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<span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Goudy Old Style",serif;
mso-bidi-font-family:David">One of the main problems in educating people about language is that anyone who speaks a language or understands it well thinks he understands how it works. That is
demonstrably not true: if you hire a native speaker to teach non-native speakers, known technically as TOEFL (“Teaching of English as a Foreign Language”), he usually cannot explain things to them.</span></p>
<p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;margin-right:.6in">
<span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Goudy Old Style",serif;
mso-bidi-font-family:David">One of the misunderstandings that laymen hold is that language is a collection of words with meaning.
<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>As it became evident, one can teach chimpanzees and other animals to use words.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>Their vocal cords are not set up to pronounce them, but if you give them shapes and colors, they can learn to associate the shape with the sound that a person makes and with its meaning.</span></p>
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<span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Goudy Old Style",serif;
mso-bidi-font-family:David">It should have been obvious to anyone who looked carefully that animals use various signals to communicate.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>Birds, whales, dophins, bees and some other creatures use various signs and sounds to convey messages, such as the location of food and danger.</span></p>
<p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;margin-right:.6in">
<span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Goudy Old Style",serif;
mso-bidi-font-family:David">But that is not human language.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>As Betrand Russell famously said,<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>“No matter how eloquently a dog may bark, he cannot tell you that his parents were poor, but honest.”<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>The linguistic point is that people use language differently than animals, to convey different sort of information.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>But this is equally true about a facet of human language that is distinctive: ALL human languages are built on patterns. You may call these patterns “grammar,” but “a rose by any other name” etc,: ALL human languages employ patterns as part of the language.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>The pattern may be the order of words, or intonation, or the specific form of some words, and it can and does change the meaning that is conveyed.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>Most people are aware that written language cannot clearly convey such crucial information as whether something is said sarcastically or in jest.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>In English, there is a specific intonation used for sentences said as a question or sarcastically, and that intonation is a pattern that can be used for completely different thoughts.</span></p>
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<span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Goudy Old Style",serif;
mso-bidi-font-family:David">Some of the patterns of language may be called “rules of grammar.” That is just using other words to refer to the fact that language uses patterns to express things:
some languages use prefixes or suffixes to verbs and nouns to show the meaning of a word in a sentence, others use separate words or “helping verbs.”<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>Modeern English uses the order of words to show which is the subject and which is the object. But Old English and Latin and Greek used noun declensions, and so they could put the words in any order they wished.</span></p>
<p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;margin-right:.6in">
<span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Goudy Old Style",serif;
mso-bidi-font-family:David">Some Semitic languages (Akkadian, Ugaritic, Classical Arabic and some others) used noun declensions. But not Hebrew, Aramaic, Ethiopian, or spoken Arabic.</span></p>
<p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;margin-right:.6in">
<span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Goudy Old Style",serif;
mso-bidi-font-family:David">But something that<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>was alive and well in Biblical and Chazal Hebrew (but not Modern Hebrew) are certain noun patterns that show a divergence in plural suffixes and gender from what is “standard” (or at least what is taught as standard in schools and grammars).</span></p>
<p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;margin-right:.6in">
<span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Goudy Old Style",serif;
mso-bidi-font-family:David">Specifically, people are taught erroneously that Hebrew uses two genders, masculine and feminine. The truth is that Hebrew uses two noun classes, which in many cases
correspond to gender.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>But noun classes are quite different.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>In languages where they were active (such as in Old English or German) there were three noun classes, commonly called “masculine, feminine and neuter.”<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>But look at the German word mädchen (“girl, maiden,” cognate to theYiddish meidel).<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>The word is neuter, and one must say “das mãdchen” and “die mãdchen” is not possible).<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>The poinmt being is that nouns are assigned to one of the three classes, and the class does not correspond to gender. Bantu languages use 7-12 noun classes.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>Any adjectives of a noun in one class must agree with it in the form used.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>To say in Swahili “the large book” would be kitabu ki.kubwa; “the large books” would be vitabu vikubwa; “the large man” would be mtu mkubwa; “the large men” would be watu wakubwa;” “the “large girl” would be msichana mkubwa, “ the large girls” would
