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Category: Masorah, Grammar & Hebrew Language

Etymologies of the Hebrew Calendar

Etymologies of the Hebrew Calendar

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Etymologies of the Hebrew Calendar By Dan D.Y. Shapira Dan (or, Dan D.Y.) Shapira is an Orientalist and grows more than fifty trees on the edge of the Judaean Desert. He’s a Full Professor at Bar-Ilan University. The month of Nisan begins the Hebrew year. Its name comes, ultimately, from Sumerian nisag (nig, “thing,” + sag (“head/first”), “first fruits” at about the spring equinox, via Akkadian and / or Aramaic. It should be observed that the names of the months…

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Hayyim ben Benjamin Ze’ev Bochner: Kabbalist, Talmudist, and Grammarian

Hayyim ben Benjamin Ze’ev Bochner: Kabbalist, Talmudist, and Grammarian

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Hayyim ben Benjamin Ze’ev Bochner: Kabbalist, Talmudist, and Grammarian by Marvin J. Heller[1] Hayyim ben Benjamin Ze’ev Bochner (c. 1610–84), a multi-faceted individual, was the author of varied works reflecting diverse contemporary intellectual interests. His books are both independent works and commentaries on earlier titles. A Kabbalist, Talmudist, and grammarian, Bochner wrote on these subjects as well as annotating numerous other works. Born in Cracow, Bochner’s family was one of that city’s wealthiest Jewish families, owners of a stone mansion…

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The Etymology of “Onah”

The Etymology of “Onah”

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The Etymology of “Onah” by Mitchell First (MFirstAtty@aol.com) I thought it would be useful if everyone would have a better understanding of how the root ענה, occurring at Exodus 21:10 in the form “onatah,” can refer to the sexual obligation. I will offer several possibilities. First I must provide a brief overview of this widely occurring root. It is typically viewed as having four meanings as a verb: 1) respond, 2) sing, 3) afflict, and 4) occupy oneself with. It…

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The Unusual Word Tzafufim in Pirkei Avos

The Unusual Word Tzafufim in Pirkei Avos

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The Unusual Word Tzafufim in Pirkei Avos| עומדים צפופים ומשתחווים רווחים David S. Farkas* On a recent Shabbos afternoon I was learning the Yerushalmi to Peah when my thoughts turned – for reasons described below – to the famous passage in Pirkei Avos (5:5) עומדים צפופים ומשתחווים רווחים. Every schoolboy is familiar with the phrase. The Mishna sets forth ten miracles regularly experienced in the times of the Temple. The eighth of these, as set forth above, is that though…

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Book Announcement: Words for the Wise: Sixty-Two Insights on Hebrew, Holidays, History and Liturgy by Mitchell First

Book Announcement: Words for the Wise: Sixty-Two Insights on Hebrew, Holidays, History and Liturgy by Mitchell First

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Words for the Wise: Sixty-Two Insights on Hebrew, Holidays, History and Liturgy by Mitchell First By Eliezer Brodt The Seforim Blog is proud to announce the publication of our frequent contributor Mitchell First’s newest book Words for the Wise: Sixty-Two Insights on Hebrew, Holidays, History and Liturgy (264 pp.). Words for the Wise contains 62 short articles address interesting questions about the Hebrew language, Jewish history, and liturgy. For example: On Liturgy, 8 articles, including the origin of and insights…

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Poetry and Wordplay in the Book of Kohelet

Poetry and Wordplay in the Book of Kohelet

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Poetry and Wordplay in the Book of Kohelet By Joseph Wertzberger[1] Sefer Kohelet, the Book of Kohelet, was written approximately 700-600 BC according to Rabbinic sources,[2] and is dated to somewhere between that time and the early to mid-third century BC by academic sources.[3] Its wisdom is traditionally attributed to King Solomon.[4] The book is part of ancient Hebrew wisdom literature, and is known for its existential, philosophic lessons and motifs. But alongside that also, the book is suffused with…

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