Hello one and all!

I hope that the festive period was pleasant for you all.

I am writing this post amidst great emotion and not because of what happened with Gilad Shallit which needs a post in itself (there is no need to tell you how excited and happy everyone here is). I am excited because of something that I heard on the radio today.

“The Israeli government plans to begin a green campaign for the Israeli industry.” Why am I so excited? For many reasons. First of all I am happy to hear that the state of Israel understands the importance of being “green” in industry. This is indeed an important point. But also, this is a problem that we Hebrew teachers have, I got excited when I heard in the news this morning a new verb!

It is true that I have already talked about the new verbs that we use day to day due to the evolving language, and it is true that I have already posed about it but it still is exciting. It is even more exciting that in the news this morning they chose to speak entirely in Hebrew and say: לירק (meaning to become more environmentally friendly/ go green) instead of choosing to use a foreign word.

And if we are already dealing with the news this morning (I’m not saying which station), I am happy to say that on the same station and the same radio personality, they are always careful to say כרוכית instead of @which in slang is called a strudel because it looks like the strudel pastry.

Here, we begin the discussion that accompanies us as Israelis and I would be happy to hear what you think: Does the love of the Hebrew language have to be absolute without any external influences? Is it the case that if the academy has found, after much deliberation and anguish, a Hebrew word to replace a foreign word that we have got accustomed  to using in the local dialect, must we warmly embrace this new word and stop to use the word we have used up until this point?

Osnat

The Jewish month of Tishrey, a month of mercy and forgiveness.

"וואו! איזו גלידה מטורפת שחבל על הזמן!" "Wow! What crazy ice cream, it's a waste of time!"

Sometimes we hear Israelis saying things that are not only confusing, but contradicting. Are they trying to say that the ice cream is good or bad?! "מטורף" (meh-tor-af), crazy, is not a positive word, like insanity, it refers to the mental illness that would not want to experience, especially on their ice cream. But, the tone in which "מטורף" (meh-tor-af) is used indicates something positive. How confusing! And what is with the phrase "חבל על הזמן" (chaval al hazman), a waste of time. It is a waste of time to eat crazy ice cream? And that's a good thing?

Like all languages, Hebrew encounters words with double meanings where the two meanings can even contradict each other. This happens most often in slang.

Some other examples:

"אוי, השמלה שלך משגעת" (Oy, ha-simla shelach meshugat)

"אני חולה עלייך" (Ani Cholah Aleycha)

"אני מתה על שוקולד!" (Ani metah al shokolad!)

Leading up to the high holidays, the days we call "הימים הנוראים" (hayamim hanora'im), the Days of Awe, I thought about the word "נורא" (no-ra).

"אל תדאגי, זה לא נורא" (Don't worry, it's not terrible), "מה קרה לך, אתה נראה נורא!" (What happened to you, you look terrible!) These are two examples of expressions containing the word "נורא" (nora) that we hear every day. So, why do we use the same word to describe "הימים הנוראים", the Days of Awe? Are these days so bad? During these days, we deeply judge ourselves and think about the ways we have darkened our world in the past year. What is so bad about these days, the days which are described as the most spiritual and holy?

We are so used to hearing the word "נורא" (nora) in a negative context that we forget its original meaning. We use "נורא" (nora) as a superlative and as an adjective.

"הוא נורא מתוק!" He is so sweet! "זה נורא יפה" That is so pretty.

Here, we can see "נורא" (nora) with a neutral meaning without negative or positive connotations.

This same word is also able to be used as an adjective, like in the phrase, "הימים הנוראים" Days of Awe. So where does that come from? The root of the word, "נורא" is י.ר.א., sharing its root with the word "יראה", fear. As we sing in the song Aishet Chayal " אישה יראת ה' היא תתהלל" (a G-d-fearing woman, she should be praised). A woman who understands the greatness and power of G-d is one who deserves praise. So what is "יראה?" The fear that comes from within love, because of the size of the matter. The Days of Awe are very important and immense, just as we describe G-d. Every Friday night we say " האל הגדול והגיבור והנורא..." The great, the mighty and the awe-inspiring… "נורא" here is defined as awe-inspiring, now in a passive form of the root י.ר.א.

Wishing all of you a place in the book of life and an easy fast.

Osnat