Please explain what causes a shvah to be either na or nach, or a kamatz to be either katan or gadol, or a dagesh to be either kal or chazak.

It appears that there are no Hebrew consonants (letters) which cause anything regarding the various types of dagesh and nikkud.

Eli, is this true?

>>It appears that there are no Hebrew consonants (letters) which cause anything
>>regarding the various types of dagesh and nikkud.

Why do you say so,
He,Vav(unless 2 in a row),BEGED KEFET BeRosh Mila make the Dagesh KAL (unless the word before end with Alef,He,Vav,Yod)

Of cource you have sets of letters that in different cases changes the nikud.
Learn about

Bachlam
E-He-mantiv
Moshe Vekalev
A-HaVi
Beged Kefet
He Hayedia
Ha-A-chir

All these can effect the nikkud.
also the Maqaf can effect the nikud
also the place of the word in the ssentence can change the nikud.

Eli,

Thank you. I will check these examples.

>> BEGED KEFET BeRosh Mila make the Dagesh KAL (unless the word before end with Alef,He,Vav,Yod)

Two questions.

1. This is your first mention about what causes a dagesh kal. What else?

2. You write: "... (unless the word before end with Alef,He,Vav,Yod)"
For the first time, you say that 'the word before' (that ends with Alef,He,Vav,or Yod) can affect the dagesh kal in the subsequent word.

Please site an example of each (that ends with Alef,He,Vav,or Yod).

Can you bring an example of each kind:

Bachlam
E-He-mantiv
Moshe Vekalev
A-HaVi
Beged Kefet
He Hayedia
Ha-A-chir

Can you explain these terms in simple English?

Why is one kind a name of a person: "Moshe Vekalev", or are you refering to a passuk/verse about Moshe Rabbeinnu/Moses and kalev Yafuneh the great spy?

>2. You write: "... (unless the word before end with Alef,He,Vav,Yod)"
>For the first time, you say that 'the word before' (that ends with Alef,He,Vav,or Yod) >can affect the dagesh kal in the subsequent word.

Not only a that
also a letter in the next word can change the nikud

The word MA מה
it can be with a qamats, a patah or segol.

Also thats the idea of NISMACHIM, nikud can change because of the next word.
A holam can become qamats qatan.

a qamats can become segol.

>Why is one kind a name of a person: "Moshe Vekalev", or are you refering to a >passuk/verse about Moshe Rabbeinnu/Moses and kalev Yafuneh the great

Moshe Vekalev = Mem, Shin, He, Vav, Kaf, Lamed, bet
Bachlam = Bet, Kaf, Lamed, Mem
E-He-mantiv = He, Alef, Mem, Nun, Tav, Yod, Vav
A-HaVi = Alef, He, Vav, Yod
Beged Kefet = Bet, Gimel, Dalet, Kaf, Pe, Tav
Ha-A-chir= Alef, He, Het, Resh

Eli,

>>> Moshe Vekalev = Mem, Shin, He, Vav, Kaf, Lamed, bet
Bachlam = Bet, Kaf, Lamed, Mem
E-He-mantiv = He, Alef, Mem, Nun, Tav, Yod, Vav
A-HaVi = Alef, He, Vav, Yod
Beged Kefet = Bet, Gimel, Dalet, Kaf, Pe, Tav
Ha-A-chir= Alef, He, Het, Resh

Thank you.

They are acronyms, representing examples.
Can you cite an example for each one?

Hey, GoHebrew, Did'nt you say before that you are going to pul some teeth from David??? :)

Eli,

>>> Not only a that
also a letter in the next word can change the nikud

The word MA מה
it can be with a qamats, a patah or segol.

Also thats the idea of NISMACHIM, nikud can change because of the next word.
A holam can become qamats qatan.

a qamats can become segol.

---

Please cite examples.

My quess is that there are specific factors for each case, if we review the context.

You are assuming that the causes are as you say. But if we review the examples, the conclusion may differ from your assumption, which is likely based in your teaching. But it may be incorrect.

Eli,

>> Hey, GoHebrew, Did'nt you say before that you are going to pul some teeth from David??? :)

No, I didn't say exactly that.

I said getting him to explain things like was like pulling teeth. Very difficult, and near impossible.

You're impatient and over-confidant, like an Israeli, but you don't give up. Like me. I was a teen and youth in Israel. So the culture rubbed off on me.

