The Israeli school year for grades 1 through 12 begins on September 1, following the Gregorian calendar rather than the Hebrew one.

Grades are not numbered as they are in English. They are named using letters of the Hebrew alphabet, so first grade is 'כִּתָּה א /kee-’tah ‘a-lef/, second grade is 'כִּתָּה ב /kee-’tah bet/, and so on through twelfth. The same Hebrew word is used for both the grade a student is in and the physical classroom.

Inbal Amit is a native Israeli who spent decades working professionally in English and years living inside it. She is the author of the bestselling Hebrew 1-2-3 series and the creator of a method that simplifies Hebrew for English speakers, built on the exact points where Hebrew stops making sense to them. She teaches students around the world to speak, understand, read and write Hebrew, modern and biblical.

Shalom Kitah Aleph 'שָׁלוֹם כִּתָּה א /sha-’lom kee-’tah ‘a-lef/ is the most famous phrase in Israel when it comes to back to school season, even though it really only applies to first graders.

In Israel the school year for grades 1 through 12 starts on September 1. We go by the Gregorian calendar, not the Hebrew one, in this case. Which means today is the perfect time to dive into everything related to school and learning in Israel, and in Hebrew of course.

So let’s get started.

Breaking Down the Phrase ‘Shalom Kitah Aleph’

You probably know that Shalom שָׁלוֹם /sha-’lom/ means hello, in addition to peace. Aleph is the first letter in the Hebrew alphabet, and also the term for first grade.

In Israel we don’t use First or Second to talk about grades. Instead, we use letters from the Hebrew alphabet. This ties into the Hebrew calendar and Gematria, where every letter has a numerical value. If you want to dive into Gematria, check out this YouTube video all about it.

So אָלֶף /’a-lef/ or in short ‘א is first grade, בֵּית /’be-(y)-t/ or in short ‘ב is second grade, and so on until יוֹד בֵּית /yod ’be-(y)-t/ in short י”ב, twelfth grade.

But in Hebrew, כִּתָּה /kee-’tah/ doesn’t just mean grade. It also means classroom.

‘אֲנִי בְּכִתָּה א /a-’nee be-khee-’tah ‘a-lef/ means ‘I am in first grade’. in conversational Hebrew, it would be בְּכִּתָּה /be-kee-’tah/ vs. the written form which is בְּכִתָּה /be-khee-’tah/, switching from written form to speech the /kh/ changes to a /k/ sound. Hebrew is a living organism, and often the say most people speak is not the formal textbook way. I teach you Hebrew this way so that when you speak to Israelis or in Israel you sound as local as possible using the most common colloquial speech today (without going down the slang rabbit hole).

כִּתָּה /kee-’tah/ is both the grade you’re in and the physical classroom.

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How Israelis Say the Date

The school year in Israel for grades 1 through 12 starts on the September 1st.

According to the Academy of the Hebrew Language, the correct way to say dates in the Gregorian calendar is with the masculine form of the number, like אֶחָד בְּסֶפְּטֶמְבֶּר /e-’khad be-sep-’tem-ber/ for September 1st, translating to ‘one in September’.

But you will often hear Israelis say another template for Gregorian dates, which is רִאשׁוֹן בְּסֶפְּטֶמְבֶּר /ree-’shon be-sep-’tem-ber/ for September 1st, translating to ‘first in September’. This one is incorrect according to the Academy of the Hebrew Language, but most Israelis don’t know this, which is why you can use either of the two.

Two Calendars at Once

The school year in Hebrew, שְׁנַת הַלִּמּוּדִים /sh-’nat ha-lee-moo-’deem/, is marked in Israel both in the Gregorian year 2026-2027, and the Hebrew year.

The Hebrew-Jewish new year starts on Rosh Hashanah רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה /rosh ha-sha-’nah/ which falls in September or October depending on the year, after the school year has started. This year 2026 Rosh Hashanah falls in September.

While the Gregorian school year of 2026 to 2027 is marked 2026-7, the Hebrew Jewish year is typically marked using the one starting on Rosh Hashanah after the school year has started, to simplify things. In Sep 2026 starts שְׁנַת הַלִּמּוּדִים /sh-’nat ha-lee-moo-’deem/ the school year of תשפ"ז /tav sheen peh ‘za-yeen/. It is year 5,787 to the creation of the world.

The Word for School

The term for ‘school’ in Hebrew is בֵּית סֵפֶר /’be-(y)-t ‘se-fer/. I place the y in between parentheses like this (y) in my phonetic system to indicate that the y sound is almost silent. If you’re not sure how to do that, you can sound every word that has a y in between parenthesis without the y sound all together.

בֵּית סֵפֶר /’be-(y)-t ‘se-fer/, ‘school’ in Hebrew, is a great example of a construct state. That is when two words come together to create one unit.

בַּיִת /’ba-yeet/ is ‘home’ or ‘house’ in Hebrew. סֵפֶר /’se-fer/ is book. And בֵּית סֵפֶר /’be-(y)-t ‘se-fer/ creates a unit that is the term for ‘school’ in Hebrew.

When a construct state is formed in Hebrew to create a term from two separate words, which happens often in Hebrew, the two words don’t necessarily stay the same. In this case, בַּיִת /’ba-yeet/ changes to בֵּית /’be-(y)-t/.

There are very specific and clear rules as to how and when each word changes in a construct state, and it is an entire topic you master inside Practically Speaking Hebrew, my program for understanding and speaking Hebrew.

The Question Every Israeli Kid Asks

Growing up in Israel, since I can remember and still as relevant today is the question that comes up every year leading up to Sep 1: Will there be a strike?

Almost every year since I can remember, teacher unions threaten to strike or actually do strike in protest of their working conditions.

As a kid and teenager I remember really hoping for a strike so that we have a few more days of summer vacation. The July and August time off school is called in Hebrew הַחֹפֶשׁ הַגָּדוֹל /ha-’kho-fesh ha-ga-’dol/, literally ‘the big time off’.

The Israeli School System

In most schools in Israel, grades 1 to 6 are part of בֵּית סֵפֶר יְסוֹדִי /’be-(y)-t ‘se-fer ye-so-’dee/ ‘elementary school’ which you can also just call in short יְסוֹדִי /ye-so-’dee/, especially in context.

Then students typically move up to חֲטִיבַת בֵּינַיִם /kha-tee-’vat be-(y)-’na-yeem/ ‘middle school’ for grades 7 through 9.

And lastly, grades 10 through 12 are typically part of בֵּית סֵפֶר תִּיכוֹן /’be-(y)-t ‘se-fer tee-’khon/ ‘high school’ which you can also just call תִּיכוֹן /tee-’khon/ in short.

Students graduate with a תְּעוּדַת בַּגְרוּת /te-oo-’dat bag-’root/ ‘high school diploma’, literally diploma of maturity. Most Israelis then enlist in the army for their mandatory service every man and woman in Israel go through.

Throughout the school year there are several holidays during the Jewish and Israeli festivals and days of remembrance.

Schools in the Arab sector in Israel have vacation schedules accommodating their religious holidays.

Classroom Words to Know

Now let’s add the most important words you need to know when it comes to the school year.

A male teacher is מוֹרֶה /mo-’reh/. A female teacher is מוֹרָה /mo-’rah/.

A backpack is יַלְקוּט /yal-’koot/.

A notebook is מַחְבֶּרֶת /makh-’be-ret/.

A pen is עֵט /et/.

A pencil is עִפָּרוֹן /ee-pa-’ron/.

A pencil case is קַלְמָר /kal-’mar/.

An eraser is מָחַק /ma-’khak/ colloquially pronounced /’ma-khak/ or /mo-’khek/ as well.

And a sharpener is מְחַדֵּד /me-kha-’ded/.

I hope you enjoyed this lesson. If you did, I would really appreciate if you could share it with three other people who would love it just as much as you did!

And if you’re thinking, that was really cool Inbal, but I wish I could put everything you taught here into actual sentences so I can express myself in Hebrew and do it myself…. Well, I’ve got you covered.

Inside Practically Speaking Hebrew, my speaking and understanding program, that is exactly what you learn how to do on your own: Constructing our own sentences, mix and matching your own words into them, getting clarity and confidence in Hebrew from day one. Speak clear, natural Hebrew without getting stuck, having me there beside you to answer any question that comes up and tweak your Hebrew to perfection.

Enjoyed reading and learning with me here on Substack? Here are some other great articles to check out:

Why What You Say Isn’t Always What People Hear: A Hebrew Teacher’s Lesson on Real Communication

Ready Doesn’t Come First: What an Israeli Reality Show Taught Me About Every Leap That Ever Mattered

Shalom,

Inbal

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I did not sit down this week expecting to write any of this.

I expected to write about book club. About finally admitting out loud that I had not finished the novel I was the one to suggest. That was the whole story I had in mind, small and a little funny.

Then I started listening to something else, and the week went somewhere I was not prepared for.

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Yesterday was book club for the Israeli novel I suggested. One of those classic books everyone says you have to read. And I never did. ‘Someone to Run With’.

I hadn’t finished it. Hadn’t even crossed the midline, if I’m honest. I was listening on Audible in Hebrew which sounded delightful in theory but the practice and the theory didn’t match. It felt like a chore. Something there didn’t click for me, and while I hoped it would get better it didn’t.

So I ditched it.

Even though I was the one who suggested it to the group, even though it felt like I should stick it out, I listened to the voice that’s been getting louder in me:

I am not doing things I don’t have to do if I don’t want to.

And then I started listening to Rachel Goldberg-Polin read her own audiobook: When We See You Again.

Her son is Hersh. Taken on October 7. His arm blown off. Held for 328 days in the tunnels. One of the six who were executed by their captors.

Rachel is one of those women who is greater than life. Not because of what happened to her, that would be understandable. But because of who she is. Spiritual. Wise. The kind of person you want to keep listening to no matter what she’s talking about, just to know how she sees the world. I started the audiobook and I couldn’t stop.

She describes Hersh by giving you, the reader, a scan of his body. How his specific knees were, his lashes, his stance, his toes and the space they had from one another. Every single part of his body.

This is a mother who knew her son truly and completely. Who saw him for the individual person he was and at the same time for the piece of her heart that he was, and was then torn away from her.

And the feeling that consumed me listening to her describing the long chapters of their ‘before’ life was: how fortunate he was.

This boy who went through the unimaginable. Who had his future stolen. Who was 23 when they took his life. And yet, fortunate. Because before all of that, his life mattered. He had a mother like Rachel. He had a father like Jon. He had a life filled with roots, safety, love, being seen and allowed to dream and make them a reality.

They took Hersh from his parents, sisters, friends, and loved ones. They took his future. They took the children he would never have. And they took the kind and wise man he was from the world.

But they couldn’t take his past. They couldn’t take how he was known. They couldn’t take his mother’s memories of him, cell by cell. They couldn’t take the people he influenced at his young age, or the breakfast buffet line where grown-ups asked him about American presidents because he knew them all at the age of seven (forgive me if I got the exact age wrong).

They couldn’t take any of that.

Being kind and caring today creates an impact in the world that goes beyond us. Our actions echo, creating a life of their own. And that’s a kind of immortality hate and even death can’t touch. Because the minute we sent it out on to the world, it left us.

I’m right at the point of the end of their ‘before’, and I feel how the love, kindness, and wisdom instilled in that kid from birth by his parents echoed and lives on in others. And now in me as well.

It is not a cliche that love conquers all. If thousands of years of my people is not proof enough of that, I feel it so deeply listening to Rachel’s words.

I keep thinking about what that asks of an ordinary Friday like this one.

Not grand gestures. The small, unremarkable ways we let people know they are known. The attention we pay. The questions we ask a child about the thing they love, and then actually listening to the answer.

Rachel could describe her son’s knees, his lashes, the space between his toes. That is not something a person can do at the end. That is what twenty three years of paying attention leaves behind.

So whoever is at your table tonight, look at them properly.

That is the part nobody can take.

Shabbat Shalom 💙

Inbal

Welcome to Israel. Wondering how to get around? You have come to the right place. We’re about to cover the essentials of public transportation in Israel, in Hebrew

Israel may be small, but it’s packed with so many things to see and experience! From the Sea of Galilee in the north to Masada in the south, with Jerusalem and Tel Aviv in the middle. But how do you get around to see all of its magic?

Public transportation in Israel includes buses, taxis, shared taxis, intercity trains, and light rail systems in Jerusalem and in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area.

If you’re new around here, I am Inbal, a native Hebrew speaker, born and raised Israeli. Hebrew by Inbal is the result of decades working professionally in both languages, and years of living in English, being married to an English speaker, navigating life in English. Living both languages, and seeing the need for easier, simpler methods for the English speaking brain, I’ve taken on the task of simplifying Hebrew for English speakers, and my two programs deliver just that, so that you enjoy clarity and confidence from day one:
Practically Speaking Hebrew for speaking and understanding (anything you hear and read), and Hebrew 1-2-3 for reading and writing both modern and biblical Hebrew. My weekly Hebrew just like this lesson is here to expand your Hebrew, building on the skills you gain inside my programs.

Now that you know how it all works, let’s get you navigating around public transportation in Israel, in Hebrew.

Getting Between Cities and Around Town

When traveling between cities or over long distances, buses and intercity trains are your options in Israel. For getting around within cities, you’ll likely rely on buses, taxis, light rail system in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, and shared taxis. Once you arrive where you are traveling to I always recommend good old-fashioned walking which is the best option, especially in Israel.

Most Israeli cities are very walkable, and because of its small size you can see so much of it on foot. Living in southern US, I have to make the comparison and say that outside major cities in Israel, you can usually walk anywhere! There is almost none of the strict no trespassing you find in the US in residential areas.

So if your feet and the weather allow it, take advantage and explore as much of Israel as you can by foot, or in Hebrew בָּרֶגֶל /be-’re-gal/, literally on foot.
How will you get there? בָּרֶגֶל /be-’re-gal/, on foot.
Can I get there בָּרֶגֶל /be-’re-gal/? Can I get there on foot?

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Buses and the Rav-Kav Card

If not on foot, you can usually take the bus. אוֹטוֹבּוּס /’o-to-boos/ in Hebrew, using the English word for bus.

Now, Israel has a card called Rav-Kav רַב קַו /rav kav/. It is a rechargeable card that replaced paying the bus driver directly. So if you plan to use buses in Israel, you will need a Rav-Kav card. It also allows you to switch between buses within a city for 90 minutes without extra charge, and you can reload it via the app.

