# Khanuka



## Maroseika

Shalom,
Could you please translate this text in English and rewrite in Hebrew block letters?


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## amikama

לחץ על הנר והוא יתחיל לשיר, לחץ שוב והוא יפסיק
לחץ על השמש וכל הנרות יתחילו או יפסיקו

"Click the candle and it will begin to sing, click again and it will stop.
Click the Shamash and all the candles will begin or stop."
(The Shamash is the bigger candle in the middle.)


Happy חנוכה!


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## Maroseika

Toda raba, amikama!


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## Maroseika

One more question if possible: what does mean literally השמש and why only this word is written with the vowels?


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## tFighterPilot

It's written with vowels so that you won't think it's Shemesh which means sun. I don't know if there's an English word for Shamash, but it's the candle which is used to light the other candles.


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## Maroseika

tFighterPilot said:


> It's written with vowels so that you won't think it's Shemesh which means sun. I don't know if there's an English word for Shamash, but it's the candle which is used to light the other candles.


So etymologically it's connected with sun, right?


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## cfu507

tFighterPilot said:


> It's written with vowels so that you won't think it's Shemesh which means sun. I don't know if there's an English word for Shamash, but it's the candle which is used to light the other candles.


 

Maroseika, it has nothing to do with the word shemesh (sun).
Shamash is attendant as a person. I also found the name “worker” candle.

ה*שמש* מ*שמש* (serve) להדלקת שאר הנרות
Ha’shamash meshamesh lehadlakat shar hanerot
The Shamash serves to light the other candelas.


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## בעל-חלומות

If שָמָש _does_ have anything to do with שֵמֶש it may be becaue some ancient Semitic people saw the sun as something they are "using", or as something (a god) that is using them, and gave it a name that realated to the verb לשמש, but this is pretty far-fetched.


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## Maroseika

Thank you very much for detailed explanation. Though still unclear remains possible etymological connection between these 2 words. 
B ythe way, does anybody know on-line Hebrew etymological dictionary in English?


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## בעל-חלומות

The Academy of the Hebrew Language is working on a huge etymological dictionary, but I don't think that they are going to have it translated to any other language. According to their site the entry for ערב has 75 pages.

But this is a really good site for Hebrew etymologies: (...apparently I can't link yet, so google "balashon")- It's written by an American who moved to Israel, I think, so it's in English. I hope someone would start a similar site in Hebrew some time, but you can't get everything.


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## cfu507

Maroseika said:


> Thank you very much for detailed explanation. Though still unclear remains possible etymological connection between these 2 words.
> B ythe way, does anybody know on-line Hebrew etymological dictionary in English?


 
I don't think there a connection between these words. Take for example the words chelek (part, portion) and chalak (smooth) they are written the same: חלק, but there is no coaction between them.

** If you find a connection between shemesh and shamash, it would be interesting to know.


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