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This entry sets out the many facets of Modern Hebrew personal names in Israel. Contrary to other countries, Israel has no sealed list of personal names. Parents can take existing names (given names or family names) or they can generate a personal name expressing their individual preferences, creativity, and choices; hardly any limitations are imposed on the addition of names. Usually, the given name is the free choice (in some traditional groups, almost free) of the name provider (usually the pa…

Every speaker notices that just as there is ‘empty speech’, i.e., speech that is not meant to communicate, so there is verbally eloquent silence (hence verbal silence), i.e., silence that is not mere stillness or pause in discourse, but a means chosen by the speaker (holding the floor) to communicate. The ad of לתת latet (an Israeli humanitarian aid organization) published in Israeli daily newspapers on the eve of the Jewish New Year ( Rosh Ha-Shana) certainly does not contain a ‘cut and (no)paste’ typo. This ad, which reads תַפּוּחַ בִּ tapuax̱ bi ‘Apple with ____’, deliberately and clev…