Introduction 1
About This Book 1
Foolish Assumptions 2
How This Book Is Organized 3
Part 1: Getting Started 3
Part 2: Hebrew in Action 3
Part 3: Hebrew on the Go 4
Part 4: Israeli Life 4
Part 5: Sacred Hebrew 4
Part 6: The Part of Tens 4
Appendixes 4
Icons Used in This Book 5
Beyond the Book 5
Where to Go from Here 6
Part 1: Getting Started With Hebrew 7
Chapter 1: You Already Know Some Hebrew 9
Taking Stock of What’s Familiar 10
Speaking Hebrew Like a Native 12
Stressing out (not) 12
Getting out the gutturals 13
Opening your mouth to say “Ah!” 14
Counting in Hebrew 14
Counting objects 15
Counting higher 15
Recognizing Tips to Help You Read Hebrew 18
Figuring out the Hebrew alphabet’s shapes, sounds, and stories 18
Reading and writing from right to left 23
Chapter 2: The Nitty-Gritty: Basic Hebrew Grammar 27
Making Sense of Hebrew Syntax 28
Putting your sentences in order 28
Questioning 29
Recognizing Parts of Speech 30
Naming nouns 30
Perfecting your pronouns 32
Applying adjectives 36
Pinpointing Hebrew verbs 37
Detecting adverbs 40
Spotting prepositions 41
Understanding Gender and Number 42
Chapter 3: Shalom, Shalom!: Meeting and Greeting 45
Greeting and Saying Goodbye 46
Greeting all day long 46
Replying to a greeting 47
Putting a name to a face 49
Making Grand Introductions 51
Introducing yourself 51
Introducing others 51
Getting Better Acquainted 54
Finding out who speaks English 54
Talking about where you come from 56
Chatting about how you feel 57
Extending and Responding to Invitations 58
Asking Questions: The Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How 59
Asking yes or no questions 60
Forming negative questions 60
Part 2: Hebrew In Action 63
Chapter 4: Getting to Know You: Making Small Talk 65
Shootin’ the Breeze 65
Talking About Yourself and Your Family 67
Chatting About the Weather 69
Six Days You Shall Labor: Talking About Work 73
Getting Addresses, Phone Numbers, Email, and Instagram/ Twitter handles 76
Asking and telling where you live 76
Asking and giving a phone number, email address, or Instagram handle 77
Chapter 5: Eat! Eat! You’re So Thin! 81
Jewish Love Means Never Having to Say “I’m Hungry” 81
Quieting a growling stomach 83
Taming a wild thirst 83
Getting Down to Business: Food, Glorious Food! 84
Starting the day with breakfast 84
Enjoying lunch 86
Eating dinner 86
Raiding the refrigerator 87
Going to Shabbat dinner 88
Chefing it up at home 89
Matching Adjectives and Nouns 90
Taking Your Grocery List to the Market 95
Going Out for a Bite 98
Chapter 6: Going Shopping 105
Exploring Places to Shop 105
Selecting the Perfect Outfit 106
Styling Your Clothes around the Seasons 111
Fall fashion 111
The winter look 111
Spring attire 113
Summer wear 113
Sweatin’ it out in the summer 113
Color Me Beautiful 117
The Israeli Fashion Scene 117
Getting More (and Less) Than You Bargained For 118
Making comparisons 118
Speaking in hyperbole 119
Chapter 7: Having Fun Hebrew Style 121
Counting the Hours and Minutes 121
Telling time like an American 121
Knowing the time of day 123
Relating time to the past, present, and future 123
Discovering the Days in a Week 128
Catching Some Culture 128
Visiting museums and art galleries 129
Going to the movies 129
Enjoying live entertainment: Music and theater 130
The Israeli Music Scene 135
The Animals Went on the Ark Two by Two: Visiting the Zoo! 136
Spicing Up Your Sentences with Adverbs 137
Chapter 8: Enjoying Your Free Time: Hobbies, Sports, and Other Fun Activities 141
Chatting About Your Hobbies 141
Amassing an amazing collection 142
Creating things with your hands 142
Playing and Watching Sports 146
Kickin’ to score in soccer 146
Shooting for three in basketball 147
Swinging away at baseball 147
Taking a dip in the pool 149
Working up a sweat playing other sports 149
Venturing Outdoors for Some Fun 152
Boogieing Till You Drop 153
Chapter 9: Talking on the Phone 157
Dialing Up the Basics 158
Finding someone’s number 158
Telling someone to call you 158
Socializing in fake time (also known as social media) 159
Asking for People and Getting the Message 160
Leaving a message 161
Dealing with voicemail and other annoyances 163
Making Arrangements over the Phone 165
Talking About the Past: How Was Your Shabbat? 166
Chapter 10: At the Office and Around the House 171
Finding Your Way Around Your Job 171
Supplying your office 172
Searching for the perfect job 174
Working from Home 178
Hanging Out at Home 180
Looking through the rooms 180
Furnishing your humble abode 181
Residing in an Apartment 183
Hunting for your very own flat 183
Giving your apartment some flair 185
Keeping your apartment safe 185
Commanding People: Do As I Say 187
Part 3: Hebrew On The Go 189
Chapter 11: Planning and Taking a Trip 191
Choosing Your Final Destination (And When You Want to Go) 191
Whittling down your choices — so many places you can go! 192
Finding your way around 194
Packing 195
Booking a trip 196
Traveling internationally 196
Coming and Going: Knowing Where You Are 197