You can purchase a tourist Rav-Kav at Ben Gurion airport. And you can read all about the Rav-Kav and get all the information on their official website in English: https://ravkavonline.co.il/en/

If you’re wondering whether Rav come from the Hebrew word for Rabbi which IS רַב /rav/, the answer is no. רַב /rav/ is used for both the Hebrew word for Rabbi and as short for the word Plenty, A lot. This shortened version of the word is a literary form conveying Multi or Multiple. Added to the Hebrew word for Line which is קַו /kav/, Multiline is formed - Rav-Kav רַב קַו /rav kav/.

Bus lines in Israel are typically marked by numbers, and every bus stop station displays a diagram of the line and its stations. Since these are usually in Hebrew, if you know how to decipher the letters, use you wait time for the bus practicing your reading skills. If you don’t have these skills yet, you can change that by taking Hebrew 1-2-3, and keep reading - I’ll guide you how to navigate your way using the Israeli bus system with no Hebrew at all!

Apps That Make It Easy

To make sure you’re on the right bus and get off at the correct stop, I recommend using Google Maps. Just input your location and destination, choose public transportation, and it will tell you what line(s) to take, in which direction, and when to get off based on your real-time location.

When you’re on the bus, to get off at the next station you press the STOP button, which spells in Hebrew עֲצֹר /a-’tsor/ for the Stop! command, or עוֹצֵר /o-’tser/ which is the present tense verb for Stopping.

Google Maps is also fantastic for walking navigation. I’ve been traveling the world with it for years, using it whenever I need to get somewhere on foot, find anything I need around me from coffee shops to restaurants to anything else, and navigate my way using the local public transpiration. Israel is no exception.

For driving, my favorite app is Waze, no matter where I am in the world.

Another popular app in Israel, as an alternative to Google Maps, is Moovit, which helps you plan public transportation routes, and is another way to get tickets to some public transportation options.

Key Bus Words to Know

Here are the key words to know when using buses in Israel.

The main bus companies in Israel are Egged אֶגֶד '/’e-ged/, Dan דָּן /dan/, Kavim קַוִּים /ka-’veem/, and Metropoline מֶטְרוֹפּוֹלִין /met-’ro-po-leen/.

A bus station is תַּחֲנַת אוֹטוֹבּוּס /ta-kha-’nat ‘o-to-boos/, and a train station is תַּחֲנַת רַכֶּבֶת /ta-kha-’nat ra-’ke-vet/.

A bus line is קַו אוֹטוֹבּוּס /kav ‘o-to-boos/, and just like in English, in context you can say line קַו /kav/ only.

A ticket is כַּרְטִיס /kar-’tees/, and in plural כַּרְטִיסִים /kar-tee-’seem/.

Now, in order to converse in Hebrew, you need more than just isolated words. Here is how you get there the fastest:

The skills of constructing your own sentences, delivering them clearly to the local ear, and understanding the Hebrew you hear - all live inside Practically Speaking Hebrew.

Then, my weekly Hebrew (just like this one) builds on these skills, constantly expanding your Hebrew without having to join more and more programs.

That is how you use all the words I am giving you here, and every week, placing them in sentences you know how to construct. Because that is what you master inside Practically Speaking Hebrew. And deciphering the letters so you can read and write it you master inside Hebrew 1-2-3.

Intercity Trains

The Rav-Kav can also be used on intercity trains, but unlike buses, you can buy a train ticket at kiosks and train stations. Israel Railways has a very good website for route planning which you can easily switch to English: https://rail.co.il/

Taxis

If you need a taxi, the Hebrew word for it is מוֹנִית /mo-’neet/, and the English word Taxi is commonly used by Israelis as well.

You can try hailing one on the street, but the better way most Israelis use is the Gett app (short for Get taxi). The app is in English, and you’ll avoid getting overcharged (which may happen to tourists and locals alike) or waiting too long for one. For convenience and security reasons I recommend using the app. You can also use it to get a taxi from Ben Gurion airport as you arrive in Israel.

Shared Taxis

Now, let’s talk shared taxis, מוֹנִיּוֹת שֵׁרוּת /mo-nee-’yot she-’root/.

מוֹנִיּוֹת /mo-nee-’yot/ is Taxis in plural, שֵׁרוּת /she-’root/ means Service.

The Israeli shared taxis are a hybrid between buses and taxis. They’re essentially minibuses with fixed routes. Unlike buses, they pick up and drop passengers off wherever they wish along the route, not at a specific stop.

You can flag them down like a taxi (on its set route), and if its not full, having a smaller number of seats than a bus, it will stop right there. When you want to get off, you simply ask the driver to stop. If a shared taxi passes by without stopping, it means it’s full.

Payment on a shared taxi is made in cash after you find your seat. In some shared taxis you can pay with Rav-Kav as well. Each passenger helps pass money to the driver and change back so that everyone can stay seated. Because it’s a mini bus, staying seated is a matter of safety. Want to avoid being part of the human paying chain as much as possible? Sit in the far back. You’ll probably have to do it one time, paying for your ticket, and that’s it.

Light Rails and Metro

Jerusalem and the Tel Aviv metropolitan area also have light rail systems.

The Jerusalem one is called רַכֶּבֶת קַלָּה /ra-’ke-vet ka-’lah/. רַכֶּבֶת /ra-’ke-vet/ is train, קַלָּה /ka-’lah/ means Light as in the opposite of Heavy.

The Tel Aviv one is called Dankal. Tel Aviv's system is newer and mixes both above-ground tracks and deep underground subway stations. The Red Line is currently the main line open to the public. It stretches across 24 kilometers (15 miles) and links five cities together: Petah Tikva, Bnei Brak, Ramat Gan, Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and Bat Yam. It is highly useful for getting to Jaffa or crossing the city center.

To get on the Tel Aviv light rail, you need a Rav-Kav card or transit apps (like Moovit or Pango). No paper tickets onboard.

To get on the Jerusalem light rail, you can use a Rav-Kav card, paper tickets from station machines, or transit apps.

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Shabbat and Jewish Holidays

On Shabbat and Jewish holidays, buses and trains do not operate from Friday afternoon until after sundown on Saturday. Public transportation shuts down.

In some cities, Tel Aviv being the main one, shared taxis and partial alternatives are available.

Domestic Flights

Domestic flights within Israel to and from Eilat are actively operating daily, primarily connecting Ben Gurion Airport (TLV) in Tel Aviv and Haifa Airport (HFA) to Ramon Airport (ETM) in Eilat.

Any flight is טִיסָה /tee-’sah/, in plural טִיסוֹת /tee-’sot/, and an airport is שְׂדֵה תְּעוּפָה /s-’deh te-oo-’fah/, literally - Field of aviation.

Electric Scooters, and a Word of Caution

Electric bikes and scooters are extremely popular in Israel, and are the one form of transpiration I must warn you about, whether you’re using it or not, as a pedestrian or driving in Israel.

Let’s start with the Hebrew. Electric bikes are אוֹפַנַּיִם חַשְׁמַלִּיִּים /o-fa-’na-yeem khash-ma-lee-’(y)eem/. אוֹפַנַּיִם /o-fa-’na-yeem/ is the Hebrew word for a bicycle. It is a plural form. חַשְׁמַלִּיִּים /khash-ma-lee-’(y)eem/ is the plural form of electric.

Israel is a small place, with very little room for infrastructure like bike lanes to begin with, especially in the big cities. Combine that with Israelis impatient, fast paced, and somewhat less considerate nature in public spaced, and a very large number of rented and privately owned electric bikes and scooters, and you get the chaos that is Israeli sidewalks and roads in the last decade or so.

I personally find it very unsettling. Too many Israelis ride them recklessly, often by young people with little regard to the risk and disturbance to others. So please be careful, whether you’re on foot, driving, or brave enough to ride one. Be prepared for them to come out of nowhere, at very high speed, slaloming their way through the crowd on the sidewalk or road.

I hope you enjoyed this Hebrew lesson. If you did, I would really appreciate if you could share it with three other people who would love it just as much as you did!

And if you’re thinking, that was really cool Inbal, but I wish I could put everything you taught here into actual sentences so I can express myself in Hebrew and do it myself…. Well, I’ve got you covered.

Inside Practically Speaking Hebrew, my speaking and understanding program, that is exactly what you master. I teach you how to construct your own sentences, mix and matching the right words, mastering the templates and the patterns of Hebrew, giving you the clarity and the confidence you’ve been dreaming of in Hebrew, from day one. This is the program that gets you speaking clear, natural Hebrew, never getting stuck because I’m always there beside you: Giving you feedback on your Hebrew, and answering any question that comes up.

Enjoyed reading and learning with me here on Substack? Here are some other great articles to check out:

The Hebrew Expression That Changed How I Listen to Myself

Learn Hebrew: Your Name Has Been Speaking Hebrew This Whole Time

Shalom,

Inbal

I’m set. No gaps.

That’s what I would have told you a month ago about something I’ve been doing for years.

Reformer Pilates. It’s the only exercise I truly love and it’s all about knowing what to do with your body, every part of it, while you’re moving.

It’s thinking work more than anything else.

I’ve done it in Tel Aviv, in Lisbon, and now here in the US.

Just a few months ago I found my Pilates studio. One that does the real work, how it should be and I found my teacher.

A few weeks ago she spent a class on the most basic exercises. The beginner ones at the start, the ones you barely notice because you’ve done them a thousand times and you’re waiting for the harder ones you’re actually trying to get better at.

She came at these basic exercises from a different angle and I understood them completely differently. She didn’t teach me anything new. She moved me a few inches and everything I already knew rearranged itself.

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I get so much more out of those exercises now.

What I keep sitting with is how sure I was. Not arrogant. Just settled. I would have said it with a straight face. I think we’re all a little bit sure like that, about something.

Some part of your life you filed away as finished. Understood. Handled. A relationship you decided long ago is simply what it is. A skill you stopped expecting to get better at. A story about yourself you have told so many times you stopped checking whether it’s still true. A prayer you can say without hearing.

Not because you looked hard and decided, but because you passed through it early and nobody ever came back and turned it a few degrees for you to look again.

The turning is such a small thing. Same object, same you, different angle. And then it’s completely different.

Shabbat is like this too if I’m honest with myself. It arrives every single week. Same day, same candles, same words. It would be very easy to move through it the way I moved through those first five minutes, waiting for the part I thought counted. And it has been sitting there the whole time, the same as it ever was, waiting for someone to turn it a few degrees.

I’m choosing her classes whenever I can, and for the first time in years I’m curious about the first 5 minutes.

What’s yours? The thing you’re so sure you’re done with.

Shabbat Shalom 💙

Inbal

Sabra is a Hebrew word with two meanings that belong to each other. It is the name of a prickly desert cactus that grows across Israel, and it is what Israelis call a person born and raised in the land. One word, one plant, one national character

Today I’m going to peel off (no pun intended) the fascinating layers of nature, culture and language, painting a vivid picture of what it truly means to be a Sabra.

If you’re new around here, my name is Inbal from Hebrew by Inbal, and I’ve been simplifying Hebrew for English speakers for years. If that’s what you’re looking for, make sure to check out my programs clicking the button below, and let’s get to it!

Learn and Love Hebrew!

The Cactus and the Fruit

In Hebrew, /tsa-’bar/ צַבָּר refers to the common cactus plant you can find in Israel, which originates from the Americas and is scientifically called Opuntia, and in terms I can pronounce, Prickly Pear.

The enticing fruit of this cactus is commonly and colloquially known in Israel as /’sab-res סַבְּרֶס.

By simply shifting the syllable emphasis from /tsa-’bar/ צַבָּר, referring to the cactus, to /’tsa-bar/ צַבָּר, both written the same in Hebrew, we land on the Hebrew term for a native Israeli. Yes, a person born and raised on this historic land.

This Hebrew word changes based on gender and number. A born Israeli male is a /’tsa-bar/ צַבָּר. A born Israeli female is a /’tsa-ba-reet/ צַבָּרִית. More than one born Israeli male are /’tsa-ba-reem/ צַבָּרִים. More than one born Israeli female are /’tsa-ba-ree-yot/ צַבָּרִיּוּת.

My course graduates and students already know all these suffixes and how to use them across different words in Hebrew. If you also want to have a deep understanding of how Hebrew works that will allow you to speak like a local from day one, join me inside Practically Speaking Hebrew.

Prickly Outside, Sweet Inside

What is prickly on the outside but sweet on the inside? If you guessed an Israeli or a cactus, you’re absolutely right!

This nickname of the sabra cactus captures the essence of the Israeli spirit. Tough, resilient and self-reliant on the outside, yet warm and sweet on the inside, with a never-give-up spirit.

The comparison to the prickly pear cactus, with its hardy exterior and juicy interior, reflects the unique blend of toughness and tenderness that characterizes Israelis.

The sabra cactus, and by extension the Israeli character it represents, is a testament to the ability to not just survive but thrive in challenging environments.

We’re talking about a cactus armed with thorns that are so painfully sharp that Arabs historically leveraged its prickly defense, planting sabra around their agricultural lands as a natural barricade to deter thieves and unwanted visitors. The thorns found on both its fleshy leaves and the fruit serve as the cactus’s protection mechanism against harm.

Fun fact:

Marvel’s Israeli superhero Sabra, created in 1980, was named after exactly what we just talked about. Her real name is Ruth Bat-Seraph, and she was named for the local fruit as well as the slang term for a native Israeli. So even the comic book writers understood that a Sabra is someone tough on the outside and sweet on the inside. She debuted in The Incredible Hulk #250 in 1980, created by writer Bill Mantlo and artist Sal Buscema, and hails from Jerusalem.

In the comics she can lift a tank and has been clocked running at 80 miles per hour. Which, honestly, is a very Sabra thing to do. She’s also trained in Krav Maga, the self-defense system developed for the Israel Defense Forces and she was born near Jerusalem. 🌵💥

Where the Name Comes From

The Hebrew name traces back to the Arabic sabr, signifying patience, reflecting the cactus’s low water needs. This name beautifully encapsulates the cactus’s resilience and ability to thrive with minimal sustenance, mirroring the enduring spirit found both in the plant and symbolically in the Israeli ethos.

Some say that the Hebrew word /tsa-’bar/ צַבָּר comes from the Hebrew root צ בּ ר, meaning to accumulate or retain, referring to its ability to retain water. But this theory is said to be incorrect, as accumulated or retained uses a bet with no dagesh, /tsa-’var/ צָבַר, whereas our cactus uses a bet with a dagesh, /tsa-’bar/ צַבָּר.

The Aliyah Story of This Cactus

Originally from the Americas, where it’s widespread among the cactus family, this resilient plant likely had its distribution center in Mexico. There, as we know very well, it’s not just a plant, it’s a national symbol, proudly featured on the country’s coat of arms.

