Sunday, April 05, 2009

an etymological haggadah

Well, maybe we're not quite ready for an etymological haggadah just yet. But this time of year I get a lot of requests (both by email and from search engines) for explanations for Pesach related words. So I've decided to compile them all here in one place. Enjoy!

Pesach
means "pass over", right? Actually, probably not:
http://www.balashon.com/2006/04/pesach.html

Origin of the name "Mitzrayim" and the connection to the song Misirlou:
http://www.balashon.com/2009/03/mitzrayim.html

From Chur to Cherut(einu) to Uhuru:
http://www.balashon.com/2007/03/herut-and-uhura.html

The connection between "Leil Shimurim" and "shemarim" (yeast):
http://www.balashon.com/2007/04/leil-shimurim.html

Chametz, chometz and hummus - is there a connection?
http://www.balashon.com/2006/04/chametz.html

Kitniyot may not be a small issue these days, but it is related to "katan":
http://www.balashon.com/2006/04/kitniyot.html

Gebrochts is related to broke - but not "broker":
http://www.balashon.com/2006/04/gebrochts.html

A connection between "seder" and Sderot (but not Shedrot!)
http://www.balashon.com/2007/03/seder.html

You've probably never noticed the first word in the haggadah. The meaning "mix" is much more significant than the common translation "pour":
http://www.balashon.com/2009/03/mozeg.html

We do netilat yadayim twice? Does it mean "taking the hands"?
http://www.balashon.com/2006/10/netila.html

On all nights we eat many yerakot - but is there a connection to yarok (green)?
http://www.balashon.com/2006/08/yarok.html

Does "mesubin" just mean sitting around? Well, it probably once did, then it took on a very specific meaning of reclining, and now we're back to sitting around again:
http://www.balashon.com/2008/04/mesubin.html

"Hit his teeth" or "blunt his teeth"? And a coffee connection:
http://www.balashon.com/2006/04/hakheh.html

Who was the Arami? What did he do to our father?
http://www.balashon.com/2007/03/arami-oved-avi.html

God saw our "amal" - what does that mean?
http://www.balashon.com/2006/05/america.html

Not by a "saraf" - perhaps connected to "syrup" and "sherbet", but not "serpent":
http://www.balashon.com/2006/06/saraf.html


The third plague is kinim. Does kmo ken mean "(to die) like them" or ("to die") like a louse?
http://www.balashon.com/2008/04/ken.html

Bechorim or bechorot? And a connection to albacore:
http://www.balashon.com/2006/11/albacore.html


The sea that split: the Red Sea or the Sea of Reeds?
http://www.balashon.com/2010/03/yam-suf-red-sea-or-sea-of-reeds.html

When did they start calling hazeret "horseradish"?
http://www.balashon.com/2006/03/hazeret.html

Different theories about the etymology of matza:
http://www.balashon.com/2006/04/matza.html

Maror and mor (myrrh) - bitter to taste and sweet to smell:
http://www.balashon.com/2006/04/maror.html

The karpas from the haggadah and the karpas from Megilat Esther aren't related:
http://www.balashon.com/2006/04/karpas.html

Tzafun means hidden. Is it related to tzafon (north)?
http://www.balashon.com/2006/07/tzafon.html

We finish the meal with the afikoman or we don't finish the meal with the afikoman? It depends what the word means:
http://www.balashon.com/2006/04/afikoman.html

Echad mi yodea? Here's the story behind all the Hebrew numbers:
http://www.balashon.com/search/label/hebrew%20numbers


And don't forget to count the omer. But what does omer mean?
http://www.balashon.com/2009/04/omer.html

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