Illustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
רֶגַע שֶׁל עִבְרִית A Moment of Hebrew
(יא) וַיַּבְרֵ֧ךְ הַגְּמַלִּ֛ים מִח֥וּץ לָעִ֖יר אֶל־בְּאֵ֣ר הַמָּ֑יִם לְעֵ֣ת עֶ֔רֶב לְעֵ֖ת צֵ֥את הַשֹּׁאֲבֹֽת׃
He made the camels kneel down outside the city by the water well, at evening time, the time when women come out to draw water.
עֶרֶב Erev (שֹׁרֶשׁ ע.ר.ב)
- Evening
מַעֲרָב (ma'arav) = West
בֵּין הָעַרְבַּיִם (bein ha-arbayim) = Around dusk or sunset. In halakhah, this is the time between sundown and when stars are visible.
אֲרוּחַת עֶרֶב (aruhat erev) = Evening meal, aka dinner
מַסְמֵר הָעֶרֶב (masmer ha-erev) = The center of attention, the life of the party
מַעֲרִיב/ עַרְבִית (Ma'ariv/Arvit) = The night prayer service
עוֹרֵב (oreiv) = Raven (dark bird)
תַּעֲרֹבֶת (ta’arovet) = Mixture
Find the Word!
What comes first in the story of the world’s creation: עֶרֶב (erev, evening) or בֹּקֶר (boker, morning)? (Hint: Look it up in the first chapter of the Torah!)
Our Rabbis point to the order of erev and boker in Bereishit as proof that the Jewish day always begins at night—like how Shabbat starts on Friday night! (See Mishnah Hullin 5:5 and Talmud Bavli Berakhot 2a.)
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