In the 16th century Spanish conquerors transported the sabra across the ocean to Spain, from where it wandered to various parts of the world, including the land of Israel. The exact moment of its Aliyah, settling in Israel, is shrouded in mystery, but it’s clear that it has since become a common sight.

Are the /’tsa-bar/ צַבָּר and the Israeli Really the Same?

The term sabra /’tsa-bar/ צַבָּר has undergone significant transformations, reflecting the evolving identity of Israeli society and the political use of the term by the Zionist movement.

Initially it was used to praise the new Jew created by the movement and to negate the diaspora identity, the /’tsa-bar/ צַבָּר contrasted sharply with the old Jew who was born in the diaspora and often stereotyped as an elitist or of materialistic values. Unlike the old Jew who spoke European languages, Yiddish, or Hebrew with a very heavy accent, the sabra was a native Hebrew speaker, embodying the Zionist ideal of a self-reliant agricultural worker or soldier actively defending their land and contributing to the building of the state.

The prestige of the sabra, particularly in terms of its typical appearance and the use of the nickname, peaked during and after the War of Independence מִלְחֶמֶת הָעַצְמָאוּת /meel-’khe-met ha-ats-ma-’oot/ in 1948. Older generations of Israelis tended to attribute the achievements of the war to the native born Israelis, the sabras /’tsa-ba-reem/ צַבָּרִים. The heroism associated with the sabra was further emphasized in the narrative surrounding Operation Kadesh /meev-’tsa ka-’desh/ מִבְצַע קָדֵשׁ in 1956.

However, the large wave of immigration of Jews from Arab countries in the 1950s, the penetration of Western culture, American in particular, and the social and political changes following the Six Day War מִלְחֶמֶת שֵׁשֶׁת הַיָּמִים /meel-’khe-met ‘she-shet ha-ya-’meem/ and the Yom Kippur War מִלְחֶמֶת יוֹם כִּפּוּר /meel-’khe-met yom kee-’poor/ began to challenge the heroic myth of the sabra from the 1970s onward.

The term state generation דּוֹר הַמְּדִינָה /dor ha-me-dee-’nah/ was coined for the new wave of Israelis who came of age in the 1950s and did not participate in the independence struggle. Over time Israeli society became less tribal and more individualistic. These changes eroded the sabra model and replaced it with a more global post-sabra model, centered around the figure of the yuppie, also referred to by Israelis in Hebrew as yuppie יָאפִּי /’ya-pee/.

The post-sabra is more global and multicultural, blending genders, ethnicities, social classes, religions and styles. And the term sabra was replaced by the more neutral Israeli, in Hebrew יִשְׂרְאֵלִי /(y)ees-re-e-’lee/ as the main term for natives of the state of Israel, reflecting the post-sabra individual.

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Israeli Today

Today the term יִשְׂרְאֵלִי /(y)ees-re-e-’lee/ is widely used to refer to anyone from Israel, this being the masculine form. Just like with sabra, the word changes based on gender and number, so that a male Israeli is יִשְׂרְאֵלִי /(y)ees-re-e-’lee/, a female Israeli is יִשְׂרְאֵלִית /(y)ees-re-e-’leet/, more than one male Israelis are יִשְׂרְאֵלִים /(y)ees-re-e-’leem/, and more than one female Israelis are יִשְׂרְאֵלִיּוֹת /(y)ees-re-e-lee-’yot/.

Today’s Israeli encompasses the diverse array of backgrounds and identities within the country, including Israeli Arabs and people of various religions and beliefs, all Israelis. Sabra צַבָּר /’tsa-bar/ remains a meaningful term, often used to inquire whether a person was born in Israel.

Together these terms reflect the evolving tapestry of Israeli society, embracing its rich diversity while also honoring its roots and heritage.

A Word About the Fruit

Now I want to say that while I personally am not particularly fond of the sabra fruit סַבְּרֶס /’sab-res/ fruit, I encourage you to give it a taste whenever you get the chance, because most people absolutely love it!

The sabra fruit, also known as prickly pear or cactus pear, is a unique and flavorful fruit. There is a method to peeling it and staying alive, because its exterior is covered in spiny thorns, as I already mentioned, which contrast with the sweet and refreshing flesh inside.

Some describe its flavor as a mix of watermelon and kiwi with subtle hints of pear. And it’s not only delicious but also packed with nutrients like vitamin C, fiber and antioxidants.

So whenever you get the chance, I encourage you to explore and experience the rich flavors of this iconic fruit for yourself. Who knows, you might just discover a new favorite fruit.

Thank you for spending time with me today, I appreciate you dropping by.

Shalom,

Inbal

I hope you enjoyed this lesson. If you did, I would really appreciate if you could share it with three other people who would love it just as much as you did!

And if you’re thinking, that was really cool Inbal, but I wish I could put everything you taught here into actual sentences so I can express myself in Hebrew and do it myself…. Well, I’ve got you covered.

Inside Practically Speaking Hebrew, my speaking and understanding program, that is exactly what you master. I teach you how to construct your own sentences, mix and matching the right words, mastering the templates and the patterns of Hebrew, giving you the clarity and the confidence you’ve been dreaming of in Hebrew, from day one. This is the program that gets you speaking clear, natural Hebrew, never getting stuck because I’m always there beside you: Giving you feedback on your Hebrew, and answering any question that comes up.

Enjoyed reading and learning with me here on Substack? Here are some other great articles to check out:

Learn Hebrew Fast: How He Started Speaking Before Moving to Israel

How Everything Can Change in One Second

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There are things that stop us loudly. A closed door. A clear no. Those are almost easier because at least you can see them.

And then there are the things that stop us quietly. No announcement. No drama. Just a small second sentence that arrives right behind every good idea and talks you out of it before you have even finished imagining it. Most people carry one. Almost nobody names it out loud. So I am going to name mine.

This week I was supposed to open the calendar and find a date for dinner with friends I have been wanting to have over for too long.

I was also supposed to find and book tickets to Israel. I didn’t do either one. Yes, I’m very busy. But that wasn’t the reason.

The reason is that whenever I think about anything like this, a second sentence arrives. “But what if.”

My what if revolves mostly around my chronic headaches. They come unannounced and an attack can last hours. Most of the time I’m fine. Then sometimes I’m not, and there is no warning and no reason and no way to move it.

But what if it happens the day they’ll come for dinner.

But what if traveling triggers it hours before I can get to a room and hide until it passes.

The hardest part is not the pain. It’s that I used to be a person who just said yes.

Big plans or small, I added anything I wanted to the calendar with no second sentence, no “but what if.”

I’m telling you this because I know a lot of people have their own version of this. Something that quietly takes away the freedom they wish they had, to make plans, to live, to make the decisions they want, to feel freer in this world.

Something your body does.

Someone who needs you more than they used to.

Something that happened to you once and never fully left.

Something you have stopped explaining to people.

A thing nobody sees when you show up smiling.

And maybe like me, you don’t say yours out loud because it sounds like an excuse. And you hate sounding like an excuse. I know this one. It is not an excuse. But I also know what happens if we let the second sentence decide. The calendar would stay empty. The friends would stay unseen. The trip would never happen. And life would get smaller and smaller.

So this weekend I’m opening the calendar.

I’m booking the flights.

And yes, it feels very unnatural having to force myself into the things I truly want to show up for. And yes, sometimes I’ll have to cancel them. Both cost me. But the version of me that stops planning is a much bigger loss.

If you’re looking at a calendar with a second sentence sitting next to every square, pick one. Just one.

I’ll be working on my one this weekend.

I want to be clear about something before I go, because I think it matters.

This is not a story about winning. The second sentence is not going away this weekend. It will be there next week too, sitting politely beside every new idea, and some of the plans I make will genuinely have to be undone. That is the real shape of it.

What changes is only who gets the final word. The second sentence is allowed to speak. It is just not allowed to decide.

And there is something quietly Shabbat about that. This is the day we stop measuring ourselves by what we managed to accomplish and simply let ourselves be here. One day a week that asks nothing of you except your presence. Maybe that is a good place to practice saying yes to something small, when the stakes are low and nobody is keeping score.

So pick your one. Put it on a square. Let it sit there and be real for a while.

Tell me in the comments if you want, what is your one? I would love to know I am not doing this alone.

Shabbat Shalom 💙

Inbal

Come Visit Hebrew By Inbal

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Heading to Israel soon? Stick around, because you’re about the learn the must-know phrases in Hebrew that will make your visit smoother and most authentic

I have handpicked the most essential phrases you need traveling to Israel, phrases that go beyond basic translation. These are as local and easy to use, avoiding gender forms altogether, making sure you sound clear and natural no matter the situation.

Now, in most cases, you can get by in Israel with English. Most people understand it and are actually quite good at it. But knowing even a little bit of Hebrew opens doors that English simply doesn’t.

It allows you to have deeper interactions, helps you connect with the culture on a deeper level, shows the locals your appreciation for their culture, and lets you navigate Israel with confidence. And there may be moments when someone’s English isn’t good enough to communicate… This guide has got you covered.

If we haven’t met before, my name is Inbal Amit of Hebrew by Inbal. I simplify Hebrew for English speakers. I changed everything that didn’t work for people learning Hebrew, and packages it in two programs. If you want to speak and/or understand Hebrew, all you need is one program, and that is Practically Speaking Hebrew. If you wish to read and write modern or Biblical Hebrew, you need both Practically Speaking Hebrew and Hebrew 1-2-3 my reading and writing program. That is it.

My daily and weekly free content - here, to my email subscribers, and across social media - is where you take everything you learn in my programs and maintain all you’ve learned, practice it, and build on top of it - so that you don’t need to search for another program once you finish mine.

Now that you’re up to speed on everything, let’s dive into the most essential phrases while traveling in Israel.

The Basics You May Already Know

We Israelis say Hi and Bye using the English words. But you can also say Shalom to start an interaction. It is not as common to say Shalom to end a conversation, just so you know.

The Hebrew word for Goodbye, which actually means ‘See you later’, is a little bit long, and if it’s new to you it may be a little bit overwhelming. It is לְהִתְרָאוֹת /le-heet-ra-’ot/. If you are using it to end a conversation and say farewell, take into consideration that some consider it an older way of ending a conversation. As we said, you can always use the English Bye to end the conversation.

To say ‘Thank you’, you say תּוֹדָה /to-’dah/.

‘Thank you very much’ is תּוֹדָה רַבָּה /ro-’dah ra-’bah/.

We have one word that is not as short as you would maybe want it to be, but it is a two in one, meaning - it serves you in more than one meaning and scenario. The Hebrew word for “Please” and for ‘You’re welcome’ is the exact same word. It is בְּבַקָּשָׁה /be-va-ka-’shah/. It is also the word used for express ‘There you go’, handing something. Please, you’re welcome, and there you go - all in one word: בְּבַקָּשָׁה /be-va-ka-’shah/.

The word for both ‘Excuse me’ and Sorry is סְלִיחָה /s-lee-’khah/, which is also the Hebrew word for Forgiveness.

Yes is כֵּן /ken/, and no is לֹא /lo/.

If you want to say ‘I don’t understand’, here’s an easy option that avoids gender altogether. You can say in Hebrew I didn’t understand, which is the same both if you are male or female, and it is לֹא הֵבַנְתִּי /lo he-’van-tee/ using the past tense, basically saying ‘I didn’t understand’ which is very common and unlike the present tense allows you to avoid the gender headache.

And if you want to express that you did not understand the Hebrew and that you speak English and need it in your language, you can avoid the entire sentence I just taught you and just say in ‘English?’ in Hebrew, expressing - do you speak English? Can we speak in English? The Hebrew word for English is אַנְגְּלִית /an-g-’leet/ and of course you can ask that in English as well. But we’re here to navigate Israel in Hebrew :)

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Navigating Your Way in Hebrew and in Israel

“Where” in Hebrew is אֵיפֹה /’e-(y)-fo/. I mark the y in between parenthesis because the y sound here is almost silent. You can sound it with more of a y sound or without it, but I want you to know that it’s there. Plus, if you can read and write in Hebrew, you see the Yod there making the y sound.

“Where is the bathroom?” in Hebrew is ?אֵיפֹה הַשֵּׁרוּתִים /’e-(y)-fo ha-she-roo-’teem?/

A coffee shop in Hebrew is בֵּית קָפֶה /’be-(y)-t ka-’feh/, literally ‘house of coffee’ or ‘coffee house’.

When we ask ‘Where is the coffee shop?’ a common shortcut would be to ask ‘Where is the cafe?’ dropping the ‘house’ in ‘coffee house’ asking ?אֵיפֹה הַקָּפֶה /’e-(y)-fo ha-ka-’feh?/ which is the same way you would ask in a very direct way ‘Where is the coffee?’ referring to the drink.

‘Where is the hotel?’ is ?אֵיפֹה הַמָּלוֹן /’e-(y)-fo ha-ma-’lon//

‘Where is the entrance?’ is ?אֵיפֹה הַכְּנִיסָה /’e-(y)-fo ha-k-nee-’sah?/

‘Where is the exit?’ is ?אֵיפֹה הַיְּצִיאָה /’e-(y)-fo ha-ye-tsee-’ah?/

The easiest way to ask ‘Is it far?’ is ?זֶה רָחוֹק /zeh ra-’khok?/

And the easiest way to ask ‘Is it near/close?’ is ?זֶה קָרוֹב /zeh ka-’rov?/

The easiest way to ask ‘How do I get to…’ is אֵיךְ מַּגִּיעִים ל /’e-(y)-kh ma-gee-’eem le…/ to which you add where you would like to go.

‘How do I get to the hotel?’ ?אֵיךְ מַּגִּיעִים לַמָּלוֹן /’e-(y)-kh ma-gee-’eem la-ma-’lon?/

‘How do I get to Jerusalem?’ ?אֵיךְ מַּגִּיעִים לְירוּשָׁלַיִם /’e-(y)-kh ma-gee-’eem le-y-roo-sha-’la-yeem?/

‘How do I get to the beach?’ ?אֵיךְ מַּגִּיעִים לַחוֹף /’e-(y)-kh ma-gee-’eem la-’khof?/

‘How do I get to the market?’ ?אֵיךְ מַּגִּיעִים לַשּׁוּק /’e-(y)-kh ma-gee-’eem la-’shook?/

‘How do I get to the mall?’ ?אֵיךְ מַּגִּיעִים לַקַּנְיוֹן /’e-(y)-kh ma-gee-’eem la-kan-’yon?/

‘How do I get to the train?’ ?אֵיךְ מַּגִּיעִים לָרַכֶּבֶת /’e-(y)-kh ma-gee-’eem la-ra-’ke-vet?/

‘How do I get to the western wall?’ ?אֵיךְ מַּגִּיעִים לַכֹּתֶל /’e-(y)-kh ma-gee-’eem la-’ko-kel?/

Directions in Hebrew

And speaking of how you get somewhere, let’s talk about directions in Hebrew. We have right, left, and straight.

