The word Sho’a, holocaust, used to be a sacred word. Not anymore. Like many loaded words, we used and reused it. Now you can hear people using Sho’a in totally different contexts.

Coffee culture is everywhere in Israel. Get your caffeine fix with StreetWise Hebrew.

Lama ma kara can be literally translated as “why what happened.” What do we mean by this expression and how do you use it?

How do you say I’m tired, beat, drained, knackered, and the like in colloquial Hebrew? And what do you say when you crash on a Tel Avivi couch?

Elohim means God in Hebrew. Why does it have a plural suffix at the end? Is it really plural in Modern Hebrew? How do we use elohim in Israeli slang, and what did we borrow from Arabic?

Ayin means eye in Hebrew. How do we say ‘eyes’? What happens in Arabic? What do you call the evil eye? And how do you say ‘The apple of my eye’ in Hebrew?

Let’s talk about trains in Hebrew. What’s the root of rakevet, how is it related to horse riding, and what do we call the Jerusalem Light rail in Hebrew and in Arabic?

Careless improvisation is a well-developed art in Israel. The Hebrew word for it – itself an improvisation of sorts – is the focus of this episode.