I don't think David is a dib.

so i am telling you over-confidantaly that
A) its not 100% in the nikud
B) Volt has a block segment Limitation (64K) that when exceeded it won't compile.
(and Fontlab will not generate the font proporly);

(unless a new volt and a new fontlab was published)

>> so i am telling you over-confidantaly that

I will answer you with even more over-confidance

>> A) its not 100% in the nikud

He didn't say 100%
rovo k'kulo is surely the nikkud

>> B) Volt has a block segment Limitation (64K) that when exceeded it won't compile.

I'll ask John Hudson and Sergey. Btw version 3 is coming out soon.

So Rubo K'Kulo is what is posible, and you will have to allow the user to override the OT decisions it makes.

>>> (unless a new volt and a new fontlab was published)

hold your breath

Version 3 of what???

>> So Rubo K'Kulo is what is posible, and you will have to allow the user to override the OT decisions it makes.

i disagree.

like i told raphael, if the code is limited, the results are limited.
that's to you.
to him, if the code suck, it bombs.

my font will be 101%.

Ya, You should allways reach for the stars

volt is 1.3.54 now.
is yours after that.

they're skipping 2

i'm begging for more OT support, at least to match adobe's fdk.

i want the 'size' command in a volt font, or at least a section of the font with code that volt doesn't delete.

actually the current interface supports what want:
at size 10-12 use these gyphs; from 9 and below, use these glyphs, at above 12 to 18, use these glyphs, at above 19 use these glyphs

it's there already. just needs to be expanded.

in chabad, the stars reach for us

>actually the current interface supports what want:
>at size 10-12 use these gyphs; from 9 and below, use these glyphs, at above 12 to 18,
>use these glyphs, at above 19 use these glyphs

First of all, you cant change glyph sets according to font size (PT);
Second, The feature of positioning according to font size is currently unsupported.

Eli,

>>> First of all, you cant change glyph sets according to font size (PT);
Second, The feature of positioning according to font size is currently unsupported.

First, there is already an OT command, and the Volt interface can be expanded as is to support.

Second, Adobe will have InDesign suupport it in CS/7, because Minion and Myriad will feature it.

Its basically the Mm and Ww, or Shin ש at the very least. Linotype used to do it before PostScript.

CS7???? Pssssssssssss, you have time.

When you use CS5, CS6 is already frozen in its feature set. They are beta or alpha testing it already.

---

I plan to write the code after another few months of researching and verifying things said.

Then, I need a few more months to test and retest everything.

Then, I need a few more months to make a large set of fonts which support this feature set of Hebrew grammar.

Then, I need a few more months to test and retest everything.

That is all internal testing. Or alpha testing.

Then, I need a few more months to test and retest everything.

That is all external testing. Or beta testing.

Maybe, there are bugs.

After about a year, it's golden master time! It's ready to ship.

Contact every Jewish school and Christian Biblical School to give it away to qualified users. This will take many months.

Amazingly enough, somebody writing for Wikipedia thought he was competent enough to answer the question of when a shva is shva na, and when it's shva nach:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shva

Shva
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shva
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

ְ
IPA /e/, Ø
Transliteration e, nothing
English example men
Example

The word shva in Hebrew. The first vowel (marked with red) is a shva itself.
Other Niqqud
Shva · Hiriq · Zeire · Segol · Patach · Kamatz · Holam · Dagesh · Mappiq · Shuruk · Kubutz · Rafe · Sin/Shin Dot
Shva or, in Biblical Hebrew, Sh'wa (Hebrew: שְׁוָא‎) is a Hebrew niqqud vowel sign written as two vertical dots "ְ" underneath a letter. In Modern Hebrew, it indicates either the phoneme /e/ or the complete absence of a vowel (Ø), whereas in Hebrew prescriptive linguistics, four grammatical entities are differentiated: resting (naḥ / נָח), moving (na / נָע), floating (meraḥef / מְרַחֵף) and "bleating" or "bellowing" (ga'ya / גַּעְיָה). In earlier forms of Hebrew, these entities were phonologically and phonetically distinguishable, but the two variants resulting from Modern Hebrew phonology no longer conform to the traditional classification, e.g. the (first) Shva Nach in the word קִמַּטְתְ (fem. "you crumpled") is pronounced /e/ (/kiˈmatet/) instead of being mute, whereas the Shva Na in זְמַן ("time") is mute (/zman/).
It is transliterated as "e", "ə", "'" (apostrophe), or nothing. Note that usage of "ə" for shva is questionable: transliterating modern Hebrew shva with ə or ' is misleading, since it is never actually pronounced [ə] – the vowel [ə] does not exist in modern Hebrew – moreover, the vowel [ə] is probably not characteristic of earlier pronunciations either (see Tiberian vocalization → Mobile Shwa = Shwa na'). .
A shva sign in combination with the vowel diacritics patáẖ, segól and kamáts katán produces a "ẖatáf": a diacritic for a "tnuʿá ẖatufá" (a "fleeting" or "furtive" vowel).