Straight is יָשָׁר /ya-’shar/.

When it comes to right and left in Hebrew, we use a different form when we talk about the direction on its own, and when we talk about going right, turning right, heading right. When you get or give directions, Hebrew uses the latter form of Going right, Turning left rather than the noun for Right or Left.

Right is יָמִין /ya-’meen/, and ‘Going right’, ‘Turning right’, ‘Heading right’ is יָמִינָה /ya-’mee-nah/.

Left is שְׂמֹאל /s-’mol/, and ‘Going left’, ‘Turning left’, ‘Heading left’ is שְׂמֹאלָה /s-’mo-lah/.

So my right hand is יַד יָמִין /yad ya-’meen/ using the Right noun in Hebrew, but if I tell you that in order to get to the train station you take a right at that street I would say יָמִינָה /ya-mee-’nah/ on that street. And same goes for left.

‘To which direction?’ in Hebrew is ?לְאֵיזֶה כִּוּוּן /le-’e(y)-zeh kee-’voon?/ to which the answer would be יָמִינָה /ya-mee-’nah/ or שְׂמֹאלָה /s-’mo-lah/ depending on whether you need to go right or left.

Eating and Drinking

Once we’ve navigated our way to where we wanted to get, we can relaxed and have a bite to eat, and drink something to get our strength back.

The easiest way to ask for a menu would be ?אֶפְשָׁר תַּפְרִיט /ef-’shar taf-’reet?/ May/can I get a menu? And you can add Please to that which you already know how to say in Hebrew.

The easiest way to say ‘I’ll have that’ no matter what it is, and especially if you can point at it, would be אֲנִי אֶקַּח אֶת זֶה /a-’nee e-’khakh et zeh/. No gender complexities where you say it this way, it works for everyone just the same.

The easiest way to ask if it is kosher would be ?זֶה כָּשֵׁר /zeh ka-’sher?/

And to ask for the check, you can just say ?אֶפְשָׁר חֶשְׁבּוֹן /ef-’shar khesh-’bon?/ and you can always Please if you wish.

Shopping in Israel

If you’re planning on doing some shopping in Israel, you will be please to hear that we use the English sizes as is. Not as another way of saying sizes, but as the primary main way. So small, medium, large, extra large, extra small, extra extra large and so on are basically all in English, as is. No need to learn any Hebrew here, and we write it in Hebrew using the English words, just like this:

Small סְמוֹל

Medium מֶדְיוּם which we pronounce /’med-yoom/

Large ‘לָארְג

Extra Large ‘אֶקְסְטְרָה לָארְג

To ask how much does it cost, the full way to ask it would be ?כַּמָּה זֶה עוֹלֶה /’ka-mah zeh o-‘leh?/ and you can also shorten it and ask How much is this?’ which in Hebrew is ?כַּמָּה זֶה /’ka-mah zeh?/

I hope you enjoyed this lesson. If you did, I would really appreciate if you could share it with three other people who would love it just as much as you did!

And if you’re thinking, that was really cool Inbal, but I wish I could put everything you taught here into actual sentences so I can express myself in Hebrew and do it myself…. Well, I’ve got you covered.

Inside Practically Speaking Hebrew, my speaking and understanding program, that is exactly what you master. I teach you how to construct your own sentences, mix and matching the right words, mastering the templates and the patterns of Hebrew, giving you the clarity and the confidence you’ve been dreaming of in Hebrew, from day one. This is the program that gets you speaking clear, natural Hebrew, never getting stuck because I’m always there beside you: Giving you feedback on your Hebrew, and answering any question that comes up.

Ready to go beyond the page and actually speak Hebrew with confidence? Practically Speaking Hebrew is built for exactly this, simple, real, and designed for the English-speaking brain, with a native Israeli teacher by your side every step of the way.

Practically Speaking Hebrew

Enjoyed reading and learning with me here on Substack? Here are some other great articles to check out:

Why You’re Struggling to Learn Hebrew: 6 Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them

Learn Why You’ll Never “Master the Basics” of Hebrew as a Beginner (And Why That’s a Good Thing)

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There is a strange thing that happens when you build something and watch it grow.

The numbers climb, the reach expands, and somewhere along the way you realize your heart has no idea how to feel any of it. You can see the progress plainly on a screen and still not feel it anywhere inside you. This week, something small and specific broke through all of that for me and it has left a mark.

A woman in New Jersey reached out to me this week and we sat down for virtual coffee. She found me because an Israeli friend of hers sent her one of my videos. Follow that path for a second. It left from me here in the US. It went to Israel. It came back here.

She is a businesswoman like me, launching her beauty line in Israel, running her busy life with her heart pointed at that country. We talked the way you talk with someone whose brain is wired the same as yours. Two women building across an ocean. Deeply connected to who we are and who we want to be. Both of us with our real life in one country and something essential in another.

I sat there afterward thinking about that path the video took and I could not hold it. I have numbers on a screen that tell me how many people watch what I make. Subscribe to my content. Take my programs. Read my emails. I look at them. Numbers that keep climbing past anything I ever pictured and still my brain refuses to grasp what they actually mean.

Start Speaking Hebrew Today!

I have tried picturing the people these numbers represent and it will not assemble. One woman in New Jersey said where she got the video and it stayed with me for days.

I know the woman I was in Tel Aviv. She was not small and she did not think she was limited. But she did live inside limits and fears. And she jumped into deep water anyway. Then jumped again. Moved countries. Started a life over. Then started it over again. Every time from nothing.

She could picture surviving that. What she could not have pictured was the impact. The reach. Thousands. Hundreds of thousands. Millions. A video traveling to Israel and coming back with a stranger attached to it who now feels like a friend. Numbers her mind had no shelf for.

You can start something from nothing, do the hard thing, and still not feel it. How long, how far, how large. Hearts don’t do numbers.

What reaches me is always smaller and usually has a name or a face attached. A woman in New Jersey. Her friend in Israel. A path I can follow in my head.

So if you’re on the path of something and you don’t feel anything by the numbers of your progress, you are not doing it wrong. You are waiting for the piece of evidence that means something to you. That touches your heart.

When it comes, you will know. And it’s much bigger than any number. Mine came as a video that traveled to Israel and was sent back by a born and raised Israeli to a woman in New Jersey who is now a student and a friend.

Here is what I want to leave you with as Shabbat comes in. Stop waiting for the big number to finally make you feel something. It never will, because that is not how a heart is built. Watch instead for the small thing with a face on it. The one message. The one name. The single person who found you across an ocean and stayed. That is the evidence your heart has been waiting for all along, and when it arrives, no number will ever compare to it.

Tell me in the comments, has your piece of evidence come yet? The small moment that meant more than any milestone. I would love to hear it.

Shabbat Shalom 💙

Inbal

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“This is a huge red flag for me!” “He was the black sheep in the family.” “Is that a white lie?” “Well, it’s a gray area…”

Colors are such a big part of life. They shape how we see the world, how we express ourselves, and even how we communicate on a daily basis. Think about it in English. In Hebrew just the same colors pop up not only in standalone words but in so many phrases and idioms we use every single day. Mastering both will really boost your Hebrew skills, and that’s exactly what this lesson is all about: Your guide to colors in everyday Israeli Hebrew.

But wait, there's more! (I learned that living in the US, listening to and watching corny ads. Gets me every time haha) I’ll also introduce you to the English words we Israelis use all the time when it comes to colors. This is where you’ll advance your Hebrew with little to no effort at all!

And lastly, I’ll show you some fascinating similarities between Hebrew and English when it comes to colors.

Speaking of fascinating, did you know that the color blue didn’t exist in the Bible, or in any ancient text?

Traveling back in time, it’s like the color blue didn’t exist as we know it. How can that be, right? Well, I thought the same, and started reading articles about it, which took me down the most fascinating rabbit hole. If you want to go down the same rabbit hole, I highly recommend searching “blue does not exist in ancient text.” It’s so interesting!

Now, if we haven’t met before, my name is Inbal Amit. I have been simplifying Hebrew for English speakers for years, and you can find it all on my website - Hebrew by Inbal. How do I do that, you ask? Easy! All the skills you need in Hebrew are laid out for you in two programs. Practically Speaking Hebrew gets you speaking and understanding Hebrew, and my bestselling Hebrew 1, 2 and 3 get you reading and writing Biblical and Modern Hebrew in days. Choose the program(s) that fit your goal, you can take one or both and in any order, and to make it even easier - if your goal is to speak and understand Hebrew, all you need is Practically Speaking Hebrew. If your goal is to read and write Hebrew, you need both program (so that you understand what Hebrew 1-2-3 will get you reading and writing in Hebrew).

Ready to dive into colors in Hebrew?

The Word for Color

The word color in Hebrew is /’tse-va/ צֶבַע in singular, and /ts-va-’eem/ צְבָעִים in plural.

/’tse-va/ צֶבַע is considered masculine, and so does any color in Hebrew which is great news because that means that when you add a word describing that color, you don’t need to figure out - should it be in masculine or in feminine? All colors in Hebrew are masculine and therefore all words that describe that color.

Black

So let’s start with the basic colors. Black in Hebrew is /sha-’khor/ שָׁחֹר.

We have two idioms in Hebrew that are quite literary. That means that they are common but not 100% street conversation Hebrew. They use the color black to express something that is dark, not good, negative or pessimistic.

The first is מָרָה שְׁחֹרָה /ma-’rah sh-kho-’rah/. מָרָה /ma-’rah/ is gall or bile, and שְׁחֹרָה /sh-kho-’rah/ is black in feminine, describing the gall or the bile. מָרָה שְׁחֹרָה /ma-’rah sh-kho-’rah/ describes a depressed or melancholy mood. He is in a מָרָה שְׁחֹרָה /ma-’rah sh-kho-’rah/ means he is in a melancholy or depressed state of being. You will hear older people use this expression as it is more literary for young people in Israel today.

And here is the second one. If he is pessimistic and sees all negative, we can say that he רוֹאֶה שְׁחֹרוֹת /ro-’eh sh-kho-’rot/. It literally means he sees all black. All he sees is negative, bad things to come. He is pessimistic.

White

Our opposite color, white, is לָבָן /la-’van/ in Hebrew.

Just like in English, we also say that “it’s not black or white”. In Hebrew it would be זֶה לֹא שָׁחֹר אוֹ לָבָן /zeh lo sha-’khor o la-’van/. Some Hebrew speakers say “it’s not black and white” instead of “or”.

All the Colors of the Rainbow

Now let’s dive deeper and learn all the colors of the rainbow in Hebrew, in Hebrew - כָּל צִבְעֵי הַקֶּשֶׁת /kol tseev-’ey ha-’ke-shet/ All colors of the rainbow.

Blue

Starting with blue for obvious reasons - the Israeli flag is blue and white, and you already know how to say white in Hebrew.

Blue in Hebrew is כָּחֹל /ka-’khol/. But unlike in English, in Hebrew we don’t use blue to describe being down or sad, like saying I’m feeling blue. That use simply does not exist in Hebrew so don’t use it.

We do use blue and white, the colors of our flag, to indicate that something is made in Israel, is locally produced or made. We say כָּחֹל לָבָן /ka-’khol la-’van/ blue white. That is a very common way to say that this was made in Israel. Another way to say it is by adding the word for Output which is תּוֹצֶרֶת /to-’tse-ret/, and in this context it creates made in Israel: תּוֹצֶרֶת כָּחֹל לָבָן /to-’tse-ret ka-’khol la-’van/ literally output blue white. Made in Israel.

There is also a famous song from the 70s called כָּחֹל וְלָבָן זֶה הַצֶּבַע שֶׁלִּי /ka-’khol ve-la-’van zeh ha-’tse-va she-’lee/ ‘Blue and white that is my color’ referring to the Israeli flag, written with people who were incarcerated for being Zionists in mind. You can copy paste the Hebrew into YouTube to find it. Listen to the lyrics and the Hebrew in the song, this line is repeated multiple times.

Just like in English we use Blue Collar for the same meaning, and we use the word צַוָּארוֹן /tsa-v-a’ron/ for Collar. Blue Collar is צַוָּארוֹן כָּחֹל /tsa-va-’ron ka-’khol/.

Yellow

Yellow in Hebrew is צָהֹב /tsa-’hov/.

When we refer to the Yellow Star Jewish people were forced to wear on their clothes in WWII as means of humiliation and separation from the general population, that in Hebrew is טְלַאי צָהֹב /t-’lay tsa-’hov/.

Red

Red is a אָדֹם /a-’dom/.

If blue cannot be found in ancient text, red is all we see in ancient text. It is everywhere!

Just like in English, we also use the expression Red Flag to say that this is a bad sign: This is a red flag for me. Flag is דֶּגֶל /’de-gel/. דֶּגֶל אָדֹם /’de-gel a-’dom/ is Red Flag.

Red Meat is בָּשָׂר אָדֹם /ba-’sar a-’dom/.

Green

The color green in Hebrew is יָרֹק /ya-’rok/.

Just like in English, we use Green Light in Hebrew as well to express permission to do something, having a green light. אוֹר יָרֹק /or ya-’rok/ is Green Light, literally the Hebrew word for Light followed by the Hebrew word for Green: “You have אוֹר יָרֹק /or ya-’rok/ to go ahead and do the task”.

We also use Green of Envy to express just that in Hebrew. If we’re addressing male, he would be יָרֹק מִקִּנְאָה /ya-’rok mee-kee-n-’ah/, and she would be יְרֻקָּה מִקִּנְאָה /ye-roo-’kah mee-kee-n-’ah/.

Another use English and Hebrew share in the context of the color green is when talking about anything that is sustainable or environmentally friendly, like a green house. An eco-friendly house would be בַּיִת יָרֹק /’ba-yeet ya-’rok/ Green Home/Hourse. Green energy is אֵנֶרְגִּיָּה יְרֻקָּה /e-’ner-gee-yah ye-roo-’kah/ using the English word for Energy places in a Hebrew mold.

Pink

The color pink is וָרֹד /va-’rod/.

We use the color pink in Hebrew to express things that are positive, optimistic, bright, looking good or feeling good. If someone has a bright future ahead of them, we say that they have עָתִיד וָרֹד /a-’teed va-’rod/ Pink Future ahead of them.

If someone looks at the world in a very optimistic, positive way, we say that they are looking at the world through מִשְׁקָפַיִם וְרֻדִּים /meesh-ka-’fa-yeem v-roo-’deem/ Pink Glasses.

Orange

The color orange in Hebrew is כָּתֹם /ka-’tom/.

