Hebrew Podcasts

Lesson 9 – Yom Ha'atzmaut

Beginner Level

Hello, and welcome to Hebrew Podcasts.

In today’s Hebrew lesson we’ll hear a dialog between Talia and her Independence ‫יום העצמאות‬
mom about celebrating Yom Ha’atzmaut—the Israeli Independence Day
Day. This year on May 8, Israel will celebrate its sixtieth
anniversary. Many world leaders are planning to come to Israel to Yom hà-àts-mà-oot
participate in the celebrations. In our lesson however, we’ll focus on
the plans of one family.
As we usually do, we’ll start by listening to the entire dialog. We’ll
then examine it piece by piece.
Here’s the dialog.
Good morning Talia. .‫בוקר טוב טליה‬
Bo-kér tov Tàl-yà.
Good morning mom. .‫בוקר טוב אמא‬
Bo-kér tov ee-mà.
Do you know which holiday ‫את יודעת איזה חג‬
Àt yo-dà-àt éy-zé hàg
is celebrated next week? ?‫חוגגים בשבוע הבא‬
ho-gé-gim bé-shà-voo-à hà-bà?
Israel’s sixtieth Independence Day, Yom
Yes, Independence Day. .‫ יום העצמאות‬,‫כן‬
Ha'atzmaut, will be celebrated on May 8,
Kén, yom hà-àts-mà-oot. 2008, to commemorate the declaration of
This is the birthday ‫זה יום ההולדת‬ independence of Israel.
Zé yom hà-hoo-lé-dét
On May 14, 1948 (5 Iyar, 5708), David
of the state of Israel. .‫של מדינת ישראל‬ Ben Gurion declared the independent
shél mé-di-nàt yis-rà-él. state of Israel after the British Mandate of
How do we celebrate ‫איך חוגגים‬ Palestine ended.
Éyh ho-gé-gim
Yom Ha'atzmaut opens officially with a
a birthday for a country? ?‫יום הולדת למדינה‬
ceremony held on Mount Herzel in
yom hoo-lé-dét lé-mé-di-nà? Jerusalem.
We decorate the houses ‫מקשטים את הבתים‬
Mé-kàsh-tim ét hà-bà-tim
with Israeli flags. .‫בדגלי ישראל‬
bé-dig-léy yis-rà-él.
We celebrate with singing and dancing, ,‫חוגגים בשירה וריקודים‬ Birthday ‫יום הולדת‬
Ho-gé-gim bé-shi-rà vé-ri-koo-dim, Yom hoo-lé-dét
and fireworks. .‫וזיקוקי דינור‬
vé-zi-koo-kéy di-noor.
!‫יום הולדת שמח‬
Grandma organized a picnic ‫סבתא אירגנה פיקניק‬
Sàv-tà ir-gé-nà pik-nik Yom hoo-lé-dét sà-mé-àh!
in the forest of Jerusalem. .‫ביער ירושלים‬ Happy birthday!
bé-yà-àr yé-roo-shà-là-yim. 60 ‫ישראל חוגגת יום הולדת‬
Like last year? ?‫כמו בשנה שעברה‬ Yis-rà-él ho-gé-gét
Kmo bé-shà-nà shé-àv-rà? yom hoo-lé-dét shi-shim
Yes. Like every year ‫ כמו כל שנה‬.‫כן‬ Israel celebrates its 60th birthday
Kén. Kmo kol shà-nà
on Independence Day. .‫ביום העצמאות‬
bé-yom hà-àts-mà-oot.
I love meeting ‫אני אוהבת לפגוש‬
À-ni o-hé-vét lif-gosh

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 Hebrew Podcasts
Lesson 9 – Yom Ha'atzmaut
Beginner Level

