A Basic Blessing in Hebrew

Hebrew For Dummies

You can use this great all-purpose Jewish blessing in Hebrew any time you experience something new (such as eating the first fruit of the season), or experience something wonderful — a wedding, a new job, a new contract, or whatever).

Hebrew: Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech Ha’Olam, Sh’hecheyanu, V’Kiyemanu, V’Higianu LaZman HaZeh.

Pronunciation: bah-rooch ah-tah ah-doh-noye eh-loh-hay-noo meh-lehch hah-oh-lahm, sheh-cheh-hee-yah-noo veh-kee-yah-mah-noo veh-hee-gee-ah-noo lahz-mahn hah-zeh.

Translation: Praised are You, the Eternal One our God, Ruler of the Cosmos, who has kept us alive, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this moment.

About This Article

About the book author:

Jill Suzanne Jacobs is a fluent Hebrew speaker having picked up the language through study, three years of living in Israel, and multiple extended visits. She holds graduate degrees in Jewish and Israel education, and she taught in the classroom for ten years before moving into leadership roles in educational nonprofits. She is the author of the first edition of Hebrew For Dummies and mom to a second generation diaspora Hebrew speaker.