Photo Credit:

אֱנוֹשׁוּת Today being יוֹם הַשּׁוֹאָה – Israel’s Holocaust Memorial Day – the Hebrew word for humanity comes to my mind: אֱנוֹשׁוּת.

אנושות derives from the name of Biblical Adam’s grandson, אֱנוֹשׁ, a word also sometimes used to refer to humanity.

Advertisement




אנושות is also related to the familiar word for people – אֲנָשִׁים.

Here’s an example of אנושות in context:

הַשּׁוֹאָה הָיְתָה מַכָּה גְּדוֹלָה לָאֱנוֹשׁוּת. The Holocaust was a big blow (hit) for humanity. In adjective form, אנושות becomes אֱנוֹשִׁי, such as in the phrase, מַעֲנֶה אֱנוֹשִׁי – human response (such as when you’d call a hotline and ask to speak to a human being).

Visit Ktzat Ivrit.

Advertisement

SHARE
Previous articleFischer Launches New War on Shekel-Dollar Rate
Next articleFierce Clashes between Rebels and Hizbullah at Lebanese Border
Ami Steinberger is founder and director of Ulpan La-Inyan.