be wasichana wakubwa.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Different grammars will disagree about how many different classes there are (some count 7, others 10, others 15), but they do not disagree about the forms.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>And what is called by most “Class I” is used for most people, and it does not distinguish by gender (i.e. the forms are the same whether they are masculine or feminine).</span></p>
<p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;margin-right:.6in">
<span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Goudy Old Style",serif;
mso-bidi-font-family:David">[BTW, a little off-topic, that is the reason why the words “god” or “God” in English use the pronoun “he.” It is NOT because the words are masculine in gender, but
because they belong to Noun Class I, just as a ship is referred to in older English as “she,” not because ships had anything to do with the feminine gender.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>Most people do not understand this, and so many women think that it is sexist to refer to God as “he.”]</span></p>
<p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;margin-right:.6in">
<span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Goudy Old Style",serif;
mso-bidi-font-family:David">Back to noun classes in Hebrew: in Hebrew school I was taught that some nouns were “masculine”: (no ending; plural formed with the endng -im; adjectives and verbs
had to agree by using the “masculine” form.) Others were “feminine”: ending -ah or -t; plural -ot, adjectives and verbs use the “feminine” form.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>There were a couple of “feminine” nouns with no ending, such as “‘ir, city, but less than ten.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>There were some masculine nouns that formed the plural using -ot (such as m’qomot”) but otherwise were masculine (“m’qomot g’dolim”). But linguistically, I would say there are two noun classes in Hebrew.</span></p>
<p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;margin-right:.6in">
<span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Goudy Old Style",serif;
mso-bidi-font-family:David">But there is another noun class very well attested in both Biblical and Chazal Hebrew.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>It includes mostly words referring to things that come in bunches or groups.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>All grains and many vegetables belong to this class: </span><span dir="RTL" style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"David",sans-serif;
mso-ascii-font-family:"Goudy Old Style";mso-hansi-font-family:"Goudy Old Style"" lang="HE">חטה אחת גדולה, חטים רבות גדולות.<br>
שעורה אחת גדולה, שעורים רבות גדולות.<br>
ביצה אחת גדולה, ביצים רבות גדולות.<br>
קישות אחת גדולה, קישואים רבות גדולות.<br>
</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Goudy Old Style",serif;
mso-bidi-font-family:David">That is indeed the form of the word in Chazal, as in Kil’ayim 1:2:<br>
<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></span><span dir="RTL" style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"David",sans-serif" lang="HE">הקישות והמלפפון אינן כלאיים זה בזה</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"David",sans-serif"></span></p>
<p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;margin-right:.6in">
<span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Goudy Old Style",serif;
mso-bidi-font-family:David">What gets interesting are the other words that are in this class:<br>
</span><span dir="RTL" style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"David",sans-serif;
mso-ascii-font-family:"Goudy Old Style";mso-hansi-font-family:"Goudy Old Style"" lang="HE">מלה אחת גדולה, מלים רבות גדולות.</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Goudy Old Style",serif;mso-bidi-font-family:
David"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>
and</span><span dir="RTL" style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"David",sans-serif;mso-ascii-font-family:
"Goudy Old Style";mso-hansi-font-family:"Goudy Old Style"" lang="HE"><br>
שנה אחת גדולה, שנים רבות גדולות.</span></p>
<p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;margin-right:.6in">
<span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Goudy Old Style",serif;
mso-bidi-font-family:David">The former is understandable when you think about it: people do not normally speak just one word.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>But a year?</span></p>
<p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;margin-right:.6in">
<span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Goudy Old Style",serif;
mso-bidi-font-family:David">And then you look further and you see: in 143 cases in the T’NaKh, the word
</span><span dir="RTL" style="font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"David",sans-serif;mso-ascii-font-family:"Goudy Old Style";
mso-hansi-font-family:"Goudy Old Style"" lang="HE">שנים</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Goudy Old Style",serif;
mso-bidi-font-family:David"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>
appears, and an additional 25 in s’mikhut and 5 other cases with pronominal suffixes.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>But the form </span><span dir="RTL" style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"David",sans-serif;mso-ascii-font-family:
"Goudy Old Style";mso-hansi-font-family:"Goudy Old Style"" lang="HE">שנות</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Goudy Old Style",serif;mso-bidi-font-family:David" lang="HE"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>
</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Goudy Old Style",serif;
