The hills of Haifa, that is a contraction of the two Hebrew words Hof Yafe – beautiful shore
“Let me now cross and see the good Land that is on the other side of the Jordan, this good mountain and the Lebanon.”
DEUTERONOMY (3:25)
אֶעְבְּרָה נָּא וְאֶרְאֶה אֶת הָאָרֶץ הַטּוֹבָה אֲשֶׁר בְּעֵבֶר הַיַּרְדֵּן הָהָר הַטּוֹב הַזֶּה וְהַלְּבָנֹן.
(Transliteration of Hebrew below)
Hebrew Lesson and About the Photo
E’brah nah ve’er’eh et ha’aretz hatovah asher be’ever haYarden, hahar hatov hazeh vehalevanon.
Ever wonder where the word “Hebrew” עברית (eev-REET) is based on the root עֵבֶר (ah-VAHR) which appears twice in today’s verse. לַעֲבוֹר (lah-ah-VOHR) means literally to pass, as in אֲתָּה תַּעֲבוֹר אֶת הַצּוֹמֶת (ah-TAH tah-ah-VOHR et hah-TSOH-met) – You will pass the intersection. Here, Moses asks God to CROSS into the land on the OTHER side of the Jordan. Father Abraham is called אברהם העברי (av-rah-HOM ha-iv-RI) because he came from the OTHER side of the river and because his ideas were so ‘counter-cultural.’ The Jewish people were intended to be the world’s moral compass by serving as a reminder not to conform to what is currently popular, but to remain loyal to our Hebrew roots. Today’s Hebrew lesson is from Ulpan LaInyan at http://ktzat-ivrit.ulpan.com
About Today’s Photo
Photograph of the hills of Haifa by Natasha Pnini. Haifa is a contraction of the two Hebrew words Hof Yafe – beautiful shore. Indeed situated on a rounded bay, at the meeting place of mountain, valley and sea, Haifa does enjoy magnifent scenery. Today it is Israel’s third largest city and its main harbor.” From “Legends of Galilee” by Zev Vilnay.