#118 How to Fall for Your Hebrew Teacher episode artwork

EPISODE · Jun 16, 2026 · 10 MIN

#118 How to Fall for Your Hebrew Teacher

from Streetwise Hebrew

The root נפל is all about falling – ליפול means "to fall." It's used in so many different expressions it can be easy to forget where it came from. Guy takes us through the most common usages, taking us from meteors to waterfalls to shooting down planes. Hear the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: Hu nafal – He fell – הוא נפל Nafalta hazak – You really went down hard – נפלת חזק Kocha nofel – Falling star – כוכב נופל Lipol – To fall – ליפול Nafalti al mis'ada tova – I stumbled upon a good restaurant – נפלתי על מסעדה טובה Ma hu nafal alai achshav – Why is he coming at me now? – מה הוא נפל עליי עכשיו Ma nafal aleycha ha-yom – What's the matter with you today? – מה נפל עליך היום Nafalta al ha-sechel / ha-rosh? – Are you out of your mind? – נפלת על השכל / הראש "Im yipol ha-kochav sheli" – If my star falls – אם ייפול הכוכב שלי Eize nefila – What a flop – איזה נפילה Eich nafalnu im ha-mis'ada ha-zot – We really picked the wrong restaurant – איך נפלנו עם המסעדה הזאת Nefila chofshit – Free fall – נפילה חופשית Nofel – The fallen (soldier) – נופל Hu nafal ba-milchama – He fell in the war – הוא נפל במלחמה "Kmo hatul ani nofel al ha-raglayim" – Like a cat I land on my feet – כמו חתול אני נופל על הרגליים Nafal lecha ha-kesef – You dropped your money – נפל לך הכסף Nafla lach ha-mitriya – You dropped your umbrella – נפלה לך המטרייה Naflu lachem ha-kartisim – Your tickets fell out – נפלו לכם הכרטיסים Hu hitnapel al mishehu – He attacked someone – הוא התנפל על מישהו Eize hitnaplut al ha-ochel – Everyone jumped on the food – איזה התנפלות על האוכל Lehapil – To knock over, to drop – להפיל Hi hipila – She had a miscarriage / abortion – היא הפילה Hapala – Miscarriage / Abortion – הפלה "Mapil" – Hilarious – מפיל Ha-matos hupal – The plane was shot down – המטוס הופל Mapal – Waterfall – מפל Nefel – Dud – נפל   Playlist and Clips: Eifo Ha-yeled – Nafalta Hazak (lyrics) Gidi Gov – Yesh Ey Sham (lyrics) Tofa'at Dopler – Lipol al Gan Eden (lyrics) Ben El Tavori – Ole Ole (lyrics) Ilanit – Im Yipol Ha-kochav Sheli (lyrics) Yehuda Poliker – Ahava al Tnai (lyrics) Ep. no. 103 about sting / prick HEB

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Jun 16, 2026

Embed this episode

Ready to play

#118 How to Fall for Your Hebrew Teacher

0:00 10:12

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

The College Commons Podcast HUC-JIR The College Commons Podcast, passionate perspectives from Judaism's leading thinkers, is produced by Hebrew Union College, America's first Jewish institution of higher learning. Exegetically Speaking Wheaton College "Exegetically Speaking" is a weekly podcast of the friends and faculty of Wheaton College, IL and The Lanier Theological Library. Hosted by Dr. David Capes, it features language experts who discuss the importance of learning the biblical languages—Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek—and show how reading the Bible in the original languages "pays off." Each podcast lasts between seven and eleven minutes and covers a different topic for those who want to read the Bible for all it is worth. Click on the ⓘ symbol below for each episode to read the description.If you're interested in going deeper, learn more about Wheaton's undergraduate degree in Classical Languages (Greek, Hebrew, and Latin) and our MA in Biblical Exegesis. Collected Talks of David Solomon David Solomon A Jewish podcast experience like no other. David Solomon’s “enlightening and engaging” talks on the Hebrew Bible, Jewish History, Kabbalah, and Jewish Philosophy and Thought will leave you immersed in information and inspired to learn more. Collected Talks of David Solomon is a podcast of lectures by internationally renowned educator, writer, translator, and scholar David Solomon. With the skill of a seasoned story-teller, David delivers dynamic and entertaining lectures filled with volumes of fascinating, well-researched content. These lectures, recorded before live audiences around the world, are delivered with clarity and insight, poignancy and humour by a world-class Jewish educator who is not to be missed. Download and subscribe now or learn more at davidsolomon.online Zemer of the Week David Rosenwein, Jon Hornstein, Jeff Ong Teaching zemirot, spreading the middot, one song, one week at a time. "Zemer of the Week" is a podcast hosted by David Rosenwein and Jon Hornstein, teaching zemirot -- traditional Jewish songs in Hebrew and occasionally Yiddish or Aramaic. Weekly, topical dvars (a short word of Torah) also follow up each zemer.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of Streetwise Hebrew?

This episode is 10 minutes long.

When was this Streetwise Hebrew episode published?

This episode was published on June 16, 2026.

Can I download this Streetwise Hebrew episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!