mouth.”

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Celebrating 3 Years of Streetwise Hebrew!

From basketball, to math, beer and music, learn some of the many uses of the number three in Hebrew. Plus we even get to hear some iconic Israeli poetry.

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Buczacz: A city in its fullness

“What did Fishl say when he saw the fish? He said, ‘The Leviathan knows that Fishl Karp loves large fish and sent him what he loves.'”

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Al Tagzim! Exaggerate? Moi?

In Israel you’ll come across plenty of people who get carried away, overreact to things, or go over the top. What should you say to these people in Hebrew?

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The teacher is in! Arabic lessons with a difference

Meet Haneen, 12 years old, and her siblings and cousins. They’re from Hebron district in the West Bank, one of the most volatile areas in the region.

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Streetwise Hebrew Gets Double Negative

After some Hebrew words like “klum” (“nothing”) or “af pa’am” (“never”) we also have to use “lo” (“no”). So, unlike in English, we use two negation words.

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“Did you pack it yourself?”

“Of all the questions / to ask: Did you pack it yourself? / Yes, by myself. / It was hard, I said, / but it is harder to fear that it will never come.”

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