Pronunciation in Modern Hebrew

In Modern Hebrew, shva is either pronounced /e/ or is mute (Ø), regardless of its traditional classification as shva naḥ (שְׁוָא נָח) or shva na (שְׁוָא נָע), see following table for examples. The Israeli standard for its transliteration[1] is /e/ only for a pronounced shva na (i.e., one which is pronounced /e/) and no representation in transliteration if the shva is mute.
In Modern Hebrew, a shva is pronounced /e/ under the following conditions:[2]

Condition for /e/ pronunciation of shva in Israeli Hebrew Examples Examples for silent shva (since condition does not apply)
In Hebrew IPA translation In Hebrew IPA translation
1. When under the first of two letters, both representing the same consonant or consonants with identical place and manner of articulation: שָׁכְחוּ /ʃaχeˈχu/ they forgot מָכְרוּ /maχˈru/ they sold
שָׁדַדְתְּ /ʃaˈdadet/ you (f.) robbed שָׁלַלְתְּ /ʃaˈlalt/ you (feminine) negated
2. When under the first letter of a word, if this letter is י (/j/), ל (/l/), מ (/m/), נ (/n/) or ר (/r/)[*]: נְמָלִים /nemaˈlim/ ants גְּמָלִים /ɡmaˈlim/ camels
מְנִיָּה /meniˈja/ counting בְּנִיָּה /bniˈja/ building
3. When under the first letter of a word, if the second letter is א (/ʔ/), ה (/h/) or ע (/ʕ/ or /ʔ/): תְּאָרִים /teaˈrim/ titles מִתְאָרִים /mitʔaˈrim/ outlines
תְּמָרִים /tmaˈrim/ dates
4. When under the first letter of a word, if this letter represents one of the prefix-morphemes
ב (/be/) = amongst others "in",
ו (/ve/) = "and",
כ (/ke/) = amongst others "as" or "approximately",
ל (/le/) = amongst others "to", dative marker and verb prefix in infinitive,
ת (/te/) as future tense verb prefix:
בְּרֵיחָהּ /berejˈχa/ in her scent בְּרֵיכָה /brejˈχa/ pool
בְּחִישָׁה /beχiˈʃa/ in sensing בְּחִישָׁה /bχiˈʃa/ stirring
וְרוֹדִים /veroˈdim/ and (they) tyrannize וְרוּדִים /vruˈdim/ pink (m.p.)
כְּרָזָה /keraˈza/ as a thin person כְּרָזָה /kraˈza/ poster
לְפָּרִיז /lepaˈriz/ to Paris
תְּבַלּוּ /tevaˈlu/ you (m. p.) will have a good time תְּבַלּוּל /tvaˈlul/ cataract
5. (In non standard language usage) if one of the morphemes mentioned above (ב /be/, ו /ve/, כ /ke/, ל /le/ or ת /te/) or one of the morphemes מ /mi/ ("from") or ש /ʃe/ ("that") is added as a prefix to a word, which without this prefix begins with a letter marked with a shva pronounced /e/ under the above conditions, this shva will retain its /e/-pronunciation also with the prefix: מִצְּעָדִים /miʦeaˈdim/ from steps מִצְּמָדִים /miʦmaˈdim/ from pairs
מִצְעָדִים /miʦʔaˈdim/ parades
מִרְוָחִים /mirevaˈχim/ from blanks מִרְוָחִים /mirvaˈχim/ intervals
standard: מֵרְוָחִים –/merevaˈχim/
לְאֲרָיוֹת וְלְנְמֵרִים יֵשׁ פַּרְוָה /learaˈjot velenemerim…/ Lions and tigers have fur standard: וְלִנְמֵרִים /…velinmeˈrim…/
וְכְּיְלָדִים שִׂחַקְנוּ בַּחוּץ /vekejelaˈdim…/ And as children we played outside standard: וְכִילָדִים – /veχilaˈdim…/
6. (Usually – see Counterexamples[**]) when under a medial letter, before whose pronunciation a consonant was pronounced: אִשְׁפְּזוּ /iʃpeˈzu/ they hospitalized אִישׁ פְּזוּר דַּעַת /iʃ pzur ˈda.at/ an absentminded man

