3. Vocabulary and Language Skills

The language of חומש is לשון הקודש, the G-dly language with which ה’ created the world. This language is precise, and all of its details have tremendous and untranslatable significance. Additionally, any translation of תורה is by definition already interpretive, since no two languages are identical. Therefore, the ability to understand the original text of חומש is essential to be able to learn its intended meaning, as well as to be able to relate to and appreciate the commentary and scholarship that surrounds the חומש and hinges on its textual details.

Resources

High frequency words from throughout the Chumash.

A guide with visual aids to the טעמי המקרא and what they mean.

What does the word את mean, and how do we teach it?

View the way verbs are conjugated in all 7 בנינים.

A chart depicting the possessive pronomial suffixes.

How the letters ה, ו, ב, כ, ל, מ appear in different scenarios.