Questions tagged [hebrew-language]
Questions about works of literature that were originally written in the Hebrew language.
18 questions
10
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1
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3k
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Whose fingerprint is on the cover of "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind"?
I'm interested in finding out whose fingerprint is on the cover of Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari. Could it belong to Mr Harari, or his father (whom the book was dedicated ...
10
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Why was the text of "HaTikvah" changed?
"HaTikvah," Israel's national anthem, was adopted from an earlier poem called "Tikvateinu," by Naftali Herz Imber. Here is the official text of the anthem (translation and transliteration can be found ...
9
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3
answers
3k
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The Torah is written without vowels?
In Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer, Chapter 7 ("The End of Remembering"), he writes:
One of the last places where this tradition of recitation still survives is in the reading of ...
9
votes
0
answers
68
views
Why does Uri get a special answer when his balloon pops?
In Miriam Roth's classic Hebrew children's book A Tale of Five Balloons (Hebrew: מעשה בחמישה בלונים), five children each get a balloon:
In sequence, each child sees their balloon pop. And each is ...
5
votes
2
answers
331
views
Psalm 23:4 syllable division: how does the original Hebrew come to 11 syllables?
In Robert Alter's The Book of Psalms: A Translation with Commentary (2009), the author examines the first line of Psalm 23:4 in the Hebrew and arrives at eight words (so far so good) and eleven ...
4
votes
1
answer
64
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What is the point of the tefillin burning in S. Y. Agnon's "Two Pairs"?
In S. Y. Agnon's short story "Two Pairs", in part 10, the narrator experiences several odd dreams involving his tefillin, and a couple strange instances with them, and then his house burns ...
4
votes
0
answers
184
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Why the title "Agunot" for S. Y. Agnon's short story?
S. Y. Agnon's first influential story is "Agunot" - in fact, his chosen name "Agnon" comes from the same word.
The word "Agunot" is the plural form of the word "Agunah", which is the term for a woman ...
3
votes
1
answer
172
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Who is the English translator of "The Man Who Wanted to Know" by Dror Mishani if it is a work of translation?
I am under the impression Mishani doesn't write in English. Wikipedia:
Haish sheratza ladaat hakol (2015; To be published in English during 2016: The Man who wanted to know)
This source claims:
Two ...
3
votes
1
answer
54
views
"By the lives of all who’d come to console and assist the stricken" What does it mean?
I was reading the poem "The Miracle at Sea" by Shmuel HaNagid (translated from Hebrew by Peter Cole), and I came across a passage that really confused me. This is the second stanza of the poem:
By ...
2
votes
1
answer
97
views
What does the line "and who will bear the consequences" mean in Ishay Ribo's "Keter Melucha"?
In Ishay Ribo's song "Keter Melucha / כתר מלוכה" (Royal Crown), a song written about, essentially, COVID and lockdown, there's a stanza that goes like this:
בין תצווה לכי תישא
אסתר פורים ...
2
votes
1
answer
412
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What does the line about the Tower of Babel mean in Ishay Ribo's "Keter Melucha"?
In Ishay Ribo's song "Keter Melucha / כתר מלוכה" (Royal Crown), a song written about, essentially, COVID and lockdown, there's a stanza that goes like this:
בין ויקהל לפקודי
אין איש בעיר ...
2
votes
0
answers
76
views
Were there any kind of 'fictional' prosaic or dramatic works in ancient Israel?
From what I know, the main form of 'art' in ancient Israel was musical - singing, dancing and playing instruments. This was very widespread back then, even extending to many biblical promises about ...
2
votes
0
answers
156
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Why is the birthday slightly different in Ishay Ribo's "Keter Melucha"?
In Ishay Ribo's "Keter Melucha / כתר מלוכה" (a song written in early 2020 about lockdown in Israel), the opening stanza goes like this:
בין תרומה לתצווה
יום הולדת קצת משונה
הכל רגיל כאן ...
1
vote
1
answer
126
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What does asking how to write songs with millions of views have to do with the rest of the song in "אלוף העולם"?
The last verse in Hanan Ben Ari's "אלוף העולם" (Aluf HaOlam / Champion of the World) goes like this:
אני אלוף העולם בלפצות
להתנצל ולרצות
לחטוא, להתנקות
לחשוף, להתכסות
תגידי, איך כותבים ...
1
vote
0
answers
189
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What order are Sapiens, Homo Deus, and 21 Lessons for the 21st Century intended to be read in?
I've already read Sapiens, and I am moving onto Homo Deus. But this got me thinking: Since Sapiens, 21 Lessons, and Homo Deus are viewed as a trilogy of past, present, and future, is there an ideal ...
1
vote
0
answers
41
views
Why does the narrator specify which psalms are being said at the meal in Agnon's "The Kerchief"?
In section 9 of S. Y. Agnon's short story "The Kerchief", the narrator / protagonist gives us the scene at the Shabbat lunch meal:
When I came back with Father from the small prayer room ...
1
vote
0
answers
76
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What's the meaning of the dream in Agnon's "The Kerchief"?
In S. Y. Agnon's short story "The Kerchief", there's an entire section (section 4) dedicated to a dream that the protagonist would have when his father was selling things in Lashkowitz:
And ...
0
votes
1
answer
70
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What do these formatting styles in Hebrew/Aramaic texts from Sefaria mean?
I am looking to convert the Hebrew/Aramaic text exports from Sefaria.org into another text format, and "clean them up" as best as I can. By clean them up, I mean convert them to a basic ...