A word may develop two opposite, or quite different, meanings, as the English word “nice,” which once meant “stupid, ignorant,” but which currently means “pleasant, agreeable, polite.”
Very typical and a favorite biblical interjection. It alternates with hen, as in Genesis 3:22 (God speaking): hen ha-adam … “Now that the man has become like one of us … ” Common in other Semitic languages, as Aramaic hen “yes, yea.”
The eating habits of Israelis are well known. Many popular kosher cookbooks, representing all the Jewish ethnic groups (‘edot) — Iraqi, Yemenite, Kurdish, North African, Ethiopian (Beta Yisrael), Palestinian, etc. — are published and become best-sellers.
The last day of Sukkot is known as Shemini ‘Atseret.
It occurs already in the first chapter of Genesis: “And they (sun, moon) shall serve as signs for (specific) times (mo‘adim) and (routine times) days and nights” (Genesis 1:14).
A major concept of the High Holy Days is forgiveness. What do we do when we forgive?
The pomegranate is one of several components of the Sephardic seder for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year holiday.
In hot sharav/Hamsin, scorching summer days in Israel, people are desperate to find a shady outdoor spot. So the municipalities have been providing mitslalot “public shaded areas.”
The Hebrew names of the seasons are associated with farming life, as aviv “spring” originally meant “green ears of corn” (Leviticus 2:14) and qayits “summer” meant “cutting, harvesting ripe fruits,” especially figs (Jeremiah 40:10, 12; Isaiah 28:4).*
The English word president and the verb preside are from the French-Latin presider(e), “sit in front (of everybody else)”
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