Another color that is close to orange and is commonly used by Hebrew speakers is Peach. Just like the fruit, Peach color in Hebrew is אֲפַרְסֵק /a-far-’sek/ and is commonly referred to when a color is very peach-like.

Purple

The color purple in סָגֹל /sa-’gol/.

If Orange has Peach, Purple has Eggplant. Hebrew speakers usually use the word Eggplant next to the word Purple to express that this color is very Eggplant-like, in Hebrew סָגֹל חָצִיל /sa-’gol kha-’tseel/.

Gray

The color gray in Hebrew is אָפֹר /a-’for/.

Just like in English, we also use it to express that this is Gray Area. We don’t use the word Area in this context, we use the word for Domain, which is תְּחוּם /t-’khoom/. We say זֶה בַּתְּחוּם הָאָפֹר /zeh ba-t-’khoom ha-a-’for/ It’s a gray area.

Light and Dark Shades

We add the Hebrew words for Light or Dark to be more specific about the shade we’re talking about, and we use the masculine form for both, because as we already said - all colors in Hebrew are considered masculine.

Dark in this context is כֵּהֶה /ke-’heh/

So dark gray would be אָפֹר כֵּהֶה /a-’for ke-’heh/

Dark red would be אָדֹם כֵּהֶה /a-’dom ke-’heh/

Dark green would be יָרֹק כֵּהֶה /ya-’rok ke-’heh/

Light in this context is בָּהִיר /ba-’heer/

So light gray would be אָפֹר בָּהִיר /a-’for ba-’heer/

Light red would be אָדֹם בָּהִיר /a-’dom ba-’heer/

Light green would be יָרֹק בָּהִיר /ya-’rok ba-’heer/

Blue is the exception here. In the case of blue, we have a word that describes light blue and that is תְּכֵלֶת /t-’khe-let/. If you’ll say Light Blue in Hebrew כָּחֹל בָּהִיר /ka-’khol ba-’heer/ you may get in response from a Hebrew speaker - do you mean תְּכֵלֶת /t-’khe-let/? Light blue.

The Hebrew Version of “ish”

Another thing we have in Hebrew is a way to describe yellowish, reddish, pinkish, grayish. That “ish” added to each color word in English exists in Hebrew as well, and you’re about to master it.

Gray is אָפֹר /a-’for/. Grayish is אֲפַרְפַּר /a-far-’par/.

Green is יָרֹק /ya-’rok/. Greenish is יְרַקְרַק /ye-rak-’rak/.

Pink is וָרֹד /va-’rod/. Pinkish is וְרַדְרַד /v-rad-’rad/.

So if you come across a word in Hebrew and you’re like, ”I know this is a color but it sounds like someone multiplied the last syllable“, it’s probably that color “ish.”

Colors You Already Know

Ready for words you already know we use almost the same as in English to describe colors and shades?

Starting with turquoise. We say טוּרְקִיז /toor-’keez/.

Lilac - we say לִילָךְ /lee-’lakh/, also a common name for a woman in Israel.

Mocha. We say מוֹקָה /’mo-kah/.

Nickel/ We say נִיקֶל /’nee-kel/.

Bronze. We say בְּרוֹנְזָה /b-’ron-zah.

Caramel. We say קָרָמֵל /ka-ra-’mel/.

Khaki. We say חָאקִי /’kha-kee/.

Bordeaux. We say בּוֹרְדּוֹ /’bor-do/.

And fuchsia - we say פּוֹקְסֶיָה /’fok-se-yah/ or /’fok-see-yah/.

Ready to Take This Further?

If you’re thinking right now, that was really cool, Inbal, but how do I put everything you just taught me into actual sentences so I can express myself in Hebrew and do it myself? Well, I’ve got you covered.

Inside Practically Speaking Hebrew, my conversational program, that is exactly what you master. That is where we take speaking and understanding Hebrew to the next level. I teach you how to construct your own sentences, mix and matching the right words into them, mastering the templates and the patterns of Hebrew, which gives you the clarity and confidence you’ve been searching for in Hebrew.

You will be speaking clear, natural Hebrew, and get my personal support and feedback on your Hebrew throughout the program with lifetime access.

Go beyond the page and actually speak Hebrew with confidence. Practically Speaking Hebrew is built for exactly this, simple, real, and designed for the English-speaking brain, with a native Israeli teacher by your side every step of the way.

[Practically Speaking Hebrew]

I hope you enjoyed this. If you did, I would really appreciate if you could share it with three other people who would love it as well. Thank you so much for spending time with me, and I will see you next week!

Shalom,

Inbal

Enjoyed reading and learning with me here on Substack? Here are some other great articles to check out:

In His Eyes, I See What I Already Knew

Learn About The Language That Refused to Die

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We are trained, early and thoroughly, to be sorry for the best parts of ourselves.

It happens so quietly that most of us never notice it happening. A raised eyebrow here. A cooled room there. And slowly without deciding to we learn to reach for an apology before we reach for the very thing that makes us who we are. We fold it up small. We hand it over gently and brace for the reaction. This week I watched someone do exactly that and it has left a mark.

There is something about you that you have learned to say with an apology in front of it. Somebody taught you to.

A woman did that with me a few days ago.

We were talking about working together and she stopped and told me that in her previous jobs she would see what could be better and say so, and it never went well.

Then she asked if that was going to be a problem here too. She wasn’t asking. She was warning me. I knew the sentence because I lived it.

Years ago I was the one who raised the problem nobody wanted raised. Not everywhere. But in several places and that’s all it takes. I wasn’t trying to be difficult. I just could not sit in a room and ignore what I knew would make the thing we were working on truly great. Every time the temperature dropped a little. Not anger. Just that small silence where everyone waits for you to be finished. You learn from that silence. You learn fast.

Here is what stayed with me. She is much younger than I was and she has already learned to hand it over as a flaw.

Want to Speak Hebrew?

A few workplaces taught her that this is the thing that’s wrong with her and that was enough for it to stick. The thing she learned to apologize for is the thing greatness is made of. Loving your idea and looking hard at where it could fail are not opposites. They are the same act.

You go looking for the holes because you care whether the thing survives contact with the real world. Nobody ever did anything great by having an idea and then bathing in how great it is. You get there by arguing against yourself, and by wanting the people around you to argue too.

Everything I have built came from refusing to accept that the way something has always been done is the best it can be. It usually isn’t.

She won’t fit everywhere. That part is true. And it says everything about those rooms and nothing about her.

In a world I feel is too comfortable with mediocrity it saddens and worries me to think of all the people out there who are apologizing for the things in them that could make something better for everyone else.

Maybe yours isn’t about work. Are you the one who asks the extra question? The one who takes it “too seriously”? The one who can’t let a bad answer sit?

The one who is too honest? Too direct? Too invested?

Every one of those things gets said with an apology in front of it. Go back and look at the thing you apologize for. That’s exactly what makes you rare.

So this Shabbat, I want to leave you with a small assignment. Find the sentence you have been starting with “sorry, but.” Say it again without the apology, and listen to how it sounds. That is not the part of you to hide. That is the part to set free.

Tell me in the comments, what have you been taught to apologize for? I have a feeling it is the very thing this world needs more of. 💙

Shabbat Shalom

Inbal

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In Hebrew, I catch everything.

A missing letter in a 500-word ad. A wrong preposition in a book. A comma doing the wrong job in somebody else’s sentence. I am the one who spots the mistake nobody else spotted and I have been that person my whole life.

That does not happen to me in English.

In the early years of Hebrew by Inbal I would go over every piece of content for an hour and a typo would still be sitting there after I sent it. In emails, in lessons, in posts, in captions, in everything I put in front of my students and my community.

That is annoying for anybody. For me it was personal.

I am a person of words. Not as a nice line about myself. It is the actual shape of my life. I wrote. I taught writing. I worked in content, copywriting, editing, and translation between Hebrew and English for decades. I lived in English for years in Europe and then in America. I have worked inside this language professionally for most of my adult life.

So the question was never whether I could write in English. The question was nuance.

Every good translator knows this and I have been saying this for decades. There is a gap between a native speaker and a non-native speaker that no amount of skill closes completely. The last inch. The word an American would reach for without thinking. And a different word a Brit would reach for in exactly the same spot.

That is why I always preferred translating into Hebrew rather than out of it. When a job needed writing that had to sound American or Australian I did not take it. I knew what it required and I knew who it belonged to.

It is the same reason I would never teach a language that is not my own. Take this as free advice from someone inside the profession. When you choose a language teacher, choose someone born and raised in that language. No exceptions no matter what else they have.

And this is the exact crossing my whole method is built on. Reverse engineering English into Hebrew, finding the precise spot where an English-speaking brain trips and building something solid over it. I do that for my students all day. Doing it in the other direction for my own writing, at speed while running a business is another thing entirely.

My husband is American and my biggest supporter from day one. I would write something, post it, send it. Then he would come across it the way he comes across everything I make, and he would say it. “Typo here.” “We don’t say it that way.” “I know what you mean but nobody says this.”

He was never unkind about it and he was always right. And every time, something in me sank. That is what it feels like to be told that the thing you are great at is failing again.

I did not name any of this at the time. I just wrote a little more carefully and moved on with my day. Looking back now I can see what it actually was. I was writing bound. Never quite at full range. You only see the size of a room after somebody opens the door.

Then AI came along and for me personally it made a world of difference.

Let me be precise about what I mean by that and how I use it, because precision is the whole idea here.

I write everything. Always have, always will. The lessons, the insights, the stories, the observations, the things I noticed this week about where my students get stuck or my inside view on Israel and what is happening there. I write it in English, in my own words, exactly as I want to say it. Then AI shows me where an English-speaking ear catches on something.

It gives me suggestions on what to tweak. I take the first. I throw out the second. I rewrite the third myself, because that one moved my meaning away from what I actually meant. That back and forth is the work. It is the closest thing to working with a private editor who is a native English speaker, and the furthest thing from just pressing a button.

What it gave me was not English. I already had English. It gave me the last inch, and it gave it to me fast.

And here is the funny part. It could not teach my material if it tried. Its Hebrew is nowhere near good enough and that is me being generous. The method is mine. The insights are mine. The stories, the years inside this language, the way I explain something so it finally clicks. AI cannot produce any of that. It helps me carry it across.

The best way I can describe it is this: AI lets me be closest to my fullest self in English. The closest thing to how I would be talking to you in Hebrew. Fully, confidently, choosing every word the way a writer chooses words.

On July 21, Substack turned on a tool that lets any reader scan a post and see a percentage. Human written. AI assisted. AI generated. I think transparency is a fair thing to want and readers asking how something was made is a reasonable question.

So my posts will show a number. The number cannot tell you that the woman who wrote this is not a native English speaker and that she expresses herself fully in Hebrew and wanted to reach you anyway.

A percentage can describe how a sentence got its final shape. It cannot tell you whose thinking it is, whether I lived the story or whether I know what I am talking about. Only the writing itself can do that, and you are the judge of it. You always were.

Substack lets writers add a note called “How I make this.” Mine says what I just told you:

English is not my first language. Hebrew is. And I have worked professionally in both languages for decades, in translation, copywriting and editing. Every thought, story, lesson and opinion here is mine. I use AI the way I would use a private editor who is a native English speaker, to catch what an English-speaking ear hears differently and to land the nuance exactly where I want it.

I do not have all of this worked out and I would rather ask than pronounce.

Does it matter to you as a reader how the words got their final polish if the thinking is mine?

Is a statement like that enough?

And if you write in a language you were not born into I would like to hear how you are handling this. I am asking honestly. Tell me.

Inbal

Nobody tells the story of the day everything went perfectly.

Think about it. The stories you tell over and over for years are never the ones where it all went right. Nobody sits down at dinner and says, “let me tell you about the flight that departed on time.’ The stories that survive are the ones with a crack in them.

I got two reminders of that this week, two days apart.

The Morning That Flipped in Four Seconds

The first one was downtown Charleston on the streets with the multi million dollar houses walking to breakfast at the new hotel everyone is talking about, The Cooper.

Spotless. Every detail thought through. Flawless.

Then we walked into the park by the water.

The entire covered stretch was buried in bird poop. The benches, the walkway, all of it, like the aftermath of the world’s worst paintball fight. It was all you could smell.

In about four seconds the whole feeling of the morning flipped from luxury to disgust. And then something green dropped out of the sky and landed on my bare foot!

Blistering heat, digging through my bag for the wipes I always carry thinking only about the shower waiting for me at home.

Five minutes earlier: pristine.

And here is the part I want you to notice. I could not tell you a single detail about the breakfast. Not one. But I can still feel that green landing on my foot.

The Best Seat in the House

Two days later I went to a sound bath at the museum with a friend.

The room is one of the most beautiful rooms in this city. Enormous windows, a ceiling that climbs like a cathedral, midday light pouring through all of it. It reminds me of Portugal. It’s magical.

We’re sitting on mattresses on the floor. A woman stands by a piano in a long lace dress, barefoot, Tibetan bowls at her feet. She talks us in then sits down and plays. So intentionally. So beautifully. The whole room fills with it.

And from where I’m sitting, I have the best seat in the house. A direct view of her bare foot working the pedal.

Red polish, chipped, half worn away. Not a perfect toe on it. And every time she presses down a few dust balls beside her foot lift and dance as the hem of her dress moves.

I was hypnotized. Not only by the music. Not only by the foot. By the two of them together.

Because the imperfection is what takes a thing past perfect.

It’s the bird poop that turned a nice morning into a story worth telling you.

It’s the chipped polish and the dust under the piano, the behind the scenes peek I got, that made it interesting instead of just beautiful.

Visit Hebrew by Inbal!

What My Father Taught Me

My dad is a painter and he says it best: It’s nice to paint something so precise it could pass for a photograph. But art isn’t in the precision. Art is in the interesting.

I have been carrying that sentence around for most of my life without fully understanding it. This week I finally did.

Perfect is nice on paper. Imperfect leaves a mark on you.

Perfect is admired. Imperfect is inviting.

There is a difference between those two words that took me years to feel. Admiration keeps its distance. It stands back and applauds. But something inviting pulls you in close, because it has a way in. A crack, a chip, a place where the polish wore off. That opening is how one person actually reaches another.

And here’s the strange gift in it. The more room you make for imperfection the less hold perfection has on you. It stops being the thing you’re chasing and becomes just one more option.

My Chipped Polish

I think about this with myself more than I like to admit.

I have lived in the US, in English, for years and I still have an accent. I still reach for a word and come back holding the wrong one. And my Israeli nature is always there, one way or another. You would think all of that is what I should fix.

But the truth is, they’re what make me me. My chipped polish and my dust balls floating and dancing around much of what I do and say.