Discussing the Future: Verb Forms and Popular Expressions 199
Finding the Hotel That’s Right for You 200
Making your reservations 201
Asking about the price 203
Checking In: Names, Addresses and Room Numbers 204
Filling out the registration form 204
Settling into your room 206
Checking Out and Paying the Bill 207
Asking for your bill 207
Asking about special charges 208
Leaving the hotel 208
Staying at an Airbnb 211
Making Sure You Don’t Get Lost 212
Giving and Understanding Directions For Lost Souls 215
Keeping North, South, East, and West Straight 218
Chapter 12: Getting Around: Flying, Driving, and Riding 221
Getting Through the Airport 221
Checking in 222
Suffering through the flight 223
Getting your feet back on the ground 223
Renting a Vehicle and a Phone to Go with It 224
Renting a car 225
Understanding the rental contract 226
Navigating Public Transportation 228
Traveling by taxi 229
Watching the wheels on the bus go round and round 229
Traveling on trains and the light rail 230
Reading maps and schedules 232
Being Early or Late 233
Chapter 13: Money, Money, Money 235
Going to the Bank 235
Talking to tellers 235
Counting your change 236
Changing Money 240
Flowing with the Currency 242
Using Credit Cards 243
Using Electronic and Digital Currency 243
Directing Your Objects 243
Chapter 14: Handling Emergencies 249
Tackling Your Uncooperative Car 249
Doctor, Doctor, Give Me the News 253
The knee bone’s connected to the leg bone: Identifying your body parts 253
Describing your symptoms 254
Explaining your unique medical needs 255
Receiving a thorough examination 255
Paying attention to the diagnosis 256
Going to the pharmacy 258
Getting Help After You’ve Been Robbed 260
Part 4: Diving Deeper Into Hebrew Life 265
Chapter 15: An Introduction to Israel 267
Discovering Multicultural Israel 267
Touring Israeli Cities and Towns 269
Starting at the Beginning: A Brief History Lesson 271
Fleeing to and from Europe 274
Wanting to be in charge: Nationalism, self-determination, and the Jewish State 274
Chapter 16: War and Peace 279
The Big Bang 279
War 280
Paths to Peace 282
Environmental Cooperation May Be the Key 284
Part 5: Sacred Hebrew 287
Chapter 17: Let’s Get Biblical 289
Figuring Out the Word Order in Biblical Hebrew 290
Emphasizing When God Really Meant It 292
Wishing, Intending, and Prohibiting 294
Deciphering One-Word Wonders 295
Counting Down the Greatest Biblical Hits 296
Chapter 18: Like a Prayer 299
Blessing: The Basics 299
Deciphering the blessing formula 300
Identifying some basic blessings 301
Spiritually Speaking: Figuring Your Way around the
Prayer Book 306
The Sh’ma and her blessings 306
Dissecting the Standing Prayer 310
Concluding prayers 310
Praying for peace 311
Making Prayer Meaningful 313
Chapter 19: Sacred Time, Sacred Space 315
Going to a Synagogue 315
Checking Out Holy Words for Holy Days 316
Shabbat: The Sabbath 317
Rosh HaShanah: The Jewish New Year 318
Yom Kippur: The Day of Atonement 318
Sukkot: The Fall Harvest Festival 319
Sh’mini Atzeret and Simchat Torah: Praying for Rain and Rejoicing in the Torah 319
Celebrating Sigd: The Holiday of Ethiopian Jews 320
Ḥanukkah: The Jewish Festival of Lights 321
HaHag shel HaHagim: The Festival of Festivals 321
Tu BiShevat: The Birthday of the Trees 322
Purim: A Jewish Mardi Gras 322
Pesach: Passover 323
Yom HaShoah V’Ha’G’vurah: Holocaust Remembrance Day 324
Yom HaZikaron: Israeli Memorial Day 324
Yom HaAtzma’ut: Israeli Independence Day 324
Lag B’Omer: The 33rd Day of the Omer 325
Shavuot: The Festival of Weeks 325
Tisha B’Av: The Ninth of Av 325
Tu B’Av: The Holiday of Love 326
All My Life’s a Circle: Jewish Life-Cycle Events 326
Brit/Simchat Bat: Welcome to the family 327
B’nai Mitzvah: Coming of Age 327
Kiddushin: Sacred Partnership 327
Baruḥ Dayan HaEmet: End of Life 328
Part 6: The Part of Tens 331
Chapter 20: Ten Books On Hebrew You Just Gotta Have 333
Hebrew Roots. Jewish Routes: A Tribal Language in a Global World 333
Hebrew: The Eternal Language 334
The Tongue of the Prophets: The Life Story of Eliezer Ben Yehuda 334
The Hebrew Alphabet: A Mystical Journey 334
Hebrew Talk: 101 Hebrew Roots And The Stories They Tell 334
Aleph-Bet Yoga: Embodying the Hebrew Letters for Physical and Spiritual Well-Being 335
The Word: The Dictionary that Reveals the Hebrew Source of English 335
How the Hebrew Language Grew 335
The Story of Hebrew 335
Poems of Jerusalem and Love Poems 336
Chapter 21: Ten Favorite Hebrew Expressions 337
Mazal Tov 337
B’Karov Etzlehḥ. 338
Titchadesh 338
B’Teavon 338
B’Ezrat HaShem 339
Yishar Koahḥ. 339
Dash 339
Nu 340
Kol HaKavod 340
L’Ḥaim 340
Chapter 22: Ten Great Israeli Phrases 341
Mah Pitom 341
Yesh G’vul L’Chol Ta’alul 341
Pa’am Shlishit Glidah 342
Im K’var, Az K’var 342
B’Shum Panim VaOfen Lo 342
Stam 343
Betahḥ 343
Ḥaval Al HaZ’man 343
Ḥazak V’Amatz 343
Yehiyeh Tov 344
Appendix A: Verb Tables 345
Appendix B: Hebrew–English Mini-Dictionary 355
Appendix C: Answer Key 377
Index 383
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