Counterexamples
*^ One exception to rule 2 seems to be מְלַאי /mlaj/ "inventory"; the absence of a vowel after the מ (/m/) might be attributable to the high sonority of the subsequent liquid ל (/l/), however compare with מְלִית (/meˈlit/, not /*mlit/) "filling (in cuisine)".
**^ Exceptions to rule 6 include פְּסַנְתְּרָן (/psantˈran/, not */psanteˈran/ – "pianist"), אַנְגְּלִית (/aŋˈɡlit/, not */aŋɡeˈlit/ – "English"), נַשְׁפְּרִיץ[1] (/naʃˈprit͡s/, not */naʃpeˈrit͡s/ – "we will sprinkle"), several inflections of quinqueliteral roots – e.g.: סִנְכְּרֵן[2] (/sinˈkren/, not */sinkeˈren/ – "he synchronized"); חִנְטְרֵשׁ[3] (/χinˈtreʃ/, not */χinteˈreʃ/ – "he did stupid things"); הִתְפְלַרְטֵט[4] (/hitflarˈtet/, not */hitfelartet/ – "he had a flirt") – and several loanwords, e.g. מַנְטְרַה (/ˈmantra/, not */mantera/ – "mantra").
[edit]Traditional classification

In traditional Hebrew grammar, shvas are in most cases classified as either "shva na" (Heb. שווא נע) or as "shva naḥ" (Heb. שווא נח); in a few cases as "shva meraḥef" (Heb. שווא מרחף), and when discussing Tiberian pronunciation (ca. from the 8th until the 15th century) some shvas are classified as "shva ga'ya" (Heb. שווא געיה).
A shva is categorized according to several attributes of its grammatical context. The three categories of shva relevant to standard grammar of Modern Hebrew are "shva na", "shva naḥ" and "shva meraḥef"; the following table summarizes four distinguishing attributes which determine these categories:
Does the shva supersede a vowel or no vowel in the word's non inflected form?
Is the preceding letter pointed with a "short" or a "long" niqqud-variant?
Is the following letter, when בג״ד כפ״ת, pointed with a dagesh qal or not?
Is the letter which is pointed with shva assigned to the preceding or to the following syllable?
To help illustrate the first criterion (existence or non-existence of a vowel in the word's non inflected form), the "location" of the shva, i.e., the place within the word where the lack of vowel is indicated by it, is marked within the phonemic transcription with an orange linguistic zero: Ø; if existing, the corresponding vowel in the basic (non inflected) form of the example is also marked in orange.
type of shva example non inflected form of example standard syllabification attributes:
vowel / no vowel? short / long? dagesh / no dagesh? preceding / following?
na עֵרְבוֹנוֹת /erØvoˈnot/ (deposits) עֵרָבוֹן /eraˈvon/ (deposit) עֵ—רְבוֹ—נוֹת vowel long without following
naḥ עֶלְבּוֹנוֹת /elØboˈnot/ (insults) עֶלְבּוֹן /elØˈbon/ (insult) עֶלְ—בּוֹ—נוֹת no vowel short with preceding
meraḥef יֶאֶרְכוּ /je.erØˈχu/ (they will last) יֶאֱרַךְ /je.eˈraχ/ (it will last) יֶ—אֶרְ—כוּ vowel short without preceding
[edit]Shva Na
In most cases, traditional Hebrew grammar considers shva na to be an entity that supersedes a vowel that exists in the basic form of a word but not after this word underwent inflection or declension. Additionally, any shva marked under an initial letter is classified shva na.
Merely identifying a given shva as being a "shva na" offers no indication as to its pronunciation in Modern Hebrew; it is however relevant to the application of standard niqqud, e.g.: a בג״ד כפ״ת letter following a letter marked with a shva na may not be marked with a dagesh qal (Modern Hebrew phonology sometimes disagrees with this linguistic prescription, as in זִפְּזְפּוּ – "they zapped" – in which the second pe is pointed with a dagesh qal although preceded by a shva na), or: the vowel preceding a letter marked with a shva na must be represented by the "long" niqqud-variant for that vowel: qamats and not pataḥ, tsere and not segol etc.[↑]. Furthermore, in standard syllabification, the letter under which a shva na is marked is grouped with the following syllable.
