# Baruch Ata Adonai, Eloheinu, Melech haolam, szekachah lo beolamo



## Misiulo

"_Baruch Ata Adonai, Eloheinu, Melech haolam, szekachah lo beolamo"_

The phrase, apparently is a way of expressing gratitude to God for creating a beatiful person (a woman?) Unfortunately My knowledge of the language is round about zero, so, I've got no other choice, but to take someone else's word for it. 

 I would like to know how does this sentence look in proper Hebrew. Thanks!


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## ks20495

ברוך אתה יי אלהינו מלך העולם שככה לו בעולמו

I just Googled the blessing...It's apparently supposed to said when you see ANYTHING beautiful (even an animal).


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## origumi

This is the way one should thank God seeing exceptionally good persons or trees. Litereally "Blessed be our God whose world is like that".


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## Shaul Magen

_"szekachah lo beolamo"_

I am a neophyte at Hebrew but based on what I saw above, should the transliteration not be "shekachah"?  I am not sure what sound "sz" is supposed to represent in Hebrew.  Help anyone?


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## origumi

There's no agreed system for writing Hebrew in Latin letters. The thread opener is Polish, so apparently he used Polish spelling. In any case, the sound is like english sh.


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## Misiulo

Exactly. Thanks for your help!


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## Shaul Magen

Thanks for the help, Origumi.  
As a life-long language learner and teacher, I am having a great time tackling Hebrew.  Sometimes I think Ivreet is tackling me...

How does "lo" fit into the sentence.  I thought it meant "NO!" (As in the commandments, as we Christians call them)


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## origumi

Shaul Magen said:


> How does "lo" fit into the sentence. I thought it meant "NO!" (As in the commandments, as we Christians call them)


It's לו = _to him_ (vs. לא = _not)_. They sound identical. _szekachah lo beolamo_ is literally _that_ _like that (is) to him in his world_.


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## Shaul Magen

I do much better when the nikkud are present... but in this case, a better knowledge of the spelling (in consonants) would have clarified the issue.  I am a member of the adult Biblical Hebrew class at the local Temple here in Hot Springs and have attended about one year.  We meet for an hour and a half on Sunday afternoons.  The Rabbi is a very knowledgeable man and a great teacher.
Thanks again for your help!


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## origumi

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁכָּכָה לוֹ בְּעוֹלָמוֹ


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## Shaul Magen

Just like magic, they appear!  I know from what the Rabbi has told us that the nikkud are not used at all in Israel, and of course, I can understand that familiarity with any language gives one the ability to read in phrases rather than letter by letter which is how most of us in the class read now... much appreciated.  Todah rabah!


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## Ali Smith

origumi said:


> This is the way one should thank God seeing exceptionally good persons or trees. Litereally "Blessed be our God whose world is like that".


If ברוך means "blessed", it's a passive participle. And sure enough, it's of the form קטול katul, which is the paradigmatic form for the passive participle from the qal-binyan. However, there is no corresponding verb in the qal-binyan. How is that possible?

The only verb I could find was ברך berekh/berakh (I believe both pronunciations are possible), which is from the pi'el-binyan.


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## GeriReshef

Ali Smith said:


> If ברוך means "blessed", it's a passive participle. And sure enough, it's of the form קטול katul, which is the paradigmatic form for the passive participle from the qal-binyan. However, there is no corresponding verb in the qal-binyan. How is that possible?
> 
> The only verb I could find was ברך berekh/berakh (I believe both pronunciations are possible), which is from the pi'el-binyan.


I am not sure I understood, however 
Active: מברך (bless, piel) 
Passive: מבורך (blessed, pual).


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## Ali Smith

Yes, the passive participle should be mevurakh מבורך. How come people say barukh ברוך instead? That's the passive participle from qal, isn't it?


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## Drink

Yes, it's a weird case where the passive participle does not match the binyan of the verb. There is no real explanation here, but note it's the same in Arabic (مبروك is form I and بارك is form III).


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## GeriReshef

Sorry guys, but I'm afraid I miss something:
The discussion was about why we use the adjective ברוך instead of the verb מבורך?
Many times foreigners are aware to irregularities that we, the native speakers, miss..


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## rosemarino

Yes, there is something misunderstood here. As Geri says, ברוך (blessed) is an adjective.  The verb is the linking verb "are," ("to be"), which is not expressed in the present tense in Hebrew.

The beginning of a Jewish blessing is, ברוך אתה יי אלוהינו, מלך העולם, usually translated to English as, "Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the Universe

By the way, יי stands for the name of God, יהוה, which Jews do not pronounce.  We pronounce it אדוניי (adonai) when reciting the blessing, which I think literally means "my lord".  Other substitutions for writing out the name of God are 'ה and השם (the name).


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## GeriReshef

rosemarino said:


> Yes, there is something misunderstood here. As Geri says, ברוך (blessed) is an adjective.  The verb is the linking verb "are," ("to be"), which is not expressed in the present tense in Hebrew.
> 
> The beginning of a Jewish blessing is, ברוך אתה יי אלוהינו, מלך העולם, usually translated to English as, "Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the Universe
> 
> By the way, יי stands for the name of God, יהוה, which Jews do not pronounce.  We pronounce it אדוניי (adonai) when reciting the blessing, which I think literally means "my lord".  Other substitutions for writing out the name of God are 'ה and השם (the name).


אדוני = my lords,
the plural expresses respect (and not polytheism..).


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## rosemarino

Great, thanks, Geri.


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