the whole family. .‫את כל המשפחה‬

ét kol hà-mish-pà-hà.
Noa, you started by greeting Talia good morning. Let’s listen again Good morning ‫בוקר טוב‬
to how you said good morning. Bo-kér tov
‫בוקר טוב‬
Bo-kér tov Let’s review similar greetings.
►the clock indicates that we pause here for you to repeat
‫ערב טוב‬
‫בוקר טוב‬
É-rév tov
You went on to ask Talia if she knows which holiday is coming up Good evening
the following week. In Hebrew, when we say “do you know?” we
don’t use the helper verb to do. We simply say “you know?” ‫לילה טוב‬
Lày-là tov
?‫את יודעת‬
Àt yo-dà-àt? Good night
?‫את יודעת‬ ‫שבוע טוב‬
The word for holiday, or festival, is ‫חג‬. The word for a celebration is Shà-voo-à tov
derived from it: ‫חגיגה‬. The verb to celebrate, here in the present Good week
plural, celebrating, is ‫חוגגים‬. In the dialog we heard (something you’d say on Saturday
evening)
?‫איזה חג חוגגים‬
‫שנה טובה‬
Éy-zé hàg ho-gé-gim?
?‫איזה חג חוגגים‬ Shà-nà to-và
Happy New Year
Which holiday are we celebrating?
(Something you’d say around the Jewish
You probably noticed that in this question Noa skipped the New Year holiday)
pronoun, we, and didn’t specify who’s doing the celebrating. This is We say ‫ טובה‬because ‫ שנה‬is a feminine
similar to the passive voice in English. noun.
Finally, Noa finished the question with “next week”.
‫בשבוע הבא‬
Bé-shà-voo-à hà-bà
‫בשבוע הבא‬ Fireworks ‫זיקוקי דינור‬
A week is ‫שבוע‬. Next week is ‫שבוע הבא‬. ‫ בשבוע הבא‬means at or on Zi-koo-kày di-noor
next week. Of course in English we don’t say “on next week”. But
let’s take another example where we do say “on”. Thursday is
‫יום חמישי‬
Yom hà-mi-shi
‫יום חמישי‬
And to say “on Thursday”, it’s
‫ביום חמישי‬
Bé-yom hà-mi-shi
‫ביום תמישי‬ This Hebrew expression consists of two
words that are rarely used on their own.
So, Noa, let’s listen to the entire question from the dialog in two They are derived from the word ‫ זיק‬which
parts. The first part “do you know which holiday” means a spark and the word ‫ דינור‬which
is an ancient Aramaic expression that
‫את יודעת איזה חג‬
means “of fire”.
Àt yo-dà-àt éy-zé hàg
‫את יודעת איזה חג‬

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 Hebrew Podcasts
Lesson 9 – Yom Ha'atzmaut
Beginner Level

And “we are celebrating next week?” or “is celebrated next week?”
?‫חוגגים בשבוע הבא‬ Present Tense
Ho-gé-gim bé-shà-voo-à hà-bà?
?‫חוגגים בשבוע הבא‬ to know ‫לדעת‬
Let’s move on. Noa, you mentioned that Independence Day is the Là-dà-àt
country’s birthday. But how do you say birthday?
I/you/he know(s) ‫הוא‬/‫אתה‬/‫אני‬
‫יום הולדת‬ (male singular) ‫יודע‬
Yom hoo-lé-dét À-ni/À-tà/Hoo yo-dé-à
‫יום הולדת‬
I/you/she know(s) ‫היא‬/‫את‬/‫אני‬
And with the definite article—the birthday. (female singular) ‫יודעת‬
À-ni/Àt/Hee yo-dà-àt
‫יום ההולדת‬
Yom hà-hoo-lé-dét we/you/they know ‫הם‬/‫אתם‬/‫אנחנו‬
‫יום ההולדת‬ (male plural) ‫יודעים‬
À-nàh-noo/À-tém/Hém yod-im
Noa, how did you say “the state of Israel” or “the country of Israel?” ‫הן‬/‫אתן‬/‫אנחנו‬
we/you/they know
‫מדינת ישראל‬ (female plural) ‫יודעות‬
Mé-di-nàt yis-rà-él À-nàh-noo/À-tén/Hén yod-ot
‫מדינת ישראל‬
The word for a state or a country is ‫מדינה‬. It changes to ‫ מדינת‬when ?‫את יודעת מה השעה‬
we put it together with ‫ ישראל‬in ‫מדינת ישראל‬. In fact we saw another Àt yo-dà-àt mà hà-shà-à?
example of this in lesson 7 when the word for a meal, ‫ארוחה‬, Do you know what time it is? (Asking a
changed into ‫ ארוחת‬when we said ‫—ארוחת בוקר‬breakfast. female)
Talia asked how is a birthday celebrated for a country. We see the ‫כולם יודעים לשיר‬
passive voice again. Talia didn’t specify who’s celebrating, just that
Koo-làm yod-im là-shir
it’s celebrated. In Hebrew we simply say
Everyone knows how to sing
‫חוגגים‬
Ho-gé-gim
‫חוגגים‬
That’s the present plural form of the verb to celebrate.
Flag of Israel ‫דגל ישראל‬
So let’s hear Talia’s question from the dialog “how is a birthday
celebrated for a country?” Dé-gél yis-rà-él

