Illustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
רֶגַע שֶׁל עִבְרִית A Moment of Hebrew
(י) וְקִדַּשְׁתֶּ֗ם אֵ֣ת שְׁנַ֤ת הַחֲמִשִּׁים֙ שָׁנָ֔ה וּקְרָאתֶ֥ם דְּר֛וֹר בָּאָ֖רֶץ לְכׇל־יֹשְׁבֶ֑יהָ יוֹבֵ֥ל הִוא֙ תִּהְיֶ֣ה לָכֶ֔ם וְשַׁבְתֶּ֗ם אִ֚ישׁ אֶל־אֲחֻזָּת֔וֹ וְאִ֥ישׁ אֶל־מִשְׁפַּחְתּ֖וֹ תָּשֻֽׁבוּ׃
And you shall make the fiftieth year holy. You shall proclaim liberty throughout the land, for all its inhabitants. It shall be a yovel: each of you shall return to your holding and each of you shall return to your family.
לֶאֱחֹז le-ehoz (שֹׁרֶשׁ א.ח.ז)
- To hold, to grasp
אֲחֻזָּה (ahuzah) =
1. Property
2. Estate
3. Mansion
אָחוּז (ahuz) = Percent
אֲחִיזַת עֵינַיִם (ahizat einayim) = Sleight of hand, trickery
אָחַז אֶת הַשּׁוֹר בְּקַרְנָיו (ahaz et ha-shor bekarnav) =
- To take the bull by the horns, to act in a decisive way
- To seek refuge and protection in the mishkan/Beit Ha-Mikdash (from someone who wants to hurt you)
- To refuse to accept a verdict that didn’t go the way you wanted it to
Find the Word!
There is a twin brother who grabbed hold of his brother’s heel as they were being born. Can you find the word that shows that he grasped the heel? It shares our שֹׁרֶשׁ (shoresh, root)! (Hint: check out Bereishit 25:26.)
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