20 votes
Accepted

The Torah is written without vowels?

As other answers have mentioned, what is meant is simply what is said: many renderings of the Torah leave out the vowel markers (and punctuation). As several comments have offered, this is a common ...
KRyan's user avatar
  • 443
19 votes

The Torah is written without vowels?

Vowels in Hebrew - called n'kudot - are written as dots and lines surrounding the letters. In an actual Torah - written on parchment - these symbols aren't there. As an example, here's a picture of a ...
Mithical's user avatar
  • 24k
8 votes

Whose fingerprint is on the cover of "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind"?

After clarification, Harari's team confirmed that the fingerprint on that cover is just a stock photo and contains to particular significance. שלום, לשאלתך - צדקת, טביעת האצבע היא רנדומלית, ללא ...
Mithical's user avatar
  • 24k
6 votes
Accepted

Who is the English translator of "The Man Who Wanted to Know" by Dror Mishani if it is a work of translation?

Todd Hasak-Lowy According to Dror Mishani's own website: – 11 / 2016: “The Man who wanted to know everything” out in the US – and is on PW’s books of the week list with a starred review! The third ...
Rand al'Thor's user avatar
  • 72.3k
3 votes

What does asking how to write songs with millions of views have to do with the rest of the song in "אלוף העולם"?

There's a small but crucial error in your translation. Correcting it will help us reconcile these lines with the whole song: תגידי, איך כותבים שירים עם אלף ציפיות Say (feminine second person), how do ...
HeyJude's user avatar
  • 1,574
3 votes

"By the lives of all who’d come to console and assist the stricken" What does it mean?

Your example is only part of the sentence spoken by the narrator and lacks the context and the first verse: The context is when at sea, the narrator has seen a creature so horrible that the sight of ...
Greybeard's user avatar
2 votes

What does the line "and who will bear the consequences" mean in Ishay Ribo's "Keter Melucha"?

This is both wordplay on the word "yisa" (travel / bear) and a reference to the people becoming sick as a result of ignoring COVID-19 restrictions. מי יחנה ומי יסע Who will stay and who ...
Mithical's user avatar
  • 24k
2 votes

What does the line about the Tower of Babel mean in Ishay Ribo's "Keter Melucha"?

The central theme of the song is being alone. This is illustrated with the lines "no one in the city or field", "no one to interact with", even in that first stanza. A little ...
Mithical's user avatar
  • 24k
2 votes

Why was the text of "HaTikvah" changed?

In this opinion piece, Philologos writes: The original words of Stanza 2 of “Hatikvah” were: “Od lo avda tikvateynu, / hativka ha-noshana, / lashuv le-eretz avoteynu, / le’ir ba David, David ...
Mike's user avatar
  • 832
1 vote

What is the point of the tefillin burning in S. Y. Agnon's "Two Pairs"?

Agnon frequently uses talmudic and midrashic imagery as inspiration for his stories, so it wouldn't be surprising if the above story is relevant to Two Pairs. The character clearly idealizes the past, ...
Zipdent's user avatar
  • 11
1 vote
Accepted

What do these formatting styles in Hebrew/Aramaic texts from Sefaria mean?

The Zohar specifically is written in Aramaic, and rather difficult Aramaic at that. I'm struggling to understand most of what's written there, to be honest. However, from what I do understand, the ...
Mithical's user avatar
  • 24k
1 vote

Why was the text of "HaTikvah" changed?

I think the reason for the change is clear. The hope expressed in the original language is completely non-political. That hope is satisfied by return to the Jerusalem of the Ottoman Empire or the ...
Neil Adelman's user avatar

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