And that is the one thing no perfectly polished AI-generated feed will ever have.

I think that is part of why my students stay, honestly. Not because I am the most flawless teacher they could find but because I am a real person who sounds like somewhere. There is a there there.

Where the Art Is

So here is my question for you this Shabbat, and it is the one I keep asking myself.

Whatever you’ve been quietly trying to sand down in yourself might be the most interesting thing about you.

That is where the art is.

Tell me in the comments, what is your chipped polish? The thing you have spent years apologizing for that might just be the best part. I would love to know. 💙

Shabbat Shalom

Inbal

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Did you know that when ordering food in Israel - you’re already speaking more Hebrew than you think?

That’s because there are dozens of food and drink words that are identical or almost identical in English and in Hebrew. If you’re traveling to Israel, this gives you one heck of a head start. But if you want to sound like a true local and say all these words you already know like we Israelis do, I’m going to show you exactly how to do just that.

Using my phonetic system, you don’t need to rely on Hebrew letters or even know any of it to pronounce each of these words naturally and correctly, like a born and raised Israeli.

Some of these food and drink words have official Hebrew names, others don’t, but the important thing is what Israelis actually use, in practice, in daily life. That is what we focus on and what I do for you in every element I teach: What are your options, and which should you use in which context to sound like the average Israeli speaking Hebrew in 2026.

If we haven’t met before, my name is Inbal Amit and I have been simplifying Hebrew for English speakers for years. I specialize in getting you speaking and understanding Hebrew with clarity and confidence inside Practically Speaking Hebrew, my program for speaking and understanding; and getting you reading and writing Biblical and Modern Hebrew within days inside Hebrew 1-2-3 my bestselling reading and writing program. Based on your goals you can take Practically Speaking Hebrew only, combine it with Hebrew 1-2-3 (or not), and take any of my two programs in any order. It’s all about your goals.

Then, my free content just like this article and my weekly YouTube videos (@hebrewbyinbal everywhere) are here to make sure you maintain, practice, and build on everything you learned inside my programs. This is my free lifetime membership so that my students don’t need to look for the next program once they finish mine.

Ready to become a pro in food and drink in Hebrew, effortlessly getting what you want in Israel? Let’s do this in alphabetical order (English alphabetical order, that is).

A

Avocado is /a-vo-’ka-do/ אָבוֹקָדוֹ, exactly the same.

Asparagus is almost the same, /as-pa-’ra-gos/ אַסְפָּרָגוֹס.

Artichoke is /ar-tee-’shok/ אַרְטִישׁוֹק.

B

Banana is /ba-’na-nah/ בָּנָנָה, with the /a/ we have in Hebrew. Formally, the stress is on the last syllable, but Israelis today stress the mid-syllable. If you want to sound like a local - you should too.

Broccoli is almost the same, /b-’ro-ko-lee/ בְּרוֹקוֹלִי.

A burger is /’ham-boor-ger/ הַמְבּוּרְגֵּר, like a hamburger rather than a burger.

C

Caramel is /ka-ra-’mel/ קָרָמֵל.

Cashew is /’kash-yo/ קָשְׁיוֹ.

Celery is exactly the same, /’se-le-ree/ סֵלֵרִי.

Cinnamon is pronounced with a /k/ sound instead of the C sound in English, /kee-na-’mon/ קִנָּמוֹן.

Cheddar, as in cheddar cheese, is exactly the same, /’che-der/ צֵ’דֶר.

Chili is exactly the same, /’chee-lee/ צִ’ילִי.

Chips is exactly the same, and Hebrew speakers use the word chips for both chips and French Fries - /’cheep-s/ צִ’יפְּס.

Chocolate is /’sho-ko-lad/ שׁוֹקוֹלָד.

And chocolate chips is /’sho-ko-lad ’cheep-s/ שׁוֹקוֹלָד צִ’יפְּס.

Chutney is exactly the same, /’chat-nee/ צָ’טְנִי.

And if you want to have a cocktail, you can ask for /kok-’te(y)-l/ קוֹקְטֵיְל.

Coffee is /ka-’feh/ קָפֶה.

Corn Flakes is /’kor-n-f-leks/ קוֹרְנְפְלֵקְס.

Cracker is /k-’re-ker/ קְרֵקֶר.

Crepe is /k-’rep/ קְרֶפּ.

Cupcake is exactly the same, /’kap-key-k/ קַפְּקֶיְק.

And curry /’ka-ree/ קָארִי.

F

French fries, as we said, is the same word used for chips and French Fries - /’cheep-s/ צִ’יפְּס.

Filet is /fee-’leh/ פִילֶה.

G

Ginger is exactly the same, /jeen-’jer/ גִּ’ינְגֶ’ר.

Granola is /g-ra-’no-lah/ גְּרָנוֹלָה.

Guava is /goo-’ya-vah/ גּוּיָאבָה.

And gouda cheese is /’ga-oo-dah/ גָּאוּדָה.

Ginger ale is /’jeen-jer ‘e-y-l/ גִּ’ינְגֶ’ר אֱיל.

Gelatin is /je-la-’teen/ גֵּ’לָטִין.

H

Hummus is /’khoo-moos/ חוּמוּס.

J

Jello or jelly is /’je-lee/ גֵ’לִי.

Israelis also say junk food, just like in English - /’jan-k food/ גַ’נְק פּוּד

K

Ketchup is /’ket-shop/ קֶטְשׁוֹפּ.

Kebab is /ka-’bab/ קַבַּבּ.

Kohlrabi is /ko-lo-’ra-bee/ קוֹלוֹרָבִּי.

And kale is /’ke-y-l/ קֵיְל.

L

Lasagna is exactly the same, /la-’zan-yah/ לָזַנְיָה.

Lemonade is /lee-mo-’na-dah/ לִימוֹנָדָה.

Lychee is exactly the same, /’lee-chee/ לִיצִ’י.

And lobster is exactly the same as well, /’lob-s-ter/ לוֹבְּסְטֵר.

Lemon is /lee-’mon/ לִימוֹן.

And lime is exactly the same, /’la-y-m/ לַיְם.

M

Milkshake is the same, /’meel-k-shey-k/ מִילְקְשֵׁיְק.

Meringue is /me-’ren-g/ מֶרֶנְג.

Macaroni is /ma-ka-’ro-nee/ מָקָרוֹנִי.

And maple, as in maple syrup, is exactly the same - /’mey-pel/ מֶיְפֶּל.

Marmalade is /mar-me-’la-dah/ מַרְמֵלָדָה.

And mayo or mayonnaise is /ma-yo-’nez/ מָיוֹנֵז.

Mozzarella is /moo-tsa-’re-lah/ מוּצָרֶלָה.

And muffin is /’ma-feen/ מַאפִין.

Melon is /me-’lon/ מֵלוֹן.

And marshmallow is /’mar-sh-me-lo/ מַרְשְׁמֵלוֹ.

Margarine is /mar-ga-’ree-nah/ מַרְגָּרִינָה.

And mandarin orange is /man-da-’ree-nah/ מַנְדָּרִינָה.

Macaroon is /ma-ka-’roon/ מַקָרוּן.

And mango is /’man-go/ מַנְגּוֹ.

N

Nectarine is /nek-ta-’ree-nah/ נֶקְטָרִינָה.

Nectar is /nek-’tar/ נֶקְטָר.

And noodles is exactly the same, /’noo-del-s/ נוּדֵלְס.

O

Okra is /’ok-rah/ אוֹקְרָה.

Omelet is /om-’let/ אוֹמְלֵט.

Oregano is /o-re-’ga-no/ אוֹרֵגָּנוֹ.

P

Pepperoni is /pe-pe-’ro-nee/ פֶּפֵּרוֹנִי, exactly the same.

A picnic is exactly the same, /peek-’neek/ פִּיקְנִיק.

And so is pizza, /’pee-tsah/ פִּיצָה.

Punch is /’poon-ch/ 'פּוּנְץ.

Pudding is exactly the same, /’poo-deen-g/ פּוּדִינְג.

Pie is exactly the same, /pay/ פַּאי.

Persimmon is /a-far-se-’mon/ אֲפַרְסְמוֹן.

Pesto is /’pes-to/ פֶּסְטוֹ.

Pancake is /’pan-key-k/ פַּנְקֵיְק.

Papaya is exactly the same, /pa-’pa-yah/ פָּאפָּאיָה.

So is pasta, /’pas-tah/ פַּסְטָה.

Pilaf is exactly the same, /pee-’laf/ פִּילָאף.

And popcorn is /’pop-ko-ren/ פּוֹפְּקוֹרְן.

Q

Quinoa is /kee-’no-ah/ קִינוֹאָה.

Quiche is exactly the same, /keesh/ קִישׁ.

R

Ravioli is /rav-’yo-lee/ רַבְיוֹלִי.

And rosemary is /roz-ma-’reen/ רוֹזְמָרִין.

S

Saffron is /ze-af-’ran/ זְעַפְרָן.

Salami is /sa-’la-mee/ סָלָאמִי.

Steak is /s-’te(y)-k/ סְטֵיְק.

Strudel is /sh-to-’roo-del/ שְׁטְרוּדֶל.

Syrup is /’see-rop/ סִירוֹפּ.

Salmon is /’sal-mon/ סַלְמוֹן.

Sandwich is /’sen-d-veech/ 'סֶנְדְּוִיץ.

Sesame, as in sesame seed, is /’soom-soom/ שֻׂמְשׂוּם.

Soda is /’so-dah/ סוֹדָה.

Soy is /‘so-yah/ סוֹיָה.

Spaghetti is /s-pa-’ge-tee/ סְפָּגֵטִי.

Sushi is exactly the same, /’soo-shee/ סוּשִׁי.

Salad is /sa-’lat/ סָלָט.

Salsa is exactly the same, /’sal-sah/ סַלְסָה.

Shallot is /’sha-lot/ שָׁאלוֹט.

Shrimp is /sh-’reem-p-s/ שְׁרִימְפְּס.

And sugar is /soo-’kar/ סֻכָּר.

T

Taco is exactly the same, /’ta-ko/ טָאקוֹ.

Toast is /’to-s-t/ טוֹסְט.

Tofu is /’to-foo/ טוֹפוּ.

Tuna is /’too-nah/ טוּנָה.

Tapioca is /’tap-yo-kah/ טַפְּיוֹקָה.

Tart is tart, exactly the same, /’tar-t/ טַרְט.

And so is teriyaki - /tar-’ya-kee/ טַרְיָאקִי

Tortilla is /tor-’tee-yah/ טוֹרְטִיָּה, the same.

Thyme is /tee-’meen/ טִמִּן.

And toffee is /’to-fee/ טוֹפִי.

V

Vanilla is /va-’neel/ וָנִיל.

W

Wasabi is /wa-’sa-bee/ ווָאסָאבִּי.

Waffle is /’va-fel/ וָפֶל.

And a wok is exactly the same, /wok/ ווֹק.

Y

Yogurt is /’yo-goor-t/ יוֹגוּרְט.

Z

And zucchini is exactly the same, /zoo-’kee-nee/ זֻקִּינִי.

And if you’re thinking, that was really cool Inbal, but I wish I could put everything you taught here into actual sentences so I can express myself in Hebrew and do it myself…. Well, I’ve got you covered.

Inside Practically Speaking Hebrew, my speaking and understanding program, that is exactly what you master. I teach you how to construct your own sentences, mix and matching the right words, mastering the templates and the patterns of Hebrew, giving you the clarity and the confidence you’ve been dreaming of in Hebrew, from day one. This is the program that gets you speaking clear, natural Hebrew, never getting stuck because I’m always there beside you: Giving you feedback on your Hebrew, and answering any question that comes up.

Ready to go beyond the page and actually speak Hebrew with confidence? Practically Speaking Hebrew is built for exactly this, simple, real, and designed for the English-speaking brain, with a native Israeli teacher by your side every step of the way.

[Practically Speaking Hebrew]

Enjoyed reading and learning with me here on Substack? Here are some other great articles to check out:

Learn The 10 Hebrew Words Israelis Actually Used This Past Year And What They Reveal About Israel Today

Learn The Hebrew Verb That Does Everything: How One Word Unlocks Dozens of Real Conversations

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I have a confession.

I’m not a reader.

Shocker, right?

I’ve never been the person with a book in her bag. Who packs one for vacation. Who disappears into a novel on a rainy afternoon while the world goes quiet around her. I watched those people my whole life the way you watch someone speak a language you never learned. With admiration and from a distance.

And for someone so curious who consumes knowledge like air and loves learning more than almost anything that never made sense. Even to me.

The truth is, reading long text in English tires me. And I always leaned toward listening to long texts when I could, even in Hebrew. My ears were always my way in. But somewhere along the way, “I don’t read much” quietly became “I’m not a reader.” And “I’m not a reader” carried shame with it.

That is the sneaky thing about the stories we tell ourselves. They start as observations. Then they harden into facts. Then they become walls.

So a few months ago, when the new friends I made here started talking about a book club, I froze. You know that internal voice. THAT’S NOT FOR ME. TOO LATE. I KNOW WHO I AM BY NOW.

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We all have a few of those. Mine were heights, any activity that can put me face to face with a shark, and books. But I wanted to be part of this group. These are people worth showing up for. So I treated it like a task I needed to get done.

I subscribed to Audible and made one small rule: every time I start a drive, any drive, I hit play. No drifting into my to-do list. No business ideas.

The first drive I forgot.

The second I remembered to hit play, but caught probably 40% of it.

By the fifth, it was a habit. And I actively listened without drifting off every second. And then something unexpected happened. The book captivated me. “The Correspondent” by Virginia Evans. I caught myself looking forward to my next drive. Every single time!

The shocker to me was when I couldn’t wait for the next drive, and found myself cuddling up in bed with my audiobook. Let me repeat that. Me. In bed. With a book. Voluntarily. If you had described that scene to me a year ago I would have laughed and asked who we were talking about.

Three books later, I suggested the title. I picked the Israeli “Someone to Run With” by David Grossman. My new friends are reading it in English. I’m listening to it in Hebrew.

There is something quietly beautiful about that picture. The same story flowing into all of us at once, them through their eyes and me through my ears, in the language of my heart. So no, I’m not reading the books. I’m listening to them. And who cares? I’m having fun, and for the first time I can answer the question I always dreaded: “What are you reading these days?”

That thing that was so clearly not for me? It was just waiting for me to find my door in.

I keep thinking about how many years I spent standing in front of the wrong door. Trying it. Failing. Concluding the whole house was closed to me. Nobody ever told me there were other doors. The people who love books talk about reading them. Nobody talks about the side entrances.

If there’s something you’ve quietly filed under NOT FOR ME, I want you to know: it’s never too late, it may very well be for you, and finding your own way in isn’t cheating. It’s winning.

