Level 9: Rabbinic & Aramaic — 131 Hebrew words

לְשׁוֹן חֲכָמִים · years 12–15 in Israel · beyond ulpan. The words a learner meets at this level of Ivrit Road, by topic, with vowel points, pronunciation and meaning.

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Rabbinic & Aramaic (97) · Shabbat & holidays (23) · Literary & poetic (9) · Describing things (2)

Rabbinic & Aramaic all levels

Hebrew	How to say it	Meaning
כִּבְיָכוֹל	kivyachol	supposedly / so to speak
תּוֹסֶפְתָּא	tosefta	Tosefta
אַדְּרַבָּה	adraba	on the contrary
מִמֵּילָא	mimeila	anyway / as it is
סְבָרָה	svara	reasoning / logic (of the law)
לְכַתְּחִלָּה	lechatchila	from the outset / ideally
בְּדִיעֲבַד	bedi'avad	in hindsight / after the fact
פְּשָׁט	pshat	plain meaning
קַל וָחֹמֶר	kal vachomer	all the more so
עַל אַחַת כַּמָּה וְכַמָּה	al achat kama vechama	how much more so
דְּרָשׁ	drash	homiletic meaning
כְּלָל וּכְלָל	klal uchlal	at all (emphatic)
שֶׁמָּא	shema	perhaps / lest
גְּזֵרָה שָׁוָה	gzera shava	analogy from a shared word
אֵפוֹא	efo	then / therefore (literary)
זוּלַת	zulat	except for
בִּנְיַן אָב	binyan av	general principle from one case
הֵיאַךְ	hei'ach	how (literary)
יִשַּׁר כֹּחַ	yishar koach	well done
אִיבַּעְיָא לְהוּ	iba'ya lehu	they asked
קֻשְׁיָה	kushya	a hard objection
תֵּרוּץ	teiruts	an answer to an objection
מַאי טַעְמָא	mai ta'ama	what is the reason?
צָרִיךְ עִיּוּן	tsarich iyun	requires further study
סוֹף פָּסוּק	sof pasuk	end of story
לָא קַשְׁיָא	la kashya	there is no difficulty
בְּצַוְתָּא	betsavta	together
שְׁעַת כֹּשֶׁר	sha'at kosher	an opportune moment
עַל קוֹצוֹ שֶׁל יוּד	al kotso shel yud	down to the tiniest detail
הָכִי נָמֵי	hachi nami	so too / indeed
מִן הַשָּׂפָה וְלַחוּץ	min hasafa vachuts	lip service
אַלִּיבָּא דְּ־	aliba de	according to (the view of)
בְּמַאי עָסְקִינַן	bemai askinan	what case are we dealing with?
בֵּין כֹּה וָכֹה	bein ko vacho	in any case / meanwhile
לְחֻמְרָא	lechumra	on the stringent side
לְקֻלָּא	lekula	on the lenient side
מַהוּ דְּתֵימָא	mahu deteima	you might have thought
שֵׁב וְאַל תַּעֲשֶׂה	shev ve'al ta'ase	refrain from acting
פְּשִׁיטָא	pshita	obviously
קָא מַשְׁמַע לָן	ka mashma lan	it teaches us
תָּא שְׁמַע	ta shma	come and hear
שַׁקְלָא וְטַרְיָא	shakla vetarya	back-and-forth debate
אַסְמַכְתָּא	asmachta	textual support
מַאי נָפְקָא מִינַּהּ	mai nafka mina	what practical difference does it make
תֵּיקוּ	teiku	unresolved / a tie
חִיּוּב	chiyuv	obligation
אִיפְּכָא מִסְתַּבְּרָא	ipcha mistabra	the opposite is more plausible
לֵית מַאן דִּפְלִיג	leit man daflig	no one disputes it
פָּטוּר	patur	exempt
מָה נַפְשָׁךְ	ma nafshach	either way you look at it
כָּל דְּאַלִּים גָּבַר	kol de'alim gvar	might makes right
בַּר סַמְכָא	bar samcha	an authoritative source
דָּא עָקָא	da aka	the trouble is / alas
אַגַּב אוֹרְחָא	agav orcha	in passing
מִלְּתָא דַּעֲבִידָא לְאִגַּלּוּיֵי	milta de'avida le'igluyei	something bound to come out
לְהַבְדִּיל	lehavdil	to distinguish (pardon the comparison)
בְּלָאו הָכִי	belav hachi	anyway / regardless
מִנַּיִן	minayin	from where (do we know)
הַלְוַאי	halevai	if only
כְּדַרְכּוֹ בַּקֹּדֶשׁ	kedarko bakodesh	as is his habit
תַּלְמִיד חָכָם	talmid chacham	Torah scholar
אִין הָכִי נַמֵּי	in hachi nami	indeed so / granted
מִכָּאן וְאֵילָךְ	mikan ve'eilach	from here on
עַם הָאָרֶץ	am ha'arets	ignoramus
הָא בְּהָא תַּלְיָא	ha beha talya	one depends on the other
בְּאַשְׁרַאי	be'ashrai	on credit
מֵעַתָּה	me'ata	henceforth
יֵצֶר הָרַע	yetser hara	the evil inclination
אַף עַל גַּב	af al gav	even though
כָּל שֶׁכֵּן	kol shechen	all the more so
וְהָא רְאָיָה	veha re'aya	and here is the proof
לְאַפּוּקֵי	le'afukei	to exclude
מָרָא דְּאַתְרָא	mara de'atra	the local rabbinic authority
אַגַּב	agav	by the way
סְתָמָא	stama	by default / unspecified
דִּינָא דְּמַלְכוּתָא דִּינָא	dina demalchuta dina	the law of the land is law
בְּשׁוֹגֵג	beshogeg	unintentionally
בְּמֵזִיד	bemezid	deliberately
לָאו דַּוְקָא	lav davka	not necessarily
לִפְנִים מִשּׁוּרַת הַדִּין	lifnim mishurat hadin	beyond the letter of the law
סְיָג	syag	a protective fence (safeguard)
הָא גּוּפָא	ha gufa	that itself
חֲזָקָה	chazaka	presumption
רֹב	rov	majority (as a rule)
וְכֵן	vechen	and likewise
סָפֵק	safek	doubt
סְפֵק סְפֵקָא	sfek sfeka	a double doubt
כַּיּוֹצֵא בּוֹ	kayotse bo	similarly
מַחְלֹקֶת	machloket	dispute
מַחְלֹקֶת לְשֵׁם שָׁמַיִם	machloket leshem shamayim	a dispute for the sake of Heaven
לְשֵׁם שָׁמַיִם	leshem shamayim	for the sake of Heaven
אֵין לְךָ אֶלָּא	ein lecha ela	you have only
דֶּרֶךְ אֶרֶץ	derech erets	decency / good manners
מִדָּה כְּנֶגֶד מִדָּה	mida keneged mida	measure for measure
הֲוֵי אוֹמֵר	havei omer	that is to say
כָּל הַמַּרְבֶּה הֲרֵי זֶה מְשֻׁבָּח	kol hamarbe harei ze meshubach	the more, the more praiseworthy
תָּפַסְתָּ מְרֻבֶּה לֹא תָּפַסְתָּ	tafasta merube lo tafasta	grasp too much and you grasp nothing

