Hebrew abbreviations

Abbreviations (Hebrew: ראשי תיבות) are a common part of the Hebrew language, with many organizations, places, people and concepts known by their abbreviations.

Typography

״‎). This mark is placed between the last two letters of the non-inflected form of the acronym (e.g. "report" in singular is דו״ח, hence the plural דו״חות).^[1] Acronyms can be formed from strings of single initial letters, e.g. פזצט״א pazátsta (for פול, זחל, צפה, טווח, אש), or multiple initial letters, e.g. ארה״ק (for ארץ הקודש, the Holy Land) or ראשל״צ ráshlats (for ראשון לציון, Rishon LeZion

).

If the acronym is read as is, then the spelling should be with a final form letter. If, on the other hand, the acronym is read as the complete phrase or read as the individual letters, then it should be spelled with a medial form letter.^[2] In practice, this rule is often ignored, and the acronyms spelled either way.

׳‎) by placing the sign after the last letter of the abbreviation (e.g. "Ms.": גב׳).^[2] However, in practice, single and double quotes are often used instead of the special punctuation marks (for which most keyboards do not have keys), with the single quote used both in acronyms^{[citation needed}

] and abbreviations.

In Modern Hebrew, periods are sometimes used to mark an abbreviation (e.g., ת.ז. for תעודת זהות, "ID card", or ת.ד. for תא דואר, "P.O.B.") this notation is mainly used in technical writing and regarded nonstandard by the Hebrew Academy.

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]

Pronunciation

Often (and especially when they describe a noun), Hebrew acronyms are pronounced by the insertion of a vowel sound (usually

Tanakh (תנ״ך) and Shabak (שב״כ). There are exceptions to the use of "a", such as Etzel

(אצ״ל).

When one of the letters is

Beitar

, pronounced beytar.)

Hebrew numbers (e.g. year numbers in the Hebrew calendar) are written the same way as acronyms, with gershayim before the last character, but pronounced as separate letter names. For example, ה׳תשע״ה (5775 AM, or 2014–2015 CE) is pronounced hei-tav-shin-ayin-hei.

Usage

People

Acronyms have been widely used in Hebrew since at least the

Nahmanides) is likewise known as the Ramban (רמב״ן), and Baal Shem Tov

is called the Besht (בעש״ט).

A number of such acronyms differ only in their last letter. They all begin with Mahara-, as an acronym of the words מורנו הרב רבי ... (Morenu Ha-Rav rabi ..., "Our teacher the Rabbi ...").

"Maharam", with the final "m" standing for a number of names, such as Moshe and Meïr.
"Maharal" for Judah Loew ben Bezalel
"Maharash" for either Meir Shauls or Shmuel Schneersohn.

Text

The usage of Hebrew acronyms extends to liturgical groupings: the word

Tanakh (תנ״ך) is an acronym for Torah (Five Books of Moses), Nevi'im (Book of Prophets), and Ketuvim

(Hagiographa).

Most often, though, one will find use of acronyms as acrostics, in both prayer, poetry (see Piyyut), and kabbalistic works. Because each Hebrew letter also has a numeric value, embedding an acrostic may give an additional layer of meaning to these works.

One purpose of acrostics was as a mnemonic or a way for an author to weave his name as a signature, or some other spiritual thought, into his work, at a time when much was memorized. Examples of prayers which contain acrostics include:

Ashrei – The first letter of every verse starts with a consecutive letter of the Hebrew alphabet, with the omission of nun.
Shlomo Halevi Alkabetz
.
Rivka
, one of the Matriarchs.

References

^ כללי הפיסוק – יא. גרשיים, סעיף 30 [Punctuation — select rules] (in Hebrew). Academy of the Hebrew Language. Archived from the original on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2010-10-16.
^ ^a ^b הפיסוק - מבחר כללים [Punctuation — select rules] (in Hebrew). Academy of the Hebrew Language. Archived from the original on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2010-10-16.
^ H. Facebook https://m.facebook.com/AcademyOfTheHebrewLanguage/photos/a.181203348616396/4107405005996191/?type=3&source=48. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

[1] כללי הפיסוק – יא. גרשיים, סעיף 30 [Punctuation — select rules] (in Hebrew). Academy of the Hebrew Language. Archived from the original on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2010-10-16.

[hebrewAc-2] הפיסוק - מבחר כללים [Punctuation — select rules] (in Hebrew). Academy of the Hebrew Language. Archived from the original on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2010-10-16.

[3] H. Facebook https://m.facebook.com/AcademyOfTheHebrewLanguage/photos/a.181203348616396/4107405005996191/?type=3&source=48. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

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