Maybe your version of the audiobook is out there too. The dance class that becomes a walk with music. The journal that becomes voice notes. The garden that becomes two pots on a windowsill. The door does not have to be the front one. It just has to be yours.

Shabbat Shalom,

💙

Inbal

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Shalom and welcome to another fun, simplified Hebrew session

Today we are going to talk about your false friends in Hebrew and by that I don’t mean friends that you consider real and close, and then never call on your birthday or deliver when you need them most. I mean linguistic false friends. In our case, English and Hebrew words that sound the same or look the same, but have a whole different meaning.

That is what we’ll dive into today, discovering a trove of false friends in the duo that is
Hebrew and English. So let’s get started.

Die דַּי

Let’s kick off our list with Die. Now before you flag this content, no one is wishing you any harm. I promise! In Hebrew the word that sounds exactly like Die means Enough or Stop. Using my phonetic system, it writes /day/ because using the sounds we have in Hebrew /day/ is not pronounced as the English word for Day, but as the English word for Die. in Hebrew writing with Nikud vowel markings it is דַּי.

So when you hear a Hebrew speaker say a word that sounds exactly like the English Die, they are not trying to make anyone pass. They are simply indicating that it is time to put an end to something and stop. There’s a good chance they are saying it to their kids, which makes it even more awkward if you don’t understand what’s happening here, and see an adult saying Die firmly to their little one.

Seen סִין

This one is a cultural twist. In English, Seen often refers to something observed or witnessed. I’ve seen him in this area several times.

But in Hebrew, /seen/ pronounced exactly the same as the English Seen is the word for China. That is how you say China in Hebrew. /seen/ סִין.

So when you hear the word Seen /seen/ סִין in Hebrew, it’s not about something that was seen but rather a reference to the fascinating country of China.

Who הוּא

You might want to sit down for this one because it's a doozy.

When you hear a Hebrew speaker say /hoo/ which sounds exactly like the English Who, they are not asking who is it, or who is there. They are actually saying the Hebrew word for He or Him. In Hebrew writing, it is spelled הוּא, using my phonetic system we write it /hoo/, and it sounds exactly like the English Who. But it means He or Him. I know, this one could not have been more confusing.

So when you hear someone say Who /hoo/ הוּא, they are not asking or trying to figure out which male individual it is. They are simply referring to a male individual.

He הִיא

While I would love to switch from the last one to something super easy, we're still in the weeds here. So stay with me a little bit longer - it gets easier after this. To be fair, we're doing false friends today, so confusion is kind of the point. But I'll admit: this is the second of three false friends that are the most head-spinning of the bunch.

The Hebrew pronoun for She is /hee/ הִיא, which sounds exactly like the English He. So, yes, the Hebrew He is actually the word for She. I know.

So when someone says /hee/ הִיא, they are not referring to a man; They are talking about a woman.

Me מִי

OK, last one in the extra confusing list - let’s talk about the Hebrew word that sounds exactly like the English Me. In English, Me מִי - or as we write it using my phonetic system /mee/ - is a simple pronoun referring to oneself. Who is it? It’s me. But in Hebrew, Me /mee/ מִי is the word for Who.

So when you hear a Hebrew speaker say Me /mee/ מִי, they are not talking about themselves. They are expressing curiosity about the identity of a person you’re/they’re talking about.

Dug דָּג

Let’s dive deep into this one. In English, Dug is the action that happened in the past and usually lead to now having a hole in the ground. But hold your gardening tools. In Hebrew, the word that sounds exactly like the English Dug, and written דָּג /dag/ is the word for Fish.

So if a Hebrew speaker says what clearly sounds to you like the English Dug, they are not referring to someone who used a shovel or a spade and made a whole in the ground. They are talking about the delightful creature of the sea. A fish.

Am אֵם

Staying in the same area of mothers, let’s talk about the Hebrew Am.

In Hebrew, what sounds like the English Am, and using my phonetic system we would write it /em/ because that is the actual sound and pronunciation of this word, and in Hebrew writing אֵם, is the literary form of the word Mother.

While in English, as you know very well, Am is used to express I am… when you hear a Hebrew speaker say /em/ which sounds exactly like the English Am, it is a warm literary and endearing way to say Mother. While this form is typically used in the written form only, you may very well find it in an audio books or whenever a Hebrew speaker is reading a written text that has the word /em/ in it, whether it’s a speech, poem, formal document, or any form of literature.

Call קוֹל

Finally, I can start this next one by saying that it actually makes sense :) and is not only confusing or counterintuitive.

When you hear Call you probably think of a phone call. Well, when you hear a Hebrew speaker saying something that sounds like the English Call, they are saying the Hebrew word /kol/ קוֹל which means Voice. Told you this one makes sense.

The English word for Call sounds almost identical to the Hebrew word for Voice. Interesting, isn’t it?

Bar בָּר

This one is actually a very important one in Hebrew, so whether you are a bar person or not, this is a key one to know.

In English, a Bar is usually a place where you go to have some drinks. But in Hebrew, what sounds like Bar /bar/ and is spelled בָּר in Hebrew carries multiple meanings.

First, Bar /bar/ בָּר bar can mean son, representing the male offspring in a family. This is not everyday conversational Hebrew, but if you’re studying Judaism or the Torah, you will definitely come across it in this meaning.

Its second meaning which does live in everyday Hebrew is Able or Capable. It is for this reason that the coming of age at 13 for boys is called Bar Mitzvah /bar meets-’vah/ בַּר מִצְוָה.

Mitzvah /meets-’vah/ מִצְוָה is a commandment, and at 13 boys come of age, becoming responsible for keeping the commandments themselves. That’s why he’s called a bar mitzvah /bar meets-’vah/ בַּר מִצְוָה, literally “son of the commandment”.

When False Friends Become True Teachers

Here is the funny thing about false friends. They trip you up once, you laugh, and then you never forget them. That little jolt of surprise, wait, that word means WHAT?!, is exactly what makes these words stick in your memory long after ordinary vocabulary fades away.

And that is the secret hiding inside this whole list. The moments that confuse you in a new language are not setbacks. They are the moments your brain is paying the most attention. Every false friend you just met is now a word you actually own.

So the next time you hear one of these words in Hebrew, you will smile a little, remember this list, and understand exactly what is being said. That small moment of clarity, multiplied across hundreds of words, is what learning Hebrew really feels like. Not memorizing. Recognizing.

Which false friend surprised you the most? Tell me in the comments. I read every single one.

Shalom,

Inbal 💙

Ready to go beyond the page and actually speak Hebrew with confidence? Practically Speaking Hebrew is built for exactly this, simple, real, and designed for the English-speaking brain, with a native Israeli teacher by your side every step of the way.

[Practically Speaking Hebrew - hebrewbyinbal.com/speak]

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The best things I ever brought into my life came in the “wrong” order. And I just watched it play out on the Israeli TV show I’m completely addicted to.

The TV show is the Israeli ‘Married at First Sight’.

In Hebrew it’s חֲתֻנָּה מִמַּבָּט רִאשׁוֹן /kha-too-’nah mee-ma-’bat ree-’shon/.

It’s so popular that Israelis just call it חֲתוּנָמִי /kha-too-’na-mee/ for short.

The three experts are so good! The couples are deep and real. (And as someone whose childhood dream was to be a therapist, with two degrees in it, I can’t get enough of human behavior)

I’m binging each episode like a favorite childhood dish. Yesterday I watched one of the husbands in a personal session with the therapist.

He shared that he’s waiting for that certainty feeling to arrive so he can safely let his guard down, and finally be all in. Her answer was one I want to put on billboards everywhere:

“It won’t happen in that order. The feeling doesn’t come first so you can let your guard down. You let your guard down first. That’s the only way it can come in.”

I had to pause the episode. Because how many of us are living in that exact waiting room, in some corner of our lives, right now?

The thing is, it’s like this with every big thing we take on. We want the safe order. Certainty first, then commitment. Confidence first, then the first step. Ready first, then we begin.

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In practice, it’s the complete opposite.

Every big thing that changed my life, in ways I couldn’t even imagine, happened in the “wrong” order. Happened because I dared to jump.

I didn’t feel ready when I moved across the world as a single girl. And then again, to be with the man who is now my husband and the best partner I could ask for. Or when I built something of my own from nothing, in a new country, with no safety net.

Not one of those felt safe first. They became right because I jumped.

Not recklessly. Not against my intuition. Just without waiting until it was safe, comfortable, perfect, or the right time.

Because ready doesn’t come first. It comes after.

So here is my gentle question for you this Shabbat. What is the thing you have been keeping in the waiting room, holding out for certainty that is never going to arrive first? Maybe this is your sign that the order was never the problem. The waiting was.

Shabbat Shalom,

💙

Inbal

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Today we are going to learn how to use infinitive verbs in Hebrew as beginners to create as many sentences as you want, expressing what you want, what you wish for, what you need, and what you don’t want, need, and wish for, using the least amount of words.

You may already know how much I love simplifying Hebrew, especially for beginners because you have so much on your plate as is. If you’re new to my methods and Hebrew teaching good to have you here! My name is Inbal Amit and I simplify Hebrew for English speakers.

Let’s Dive In

Using infinitive verbs in Hebrew is a great and simpler way to express what you want, need, and wish for, as well as what you don’t want, don’t need, or don’t wish for.

By adding the same two words to my infinitive verb:

I + WANT + Infinitive Verb

I can say:

I want to sleep, I want to go, I want to sit, I want to drink, and so on.

Adding a single word for NO, like this:

I + NO + WANT + Infinitive Verb

Allows you to create all the negative forms for these sentences:

I don’t want to sleep, I don’t want to go, I don’t want to sit, and so on.

Our Sentence Elements

So let’s quickly learn our sentence elements.

“I” in Hebrew is /a-’nee/ אֲנִי, for both male or female.

“Want” in Hebrew is /ro-’tseh/ רוֹצֶה for male, and /ro-’tsah/ רוֹצָה for female.

“No” in Hebrew is /lo/ לֹא, for both male or female.

Now that we have all the elements we need to construct hundreds of sentences, let’s form our first one.

I want to eat. If you are male, /a-’nee ro-’tseh le-e-’khol/ אֲנִי רוֹצֶה לֶאֱכֹל.

I want to eat. If you are female, /a-’nee ro-’tsah le-e-’khol/ אֲנִי רוֹצָה לֶאֱכֹל.

From here on we keep the sentence as is replacing only the infinitive verb to create as many sentences as we wish, expressing precisely what we want or do not want.

Ready to Build All Our Sentences?

I want to show you how easy it is to place any infinitive verb you wish and create the most useful sentences, with zero mistakes, and minimum effort.

I want to drink. If you are male, /a-’nee ro-’tseh leesh-’tot/ אֲנִי רוֹצֶה לִשְׁתּוֹת.

I want to drink. If you are female, /a-’nee ro-’tsah leesh-’tot/ אֲנִי רוֹצָה לִשְׁתּוֹת.

I do not want to drink. If you are male, /a-’nee lo ro-’tseh leesh-’tot/ אֲנִי לֹא רוֹצֶה לִשְׁתּוֹת.

I do not want to drink. If you are female, /a-’nee lo ro-’tsah leesh-’tot/ אֲנִי לֹא רוֹצָה לִשְׁתּוֹת.

I want to learn/study. If you are male, /a-’nee ro-’tseh leel-’mod/ אֲנִי רוֹצֶה לִלְמֹד.

I want to learn/study. If you are female, /a-’nee ro-’tsah leel-’mod/ אֲנִי רוֹצָה לִלְמֹד.

I do not want to learn/study. If you are male, /a-’nee lo ro-’tseh leel-’mod/ אֲנִי לֹא רוֹצֶה לִלְמֹד.

I do not want to learn/study. If you are female, /a-’nee lo ro-’tsah leel-’mod/ אֲנִי לֹא רוֹצָה לִלְמֹד.

I want to walk/go/leave. If you are male, /a-’nee ro-’tseh la-’le-khet/ אֲנִי רוֹצֶה לָלֶכֶת.

I want to walk/go/leave. If you are female, /a-’nee ro-’tsah la-’le-khet/ אֲנִי רוֹצָה לָלֶכֶת.

I do not want to walk/go/leave. If you are male, /a-’nee lo ro-’tseh la-’le-khet/ אֲנִי לֹא רוֹצֶה לָלֶכֶת.

I do not want to walk/go/leave. If you are female, /a-’nee lo ro-’tsah la-’le-khet/ אֲנִי לֹא רוֹצָה לָלֶכֶת.

I want to travel. If you are male, /a-’nee ro-’tseh le-ta-’yel/ אֲנִי רוֹצֶה לְטַיֵּל.

I want to travel. If you are female, /a-’nee ro-’tsah le-ta-’yel/ אֲנִי רוֹצָה לְטַיֵּל.

I do not want to travel. If you are male, /a-’nee lo ro-’tseh le-ta-’yel/ אֲנִי לֹא רוֹצֶה לְטַיֵּל.

I do not want to travel. If you are female, /a-’nee lo ro-’tsah le-ta-’yel/ אֲנִי לֹא רוֹצָה לְטַיֵּל.

I want to work. If you are male, /a-’nee ro-’tseh la-a-’vod/ אֲנִי רוֹצֶה לַעֲבֹד.

I want to work. If you are female, /a-’nee ro-’tsah la-a-’vod/ אֲנִי רוֹצָה לַעֲבֹד.

I do not want to work. If you are male, /a-’nee lo ro-’tseh la-a-’vod/ אֲנִי לֹא רוֹצֶה לַעֲבֹד.

I do not want to work. If you are female, /a-’nee lo ro-’tsah la-a-’vod/ אֲנִי לֹא רוֹצָה לַעֲבֹד.

I want to come by/over. If you are male, /a-’nee ro-’tseh la-’vo/ אֲנִי רוֹצֶה לָבוֹא.

I want to come by/over. If you are female, /a-’nee ro-’tsah la-’vo/ אֲנִי רוֹצָה לָבוֹא.

I do not want to come by/over. If you are male, /a-’nee lo ro-’tseh la-’vo/ אֲנִי לֹא רוֹצֶה לָבוֹא.

I do not want to come by/over. If you are female, /a-’nee lo ro-’tsah la-’vo/ אֲנִי לֹא רוֹצָה לָבוֹא.

I want to stay. If you are male, /a-’nee ro-’tseh le-hee-sha-’er/ אֲנִי רוֹצֶה לְהִשָּׁאֵר.

I want to stay. If you are female, /a-’nee ro-’tsah le-hee-sha-’er/ אֲנִי רוֹצָה לְהִשָּׁאֵר.