Shabbat & holidays all levels

Hebrew	How to say it	Meaning
מִמָּה נַפְשָׁךְ	mima nafshach	either way
סְבָרָא	svara	logical reasoning
קֻשְׁיָא	kushya	difficulty / challenge (in study)
חֻמְרָא	chumra	stringency
קֻלָּא	kula	leniency
בָּרַיְתָא	baraita	baraita
תּוֹסָפוֹת	tosafot	Tosafot (Talmud commentary)
דְּאוֹרַיְתָא	de'oraita	from the Torah (Torah-level)
דְּרַבָּנָן	derabanan	rabbinic (rabbinic-level)
הַיְנוּ	haynu	that is to say
דְּהַיְנוּ	dehaynu	namely
בְּחֶזְקַת	bechezkat	presumed (to be)
אִלְמָלֵא	ilmale	were it not for
נַפְקָא מִינַּהּ	nafka mina	practical difference
שַׁפִּיר	shapir	fine / well (Aramaic)
סְעֻדַּת מִצְוָה	se'udat mitsva	a festive meal for a mitzvah
מִסְתַּבְּרָא	mistabra	it stands to reason
בַּעַל קוֹרֵא	ba'al kore	Torah reader
אִיכָּא	ika	there is (Aramaic)
מְחִיצָה	mechitsa	partition (in a synagogue)
נִגּוּן	nigun	tune / melody
לֵיכָּא	leika	there isn't (Aramaic)
שִׁעוּר תּוֹרָה	shi'ur tora	Torah class

Literary & poetic all levels

Hebrew	How to say it	Meaning
הֵד	hed	echo
שְׁבִיל	shvil	path / trail
אֵפֶר	efer	ash
קָצִיר	katsir	harvest
דִּמְעָה	dim'a	tear (from the eye)
אֲנָחָה	anacha	sigh
סֵמֶל	semel	symbol / emblem
דְּמוּת	dmut	character / figure
סִפּוּר קָצָר	sipur katsar	short story

Describing things all levels

Hebrew	How to say it	Meaning
נִצְחִי	nitschi	eternal
מְסֻתָּר	mesutar	hidden / secluded

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