?‫איך חוגגים יום הולדת למדינה‬

Éyh ho-gé-gim yom hoo-lé-dét lé-mé-di-nà?
?‫איך חוגגים יום הולדת למדינה‬
Noa, you answered that the houses are decorated with flags. You
used the passive voice again. Let’s hear that in two parts. “The
houses are decorated”
‫מקשטים את הבתים‬
Mé-kàsh-tim ét hà-bà-tim
‫מקשטים את הבתים‬ The design of the flag of Israel was
‫ מקשטים‬is the verb to decorate in the present plural. ‫את הבתים‬ inspired by the design of the tallit, the
means the houses. The word ‫ את‬is a form that indicates the direct Jewish prayer shawl, which is white with
blue stripes. It became a Jewish symbol in
object, and it has no equivalent in English.
late medieval times in Prague.

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 Hebrew Podcasts
Lesson 9 – Yom Ha'atzmaut
Beginner Level

The second part, “with Israeli flags”

‫בדגלי ישראל‬ Present Tense
Bé-dig-léy yis-rà-él
‫בדגלי ישראל‬ to celebrate ‫לחגוג‬
A flag is ‫דגל‬. An Israeli flag is ‫דגל ישראל‬, and in plural it turns into Làh-gog
‫דגלי ישראל‬.
I/you/he celebrate(s) ‫הוא‬/‫אתה‬/‫אני‬
Noa, you said that grandma organized a picnic in the forest of ‫חוגג‬
(male singular)
Jerusalem. The forest of Jerusalem is a relatively young pine forest
À-ni/À-tà/Hoo ho-gég
that was planted in the fifties in the west part of Jerusalem. To say
“grandma organized a picnic” you said I/you/she celebrate(s) ‫היא‬/‫את‬/‫אני‬
(female singular) ‫חוגגת‬
‫סבתא אירגנה פיקניק‬ À-ni/Àt/Hee ho-gé-gét
Sàv-tà ir-gé-nà pik-nik
‫סבתא אירגנה פיקניק‬ we/you/they celebrate ‫הם‬/‫אתם‬/‫אנחנו‬
(male plural) ‫חוגגים‬
‫ סבתא‬is grandma. The word for grandpa is ‫סבא‬. The verb to À-nàh-noo/À-tém/Hém ho-gé-gim
organize in the past—here in the third-person singular feminine—is we/you/they celebrate ‫הן‬/‫אתן‬/‫אנחנו‬
‫אירגנה‬. You can find more information about the different forms of ‫חוגגות‬
(female plural)
this verb in our lesson guide. Finally, the word for picnic is the same
À-nàh-noo/À-tén/Hén ho-gé-got
in Hebrew—‫פיקניק‬.
The picnic is an annual family tradition. We heard a couple of
expressions using the word for a year, ‫שנה‬. You may recall this ‫אנחנו חוגגים את יום העצמאות ביחד‬
word from lesson 3. À-nàh-noo ho-gé-gim ét yom
hà-àts-mà-oot bé-yà-hàd
In our dialog we heard Talia say “like last year?” To say “last year”,
she said We celebrate Yom Ha'atzmaut together
?‫איפה אנחנו חוגגים את חג הפסח‬
‫שנה שעברה‬
Shà-nà shé-àv-rà Éy-fo à-nàh-noo ho-gé-gim
ét hàg hà-pé-sàh?
‫שנה שעברה‬
Where do we celebrate the Passover
‫ שנה שעברה‬literally it’s “a year that passed”. holiday?
Let’s see how to say “next year”
‫שנה הבאה‬
Shà-nà hà-bà-à
‫שנה הבאה‬ To meet ‫לפגוש‬
This is similar to ‫שבוע הבא‬. For ‫שנה‬, it’s ‫ הבאה‬because the word Lif-gosh
‫ שנה‬is feminine.
Another expression with ‫ שנה‬was ‫אני אוהב לפגוש את המשפחה‬
‫כל שנה‬ À-ni o-hév lif-gosh ét hà-mish-pà-hà
Kol shà-nà I love meeting the family
‫כל שנה‬ ‫הוא רוצה לפגוש אותי‬
This word, ‫כל‬, is a very versatile word that could mean all, every, Hoo ro-tsé lif-gosh o-ti
any, so, or whole. In our dialog we see a couple of examples. He wants to meet me
‫ כל שנה‬means every year. Later in the dialog we’ve seen it used
again when Talia said “the whole family”
‫כל המשפחה‬
Kol hà-mish-pà-hà
‫כל המשפחה‬