I do not want to stay. If you are male, /a-’nee lo ro-’tseh le-hee-sha-’er/ אֲנִי לֹא רוֹצֶה לְהִשָּׁאֵר.

I do not want to stay. If you are female, /a-’nee lo ro-’tsah le-hee-sha-’er/ אֲנִי לֹא רוֹצָה לְהִשָּׁאֵר.

I want to pay. If you are male, /a-’nee ro-’tseh le-sha-’lem/ אֲנִי רוֹצֶה לְשַׁלֵּם.

I want to pay. If you are female, /a-’nee ro-’tsah le-sha-’lem/ אֲנִי רוֹצָה לְשַׁלֵּם.

I do not want to pay. If you are male, /a-’nee lo ro-’tseh le-sha-’lem/ אֲנִי לֹא רוֹצֶה לְשַׁלֵּם.

I do not want to pay. If you are female, /a-’nee lo ro-’tsah le-sha-’lem/ אֲנִי לֹא רוֹצָה לְשַׁלֵּם.

I want to sit. If you are male, /a-’nee ro-’tseh la-’she-vet/ אֲנִי רוֹצֶה לָשֶׁבֶת.

I want to sit. If you are female, /a-’nee ro-’tsah la-’she-vet/ אֲנִי רוֹצָה לָשֶׁבֶת.

I do not want to sit. If you are male, /a-’nee lo ro-’tseh la-’she-vet/ אֲנִי לֹא רוֹצֶה לָשֶׁבֶת.

I do not want to sit. If you are female, /a-’nee lo ro-’tsah la-’she-vet/ אֲנִי לֹא רוֹצָה לָשֶׁבֶת.

I want to rest. If you are male, /a-’nee ro-’tseh la-’noo-akh/ אֲנִי רוֹצֶה לָנוּחַ.

I want to rest. If you are female, /a-’nee ro-’tsah la-’noo-akh/ אֲנִי רוֹצָה לָנוּחַ.

I do not want to rest. If you are male, /a-’nee lo ro-’tseh la-’noo-akh/ אֲנִי לֹא רוֹצֶה לָנוּחַ.

I do not want to rest. If you are female, /a-’nee lo ro-’tsah la-’noo-akh/ אֲנִי לֹא רוֹצָה לָנוּחַ.

I want to keep going / continue. If you are male, /a-’nee ro-’tseh le-ham-’sheekh/ אֲנִי רוֹצֶה לְהַמְשִׁיךְ.

I want to keep going / continue. If you are female, /a-’nee ro-’tsah le-ham-’sheekh/ אֲנִי רוֹצָה לְהַמְשִׁיךְ.

I do not want to keep going / continue. If you are male, /a-’nee lo ro-’tseh le-ham-’sheekh/ אֲנִי לֹא רוֹצֶה לְהַמְשִׁיךְ.

I do not want to keep going / continue. If you are female, /a-’nee lo ro-’tsah le-ham-’sheekh/ אֲנִי לֹא רוֹצָה לְהַמְשִׁיךְ.

I want to know. If you are male, /a-’nee ro-’tseh la-’da-at/ אֲנִי רוֹצֶה לָדַעַת.

I want to know. If you are female, /a-’nee ro-’tsah la-’da-at/ אֲנִי רוֹצָה לָדַעַת.

I do not want to know. If you are male, /a-’nee lo ro-’tseh la-’da-at/ אֲנִי לֹא רוֹצֶה לָדַעַת.

I do not want to know. If you are female, /a-’nee lo ro-’tsah la-’da-at/ אֲנִי לֹא רוֹצָה לָדַעַת.

Your Turn

Use your sentences, practice them, add as many as you wish - mixing in any infinitive verb, and if you have a sentence that I haven’t taught and you want to make sure you’ve got the right infinitive verb to place in the sentences that are now yours, write it in the comments. I read all of them and I will gladly help you make sure you’ve got the right one.

See you next time.

Inbal

Ready to go beyond the page and actually speak Hebrew with confidence? Practically Speaking Hebrew is built for exactly this, simple, real, and designed for the English-speaking brain, with a native Israeli teacher by your side every step of the way.

[Practically Speaking Hebrew - hebrewbyinbal.com/speak]

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Most days run you instead of the other way around.

You wake up and go straight into what needs to get done. What’s next. What’s expected. By the time you stop to breathe the day already decided how you feel instead of you deciding it.

I do this too. More than I’d like to admit.

And if you make things for a living or for love I suspect you know this feeling even more intimately than most. Writers, artists, builders of newsletters and songs and small beautiful businesses. You carry a studio in your head that never fully closes. The draft follows you to dinner. The unfinished thing hums in the background of everything. Creative work is a gift, and it is also a door that does not shut on its own. Somebody has to close it on purpose. That somebody is you.

A Small Shift Worth Trying

Here’s a small shift worth trying. Before you plan your day, pick a feeling first.

Not a task. A feeling.

Steady. Light. Focused. Whatever you’re missing most right now.

Then work backward from it.

If you want steady, that might mean five minutes of quiet before you touch your phone instead of letting the first notification set your pace.

If you want light it might mean leaving one thing off today’s list on purpose even if you could technically fit it in.

If you want focused it might mean closing every tab but one before you start, so your attention isn’t split twelve ways before 9am.

None of this is about doing more. It’s about choosing on purpose instead of drifting into whatever the day throws at you first.

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For the Ones Who Create

I want to say this part directly to the creatives reading because I am one of you and I know the trap.

The work never announces that it is finished. There is always one more idea, one more edit, one more post that could go out. So if you wait to rest until the work is done you will never rest, because done is not a place the creative life ever fully arrives at. The pause has to be chosen. It will not be offered.

And here is the quiet irony I have learned the hard way. The pause is not the opposite of the work. It is part of it. The empty space is where the ideas actually come from. Every writer knows the sentence that arrived in the shower. Every artist knows the answer that showed up on the walk, not at the desk. When you choose the feeling first, when you protect a little stillness, you are not stealing time from your craft. You are feeding it.

The Oldest Version of This Practice

I grew up inside a tradition that understood all of this thousands of years before anyone called it mindfulness.

Every week Shabbat arrives and it does not ask whether the work is finished. It never is. Shabbat comes anyway and gently insists on the very thing I am describing. A pause chosen on purpose. A day built around a feeling, rest, presence, connection, instead of a list. Not because everything got done, but because you matter beyond what you produce.

You do not have to observe Shabbat for that wisdom to reach you. Take the heart of it. One protected pocket of time where the day does not run you. Where you decide the feeling first and let everything else work backward from there.

One Choice Today

Try it with just one moment today.

Your morning coffee. The drive to work. The call you’ve been dreading. The blank page you have been circling.

Ask yourself, what do I want to feel here, and what’s one small thing that gets me closer to that. Then do that one thing.

You don’t need to redesign your whole life.

You need one choice today that’s built around how you want to feel, not just what you think you’re supposed to do.

Small. On purpose. Again tomorrow.

And tell me in the comments, because I truly want to know. What feeling are you choosing first this week?

Shabbat Shalom 💙

Inbal

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I know you’re eager to connect with Israelis, immerse yourself in this rich culture, and make progress in the Hebrew language like a native speaker.

That is why today we’re going to dive into the flavorful world of Hebrew slang focusing on words that express the best experiences, feelings, and the best moments that make life so sweet.

If you’re new around here my name is Inbal Amit and I’ve been simplifying Hebrew for English speakers for years.

As a born and raised Israeli I can tell you that the Israeli culture is known for its laid-back and informal nature and just like any other culture and language Israeli slang varies depending on context, age group, and background of the speaker.

You’ll find that younger people may use different slang words than older generations, and that people of specific backgrounds like military personnel have their own unique set of expressions.

The slang phrases you’ll learn today were carefully chosen to serve you in most casual conversations and in informal settings. Israelis are typically warm and friendly, so if you happen to use a slang term in the wrong context or setting they will likely correct you in a nonchalant playful way.

Remember, learning a language is a journey, and making mistakes is the most natural and unavoidable part of the process. So try to embrace it as much as possible, and let’s dive into this linguistic adventure together.

Our first slang word is אֵשׁ pronounced /esh/.

אֵשׁ /esh/ means Fire in Hebrew, and as a slang term it is typically used to describe something that is amazing or excellent. It is the Hebrew equivalent to the English slang Lit.

The show was lit. The show was אֵשׁ /esh/. It was soooo good.

How was it?

אֵשׁ /esh/.

Our second slang word is טִילִים pronounced /’tee-leem/.

טִילִים pronounced /’tee-leem/ means Missiles or Rockets in Hebrew, the plural form of Missile or Rocket (note that the word not in the slang context stresses the first syllable).

It is used as a slang term, pronounced /’tee-leem/, to describe something that is super impressive or outstanding, like a powerful missile.

We usually use it in a sentence by adding it as a second extra adjective following the initial one to emphasize just how good something was or how incredibly impressed we were by this person or thing.

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He is funny missiles! He is funny /’tee-leem/ טִילִים. He is insanely funny.

Our next slang word is גָּדוֹל /ga-’dol/.

גָּדוֹל /ga-’dol/ in the Hebrew word for Big or Large, in the singular masculine form.

As a slang word, we use it in two ways.

In its singular masculine form only, we use גָּדוֹל /ga-’dol/ in response to something that is super funny, great or impressive.

Someone shows us an Instagram reel that we find super funny, impressive, or astonishing in a positive way. Our response would be: גָּדוֹל /ga-’dol/

The second way we use this word in slang Hebrew is by describing someone who is really impressive, creative, innovative, funny and so on.

In this second case, will match the word גָּדוֹל /ga-’dol/ to the gender and number of the people we are referring to.

How was that stand up comedian?

If they were a man, and we loved their performance, we can say - He was גָּדוֹל /ga-’dol/.

If they were a woman, and we loved their performance, we can say - She was גְּדוֹלָה /g-do-’lah/.

Our next word used in Hebrew slang also describes something great, mighty. It is אַדִּיר /a-’deer/.

אַדִּיר /a-’deer/ is the Hebrew word for Great, Powerful, Mighty. In Hebrew slang, it means Marvelous, Wonderful, Impressive.

We can use it just like גָּדוֹל /ga-’dol/ as a response in its singular masculine form.

How was it?

Great. אַדִּיר /a-’deer/.

Out next one is perfect for when you want to compliment someone directly or indirectly. This one allows you to do that, and talk about people who really won the jackpot, beat the system, got it made.

When speaking to a man, we use שִׂחַקְתָּ אוֹתָהּ /see-’khak-ta o-’tah/

and when speaking to a woman, we use שִׂחַקְתְּ אוֹתָהּ /see-’khak-t o-’tah/

It literally means - You played it, referring to the system, as in - You beat the system, excelled, got it made, aced it!

So when a male friend tells you they won a prize, got the job everyone wanted, got an A from Inbal inside the course, you can say: שִׂחַקְתָּ אוֹתָהּ /see-’khak-ta o-’tah/

And if they are female, you can say: שִׂחַקְתְּ אוֹתָהּ /see-’khak-t o-’tah/

Now, when you want to convey hat something is so good that there is nothing like it! it is so yummy, so comfy, so beautiful, this next one is perfect for that.

אֵין דְּבָרִים כָּאֵלֶּה /’e-(y)-n d-v-a’reem ka-’e-leh/

It literally means ‘There are no such things’.

You can also use the short super local version, and just say אֵין /’e-(y)-n/ which means ‘There is no’, meaning - there is nothing like it.

How is the cake?

You can reply:

אֵין דְּבָרִים כָּאֵלֶּה /’e-(y)-n d-v-a’reem ka-’e-leh/ There is nothing like it!

Or

אֵין /’e-(y)-n/ There is no.

Write me in the comments which words and phrases you’ll start using, or are already using, and what would you love me to dive into next. I read and respond to every comment.

Thank you for spending this time with me, and see you next time.

Inbal

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There is a kind of tired that sleep fixes. And there is a kind it doesn’t.

Too often we treat them the same because we misdiagnose one as the other.

We feel worn down and we assume the answer is rest. More sleep. A slower weekend. And sometimes that is exactly right. The body is simply tired and it recovers. You close your eyes, you let the week fall away, and you wake up lighter. That is rest doing exactly what it was made to do.

But other times we sleep, we rest, and we wake up still carrying it. The heaviness did not move one bit. That is the moment worth noticing.

Because that is not necessarily tired. That could be empty.

Two Things That Feel Almost the Same

Tired is your body asking for rest. Empty is something else entirely, asking for something completely different.

It is tricky because the two feel almost identical which is exactly why we keep reaching for the same cure and then wondering why it never quite works. You can sleep ten hours and wake up just as hollow, because sleep was never the thing that was missing.

Tired comes from doing too much.

Empty usually comes from doing too little of the things that are actually yours. The things that have nothing to do with being productive and everything to do with feeding something deeper in you.

Too often we let these things slide to the bottom of our list, beneath everything urgent, everything that has to get done, and then we call the result tired because tired is what we feel. And because tired is easier. It is allowed. It has a cure we already know and can reach for without asking ourselves anything hard.

Empty asks a harder question. It asks what you have been leaving out.

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The Answer Is Smaller Than You Think

And the answer is usually smaller than you would think.

Empty is almost frightening to even read about because we assume it requires a big fix. A life change. A dramatic course correction. Something that demands we blow everything up and start over.

But in my experience, that is rarely the case.

Empty is not asking for more of everything. It is asking for a little of the one or two things that are genuinely yours. And if you are frantically searching for them inside yourself right now I promise you do not have to dig. They are probably already floating through your thoughts during the week. The quiet pull you keep noticing and keep setting aside.

They are usually the things that have nothing to do with being useful. A thing you would do even if no one ever knew. Even if it was only ever for you. Just because something in you lights up when you do it.

For me, honestly, one of those things is this. Sitting down to write to you. It is not on anyone’s urgent list. No one is requiring it of me. But something in me settles when I do it, and I have learned not to let it slide to the bottom.

A Shabbat Invitation

So here is my gentle invitation for you this Shabbat.

If you have a sense of what your thing is, try to put one piece of it back this week. A single time you choose it on purpose instead of letting it slip to the bottom of the list again. You do not need to overhaul your life. You just need to give it a little room back.

Because empty does not lift when you rest more. It lifts the moment you stop leaving yourself out.

This is part of why Shabbat has always felt so wise to me. It is a built-in pause, a sacred insistence that we step back from all the doing and make space for the things that actually restore us. Not productivity. Not the urgent list. Just presence, connection, and a little room to be ourselves again.

So this week, if the heaviness shows up, try the other cure. Not more sleep. A little more of you.

Shabbat Shalom,

Inbal 💙

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