The Academy of the Hebrew Language's transliteration guidelines[1] specify that shva na should be transliterated only if pronounced in Modern Hebrew, in which case "e" be used for general purposes and "ĕ" for precise transliteration. Generally shva na is sometimes transliterated "ə"; concerning Modern Hebrew pronunciation however this symbol is misleading, since it is commonly used in linguistics to denote the vowel Schwa, which does not exist in Modern Hebrew.
A shva na can be identified as such by means of the following criteria:
when marked under the first letter of a word,
when marked under the first of two identical letters,
when it's the second of two shvas marked under two consecutive letters (except when marked under the last letter of a word),
when the letter before the one under which it is marked is marked with a "long" niqqud-variant,[↑]
when marked under a letter with a dagesh ḥazaq (historically an indicator of gemination).
For a more detailed account, see Tiberian vocalization → Vowels.
[edit]Shva Naḥ
Traditional Hebrew grammar defines shva naḥ as indicating the absence of a vowel. In Modern Hebrew, some shvas classified as shva naḥ are nonetheless pronounced /e/ (e.g. the shva under the second dalet in the word שָׁדַדְתְּ – /ʃaˈdadet/ – "you (f.) robbed"; see table above).
In all but a small number of cases, a shva not conforming to the criteria listed above is classified shva naḥ. This offers no conclusive indication as to its pronunciation in Modern Hebrew; it is however relevant to the application of standard niqqud, e.g.: a בג״ד כפ״ת letter following a letter marked with a shva naḥ must be marked with a dagesh qal (Modern Hebrew phonology sometimes disagrees with this linguistic prescription, as in לְפַסְפֵס – "to miss" – in which the second pe lacks a dagesh qal although preceded by a shva naḥ), or: the vowel preceding a letter marked with a shva naḥ must be represented by the "short" niqqud-variant for that vowel: pataḥ and not qamats, segol and not tsere etc.[↑]. Furthermore, in standard syllabification, the letter under which a shva naḥ is marked is grouped with the preceding syllable.
The Academy of the Hebrew Language's transliteration guidelines[1] specify that shva naḥ should not be represented in transliteration.
[edit]Shva Meraḥef
"Shva meraḥef" is the grammatical designation of a shva which does not comply with all criteria characterizing a shva na (specifically, one marked under a letter following a letter marked with a "short", not a "long", niqqud-variant[↑]), but which does, like a shva na, supersede a vowel (or a shva na) that exists in the basic form of a word but not after this word underwent inflection or declension.
The classification of a shva as "shva meraḥef" is relevant to the application of standard niqqud, e.g.: a בג״ד כפ״ת letter following a letter marked with a shva meraḥef should not be marked with a dagesh qal, although the vowel preceding this letter could be represented by the "short" niqqud-variant for that vowel.[↑] This reflects sometimes, but not always, pronunciation in Modern Hebrew, e.g. מַלְכֵי ("kings of") is commonly pronounced in accordance with the standard form, /malˈχej/ (with no dagesh qal in the letter kaf), whereas כַּלְבֵי ("dogs of"), whose standard pronunciation is /kalˈvej/, is commonly pronounced /kalˈbej/ (as if there were a dagesh qal in the letter bet). In standard syllabification, the letter under which a shva meraḥef is marked is grouped with the preceding syllable.
[edit]Shva Ga'ya
"Shva Ga'ya" designates a shva marked under a letter that is also marked with the cantillation mark "ga'ya", or "meteg", e.g. the shva under the letter bet in the word בְּהוֹנוֹת ("toes") would normally be classified a shva na and be transliterated "e": "behonót" (or according to the precise standard[1], "ĕ": "bĕhonót"), however, if marked with the ga'ya cantillation mark, , this shva is classified as shva ga'ya, and the transliteration reflecting its historical pronunciation would be "bohonót".
[edit]Tnuʿá ẖatufá ("fleeting" or "furtive" vowel)