mso-bidi-font-family:David">also appears 9 times, and with suffixes (such as in Ps. 102:28</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"David",sans-serif;mso-ascii-font-family:
"Goudy Old Style";mso-hansi-font-family:"Goudy Old Style"" lang="HE"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>:</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Goudy Old Style",serif;mso-bidi-font-family:
David" lang="HE"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>
</span><span dir="RTL" style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"David",sans-serif;mso-ascii-font-family:
"Goudy Old Style";mso-hansi-font-family:"Goudy Old Style"" lang="HE">וְאַתָּה־ה֑וּא וּ֝שְׁנוֹתֶ֗יךָ לֹ֣א יִתָּֽמּוּ</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Goudy Old Style",serif;mso-bidi-font-family:
David" lang="HE"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>
</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Goudy Old Style",serif;mso-bidi-font-family:
David">) another 11.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>In all the former cases, it appears in contices such as “he was 86 years old,” “the years of Sarah’s life,”or “in the 18<sup>th</sup> year of Y’hoshafat.” These contices do not appear with the latter form.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>Instead, the latter form refers mostly to ages or periods, as in Ps. 90:15:</span><span dir="RTL" style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"David",sans-serif;
mso-ascii-font-family:"Goudy Old Style";mso-hansi-font-family:"Goudy Old Style"" lang="HE"><br>
שַׂ֭מְּחֵנוּ כִּימ֣וֹת עִנִּיתָ֑נוּ שְׁ֝נ֗וֹת רָאִ֥ינוּ רָעָֽה.</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Goudy Old Style",serif;mso-bidi-font-family:
David"></span></p>
<p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;margin-right:.6in">
<span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Goudy Old Style",serif;
mso-bidi-font-family:David">So generally speaking, shanim refers to 12-month years, and shanot refers to periods.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>As always, there are cases where one can quibble about which is appropriate, but the general picture is clear. (And, I would argue that is the reason the form “y’mot” rather than the normal “yamim” is used in the pasuq cited: under the influence of the
difference in meaning between shanim and shanot T’hillim uses a form of yom with the -ot ending to emphasize that it also refers to a period, not to “days.”)</span></p>
<p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;margin-right:.6in">
<span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Goudy Old Style",serif;
mso-bidi-font-family:David">This pattern of nouns still exists in the time of Chazal.</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"David",sans-serif;mso-ascii-font-family:
"Goudy Old Style";mso-hansi-font-family:"Goudy Old Style"" lang="HE"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Goudy Old Style",serif;mso-bidi-font-family:
David">There is a well-known word that Chazal use meaning “drop”:
</span><span dir="RTL" style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"David",sans-serif;
mso-ascii-font-family:"Goudy Old Style";mso-hansi-font-family:"Goudy Old Style"" lang="HE">טפה</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:
"Goudy Old Style",serif;mso-bidi-font-family:David"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>.
For example, in Avot 2:10, </span><span dir="RTL" style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"David",sans-serif;mso-ascii-font-family:
"Goudy Old Style";mso-hansi-font-family:"Goudy Old Style"" lang="HE"><br>
רבי אליעזר בן הורקנוס, בור סיד שאינו מאבד טיפה</span><span style="font-size:
11.0pt;font-family:"Goudy Old Style",serif;mso-bidi-font-family:David"><br>
Or in the well known quotation from R Zeira mentioned in the “G’moro:</span><span dir="RTL" style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"David",sans-serif;
mso-ascii-font-family:"Goudy Old Style";mso-hansi-font-family:"Goudy Old Style"" lang="HE"><br>
אמר רבּי זירא בנות ישראל הן החמירו על עצמן שאפילּו רואות דם טיפּה כחרדל יושבות עליה שבעת ימים נקיים</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Goudy Old Style",serif;mso-bidi-font-family:
David"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>.</span><span dir="RTL" style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"David",sans-serif;mso-ascii-font-family:
"Goudy Old Style";mso-hansi-font-family:"Goudy Old Style"" lang="HE"><br>
</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Goudy Old Style",serif;
mso-bidi-font-family:David">But the plural? See Bava Batra 5:8:
</span><span dir="RTL" style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"David",sans-serif;
mso-ascii-font-family:"Goudy Old Style";mso-hansi-font-family:"Goudy Old Style"" lang="HE">וחייב להטיף שלוש טיפין</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Goudy Old Style",serif;
mso-bidi-font-family:David"><br>
or in Shir ha Shirim Rabba 1:2:8:;</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"David",sans-serif;mso-ascii-font-family:
"Goudy Old Style";mso-hansi-font-family:"Goudy Old Style""><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>
<span lang="HE"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>ומה מים יורדין טפין טפין ןמעשות נחלים נחלים
</span></span></p>
<p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;margin-right:.6in">
<span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Goudy Old Style",serif;
mso-bidi-font-family:David">Again, something that normally comes in groups or bunches follows this pattern. And even when it is in the plural with the “masculine” pplural ending, it is feminine,
and the adjectives and verbs must use the feminine form.</span><span dir="RTL" style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"David",sans-serif;
mso-ascii-font-family:"Goudy Old Style";mso-hansi-font-family:"Goudy Old Style"" lang="HE"></span></p>
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<div class="PlainText"><font size="3" face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt">Rabbi Dr. Seth Mandel</span><br>
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