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Lesson 9 – Yom Ha'atzmaut
Beginner Level

In fact Talia said that she loved meeting the whole family at the
picnic. To say “I love meeting” or “I love to meet”, Talia said Present Tense
‫אני אוהבת לפגוש‬
À-ni o-hé-vét lif-gosh to decorate ‫לקשט‬
‫אני אוהבת לפגוש‬ Lé-kà-shét
To meet is ‫לפגוש‬.
I/you/he decorate(s) ‫הוא‬/‫אתה‬/‫אני‬
And with this we come to the end of our lesson. Before we repeat (male singular) ‫מקשט‬
the dialog, let’s remind our listeners to download the lesson guide À-ni/À-tà/Hoo mé-kà-shét
off our website at http://hebrewpodcasts.com.
I/you/she decorate (s) ‫היא‬/‫את‬/‫אני‬
Let’s listen again to the entire dialog. We’ll pause after each line for (female singular) ‫מקשטת‬
you to repeat it out loud. À-ni/Àt/Hee mé-kà-shé-tét
Good morning Talia. .‫בוקר טוב טליה‬ we/you/they decorate ‫הם‬/‫אתם‬/‫אנחנו‬
Bo-kér tov Tàl-yà. (male plural) ‫מקשטים‬
Good morning mom. .‫בוקר טוב אמא‬ À-nàh-noo/À-tém/Hém mé-kàsh-tim
Bo-kér tov ee-mà. we/you/they decorate ‫הן‬/‫אתן‬/‫אנחנו‬
Do you know which holiday ‫את יודעת איזה חג‬ (female plural) ‫מקשטות‬
Àt yo-dà-àt éy-zé hàg À-nàh-noo/À-tén/Hén mé-kàsh-tot
is celebrated next week? ?‫חוגגים בשבוע הבא‬
ho-gé-gim bé-shà-voo-à hà-bà? ‫הם מקשטים את הבתים‬
Yes, Independence Day. .‫ יום העצמאות‬,‫כן‬
Hém mé-kàsh-tim ét hà-bà-tim
Kén, yom hà-àts-mà-oot.
They decorate the houses (or
This is the birthday ‫זה יום ההולדת‬
Zé yom hà-hoo-lé-dét They are decorating the houses)
of the state of Israel. .‫של מדינת ישראל‬ ‫טליה מקשטת את הבית בדגלים‬
shél mé-di-nàt yis-rà-él. Tàl-yà mé-kà-shé-tét
How do we celebrate ‫איך חוגגים‬ ét hà-bà-yit bid-gà-lim
Éyh ho-gé-gim Talia decorates the house with flags
a birthday for a country? ?‫יום הולדת למדינה‬
yom hoo-lé-dét lé-mé-di-nà?
We decorate the houses ‫מקשטים את הבתים‬
Mé-kàsh-tim ét hà-bà-tim
with Israeli flags. .‫בדגלי ישראל‬
(The) next ‫ הבאה‬,‫הבא‬
bé-dig-léy yis-rà-él. Hà-bà, hà-bà-à
We celebrate with singing and dancing, ,‫חוגגים בשירה וריקודים‬ ‫ הבא‬is the masculine form of the word
Ho-gé-gim bé-shi-rà vé-ri-koo-dim, and ‫ הבאה‬is the feminine form of this
and fireworks. .‫וזיקוקי דינור‬ word.
vé-zi-koo-kéy di-noor. ‫בשבוע הבא‬
Grandma organized a picnic ‫סבתא אירגנה פיקניק‬
Bé-shà-voo-à hà-bà
Sàv-tà ir-gé-nà pik-nik
Next week (literally “at next week”)
in the forest of Jerusalem. .‫ביער ירושלים‬
bé-yà-àr yé-roo-shà-là-yim. ‫בשנה הבאה‬
Like last year? ?‫כמו בשנה שעברה‬ Bé-shà-nà hà-bà-à
Kmo bé-shà-nà shé-àv-rà? Next year (literally “at next year”)
Yes. Like every year ‫ כמו כל שנה‬.‫כן‬
‫בפעם הבאה‬
Kén. Kmo kol shà-nà
Bà-pà-àm hà-bà-à
on Independence Day. .‫ביום העצמאות‬
bé-yom hà-àts-mà-oot. (The) Next time (literally “at the next time”)