Within niqqud, vowel diacritics are sorted into three groups: "big", "small" and "fleeting" or "furtive" ("tnuʿót gdolót" – "גדולות", "tnuʿót ktanót" – "קטנות" and "tnuʿót ẖatufót" "חטופות"), sometimes also referred to as "long", "short" and "very short" or "ultrashort". This grouping might have correlated to different vowel lengths in earlier forms of Hebrew (see Tiberian vocalization → Vowels; spoken Israeli Hebrew however does not distinguish between different vowel lengths, thus this orthographic differentiation is not manifest in speech).
The vowel diacritics classified as "ẖatufót" ("fleeting") all share the common feature of being a digraph of a "small vowel" diacritic (patáẖ, segól or kamáts katán) plus a shva sign. Similarly, their names are derived from the respective "small vowel" diacritic's name plus the adjunct "ẖatáf": "ẖatáf patáẖ", "ẖatáf segól" and "ẖatáf kamáts".
As with a shva na, standard (prescribed) syllabification determines that letters pointed with a "fleeting vowel" diacritic be considered part of the subsequent syllable, even if in modern Hebrew pronunciation this diacritic represents a full-fledged syllable, thus e.g. the phonologically trisyllabic word "הֶעֱמִיד" ("he placed upright"), pronounced /he.eˈmid/, should standardly be syllabified into only two syllables, "הֶ—עֱמִיד" ("he—ĕmíd").
Name Symbol Israeli Hebrew
IPA Transliteration English
example
Shva [e] or ∅ apostrophe, e,
or nothing men,
licked
Reduced Segol
("ẖatáf segól") [e] e men
Reduced Patach
("ẖatáf patáẖ") [a] a cup
Reduced Kamatz
("ẖatáf kamáts") [o] o dork
Reduced Hiriq
("ẖatáf ẖiríq") – not in current use, appears rarely in the Aleppo Codex[3] [i] i it
[edit]Comparison table
Vowel comparison table
Vowel Length
(phonetically not manifested in Israeli Hebrew) IPA Transliteration English
example Notes
Long Short Very Short phonemic phonetic
סָ סַ סֲ /a/ [ä] a spa see open central unrounded vowel
סֵ סֶ סֱ /e/ [e̞] e temp see mid front unrounded vowel
סוֹ סָ סֳ /o/ [o̞] o cone see mid back rounded vowel
סוּ סֻ n/a /u/ [u] u doom
סִי סִ /i/ [i] i ski
Note I: By adding two vertical dots (shva) ְ the vowel is made very short.
Note II: The short o and long a have the same niqqud.
Note III: The short o is usually promoted to a long o in Israeli writing for the sake of disambiguation
Note IV: The short u is usually promoted to a long u in Israeli writing for the sake of disambiguation
[edit]Unicode encoding

Glyph Unicode Name
ְ U+05B0 HEBREW POINT SHEVA
ֱ U+05B1 HEBREW POINT HATAF SEGOL
ֲ U+05B2 HEBREW POINT HATAF PATAH
ֳ U+05B3 HEBREW POINT HATAF QAMATS
[edit]Notes

↑^ Long and short niqqud-variants represent identical spoken vowels in Modern Hebrew; the orthographic distinction is, however, still observed in standard spelling.
[edit]See also

Niqqud
Tiberian vocalization
schwa
[edit]Bibliography

Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar, §10
[edit]References

^ a b c d Transliteration guidelines from 2006 (p. 4)
^ "Characterization and Evaluation of Speech-Reading Support Systems for Hard-of-Hearing Students in the Class" by Becky Schocken; Faculty of Management, Tel-Aviv University, Department of Management and Economics, The Open University of Israel
^ hagigim.com
מלכיםא יז יא. "לקחי־נא"
תהילים יד א : "השחיתו","התעיבו"
תהילים נג ב: "השחיתו", "והתעיבו"

This page was last modified on 1 November 2010 at 05:54.

John Savard,

In Hebrew, when one person does something especially kind and good for another, the other person responds with the following phrase:

ישר כחך

This is pronounced: "Yashar Kocha'cha". Some say, "Yashar Koach".

This means, "Your strength was correct".

In English, we say, "More power to you".

I'm glad that link turned out to be helpful. These discussions piqued my random and boundless curiosity, and I expected there would be resources out there - since languages, unlike high-tech electronics, don't change rapidly, for example, I've found many helpful foreign-language dictionaries now in the public domain on Google Books.

Amazingly enough, but again, not surprisingly, since it is a work that's been around a long time, after my recent web searches turned up a mention that many editions of the Talmud copied the exact pagination of one particularly good early edition, I checked Google Books, and indeed there are several volumes of the Talmud there complete with the Mishnah in the middle and the Gemara around it.

On the Smithsonian "Wayback Machine" site, a translation of the Talmud into English that isn't even in the public domain yet has been kindly made available with the authorization of the copyright owners. A charitable organization dedicated to preserving books in the Yiddish language has put quite a few books up there.

And you probably already know about this site.