(You may have noticed the layout of this site has changed a bit. For a while I've been trying to figure out a way to make it more readab...

Is there any connection between chalom חלום - "dream" and hachlama החלמה - "recovery, recuperation"? There are a num...

The verbs hikir הכיר - "to recognize" and hitnaker התנכר - "to act like a stranger" both stem from the same root : נ...

The past couple of weeks we discussed words relating to Chanukah. But there were some really good words in the story of Yosef that we skippe...

We've discussed the Makabim / Maccabees - now what is the origin of the name חשמונאים Chashmonaim / Hasmoneans? There are a number ...

The famous jar of oil of Chanukah - the " pach hashemen ". Is pach spelled with a chet - פח or with a chaf פך ? Well, despit...

We have written about the customary Chanukah food - the " latke ", but what about the Hebrew equivalent - לביבה leviva ? I don...

What is the origin of the Yiddish word dreidel ? From this site : The word "dreidel" is a Yiddish word built on the German word dr...

What is the origin of the name of the heroes of Chanukah - the Makabim מכבים - Maccabees? There are a number of theories. One theory, p...

What is the etymology of latke (or latka) - the potato pancake customarily eaten on Chanukah? This site provides the following etymology: ...

It's widely known that there is major disagreement as to the proper spelling of חנוכה in English. Andy Carvin has an interesting artic...

Over the next couple of weeks I'll be writing posts about Chanukah related words. I have a bunch lined up - but if there are any words y...

The sixteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet is ayin . The word literally means "eye" and is so called due to the original form of...

There are a number of explanations for the name Binyamin בנימין ( Bereshit 35:18): "son of my right hand" ( ben yamin - בן ימי...

The word "sofa" has Semitic origins. From the Online Etymology Dictionary : 1625, "raised section of a floor, covered with ...

The Hebrew preposition ki כי has many meanings. Resh Lakish in Gittin 90a (and other locations) says it has four meanings: ריש לקיש כי מש...

The fifteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet is samech (or samekh ). There is some debate as to the origin of the name. Klein says it comes...

While looking at this weeks parasha, I began to wonder: could there be a connection between the name Zevulun זבולון and zevel זבל - garb...

At our Thanksgiving dinner last night, our host served hot dogs (in addition to turkey) according to his family custom. The Hebrew word for...

Thursday is Thanksgiving, and I've been writing about fish all week ! Let's talk turkey. The Hebrew word for turkey is tarnegol h...