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Lesson 9 – Yom Ha'atzmaut
Beginner Level

I love meeting ‫אני אוהבת לפגוש‬

À-ni o-hé-vét lif-gosh Past Tense
the whole family. .‫את כל המשפחה‬
ét kol hà-mish-pà-hà. to organize ‫לארגן‬
That’s it for today! Lé-àr-gén
Until next time
I organized ‫אני אירגנתי‬
!‫שלום ולהתראות בפעם הבאה‬
À-ni ir-gàn-ti
!‫להתראות בפעם הבאה‬
You organized (m. sg.) ‫אתה אירגנת‬
!‫להתראות בפעם הבאה‬ À-tà ir-gàn-tà
You organized (f. sg.) ‫את אירגנת‬
Àt ir-gànt
He organized (m. sg.) ‫הוא אירגן‬
Hoo ir-gén
She organized (f. sg.) ‫היא אירגנה‬
Hee ir-gé-nà
We organized ‫אנחנו אירגנו‬
À-nàh-noo ir-gà-noo
You organized (m. pl.) ‫אתם אירגנתם‬
À-tém ir-gàn-tém
You organized (f. pl.) ‫אתן אירגנתן‬
À-tén ir-gàn-tén
They organized ‫הן אירגנו‬/‫הם‬
Hém/hén ir-gé-noo

‫סבתא אירגנה פיקניק‬

Sàv-tà ir-gé-nà pik-nik
Grandma organized a picnic
‫אמא אירגנה טיול לישראל‬
Ee-mà ir-gé-nà ti-yool lé-yis-rà-él
Mother organized a trip to Israel

Transcription
We’ll use transcription in our lesson guides to help you read new Hebrew words. You should read the transcription as if it was English.
We’ll use hyphens to help the pronunciation. We’ll use é and à to better approximate the Hebrew sounds. You should pronounce those as
you would in French. Are you familiar with the expression déjà vu, or the word résumé? If so, then you should pronounce these two
accents accordingly. Otherwise, pronounce é like the e in let and pronounce à like the a in bark or the u in up.
Finally we’ll use h (the letter h with an underscore) to denote the sound of the letter Het (‫ )ח‬or the loose version of the letter Kaf (‫)כ‬. You
should refer to lesson 2 to hear this sound.

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Lesson 9 – Yom Ha'atzmaut
Beginner Level

This lesson’s vocabulary

year ‫שנה‬ love (fem.) ‫אוהבת‬
which ‫איזה‬
how ‫איך‬
organized (fem.) ‫אירגנה‬
mom ‫אמא‬
I ‫אני‬
you (fem.) ‫את‬
the ‫את‬
on ...‫ב‬
good morning ‫בוקר טוב‬
houses ‫בתים‬
Israeli flags ‫דגלי ישראל‬
this, that ‫זה‬
fireworks ‫זיקוקי דינור‬
holiday ‫חג‬
celebrate (pl.) ‫חוגגים‬
Talia ‫טליה‬
know (fem.) ‫יודעת‬
birthday ‫יום הולדת‬
Independence Day ‫יום העצמאות‬
Jerusalem Forest ‫יער ירושלים‬
every, whole ‫כל‬
like ‫כמו‬
yes ‫כן‬
for, to ...‫ל‬
to meet ‫לפגוש‬
country, state ‫מדינה‬
State of Israel ‫מדינת ישראל‬
decorate (pl.) ‫מקשטים‬
family ‫משפחה‬
grandma ‫סבתא‬
passed (fem.) ‫עברה‬
picnic ‫פיקניק‬
dances ‫ריקודים‬
next week ‫שבוע הבא‬
singing ‫שירה‬
of ‫של‬

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Lesson 9 – Yom Ha'atzmaut
Beginner Level

Lesson 9 – Exercises

For each definition write its Hebrew translation. Remember “across” means right to left.

2 1

7 6

10

11

Down Across

1. Forest 4. Jerusalem
2. Day 5. Organized (feminine singular)
3. Grandma 6. Birth (as in birthday)
4. Israel 8. Week
6. The independence 9. To meet
7. Flag 11. Celebrating (plural)
10. Singing

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