A small piece of careful Torah scholarship

Help identify one Gemara word at a time

For each word, find the Jastrow entry that belongs to the word as it is being used in that passage. Every answer helps us test a new word-by-word dictionary for the Bavli.

This is used only to keep your answers separate from another reviewer’s.

What you will do

  1. 1

    Read the highlighted word together with the words before and after it.

  2. 2

    Decide what basic word you would look up in Jastrow. Allow for an attached letter, an ending, or a changed verb form.

  3. 3

    Search the Jastrow entries on the page and choose the entry that fits this passage.

  4. 4

    Say how sure you are. If you are unsure, explain the doubt briefly so another reviewer can check it.

Please make your own decision. You will not see computer suggestions or another volunteer’s answer.

Remember: the Gemara contains both Hebrew and Aramaic. Sometimes two Jastrow entries look almost identical, but one is Hebrew and the other is Aramaic. Check the language label, nikkud, surrounding passage, and English explanation. Choose whichever entry fits the word here. Do not automatically choose Aramaic simply because the word appears in the Gemara.

Examples

בְּטַלִּית

The ב means “in” or “with”. Choose טַלִּית in Jastrow.

מִינֵיהּ

The ending means “him” or “it”. Choose מִן in Jastrow.

אוֹחֲזִין

This is a plural verb form. Choose אָחַז in Jastrow.

מְצָאתִיהָ

The word means “I found it/her”. Choose מָצָא in Jastrow.

The same letters can lead to different entries. For example, דָּבָר “a matter” and דָּבַר “he spoke” are not the same Jastrow entry. Use the nikkud and passage.