בלילה היה ירח, אבל בגלל הגשם לא ראינו הרבה כוכבים.

Because Hebrew often combines the preposition ב־ (in / at) with the definite article ה־ (the).

So:

• ב + ה + לילה becomes בלילה

This is very common in Hebrew:

• בבית = in the house
• בשדה = in the field
• בלילה = at night / in the night

In this sentence, בלילה means at night.

Here, בלילה most naturally means at night or during the night.

It is a time expression, not necessarily a very literal inside the night idea. In English, at night is usually the best natural translation.

So the sentence starts by setting the scene: At night...

היה ירח is a natural Hebrew way to say there was a moon or more idiomatically the moon was out.

This structure uses היה almost like there was:

• היה גשם = there was rain / it was raining
• היה אור = there was light
• היה ירח = there was a moon / the moon was out

If you say הירח היה..., that usually feels like you are about to describe the moon:

• הירח היה גדול = the moon was big
• הירח היה מלא = the moon was full

So היה ירח is presenting the existence of moonlight or the moon in the sky, not describing a specific known moon as the topic.

Because ירח is a masculine singular noun.

In the past tense, היה is the masculine singular form of to be:

• היה = he was / there was
• הייתה = she was / there was (for feminine singular)

Since ירח is masculine, Hebrew uses היה ירח.

Because היה ירח is functioning like there was moon / there was a moon / the moon was out, not like the moon as a specific grammatical subject.

Hebrew often leaves nouns without the definite article in this kind of existential expression:

• היה גשם = there was rain
• היה ערפל = there was fog
• היה ירח = there was moon / the moon was out

Even though English may prefer the moon was out, Hebrew does not need הירח here.

אבל means but.

It connects the two parts of the sentence:

• בלילה היה ירח = At night there was a moon / the moon was out
• אבל בגלל הגשם לא ראינו הרבה כוכבים = but because of the rain we didn’t see many stars

So it marks contrast: even though the moon was out, the rain prevented them from seeing many stars.

בגלל means because of.

It is followed by a noun:

• בגלל הגשם = because of the rain
• בגלל הרוח = because of the wind
• בגלל העבודה = because of the work

In this sentence, בגלל הגשם explains the reason they did not see many stars.

הגשם means the rain, and here Hebrew is referring to the rain as the actual weather condition in that situation.

Using the definite article is very natural with weather or specific circumstances:

• בגלל הגשם = because of the rain
• בגלל השלג = because of the snow

בגלל גשם is possible in some contexts, but it sounds more general or less natural here. In this sentence, בגלל הגשם is the normal choice.

ראינו means we saw.

It is the past tense, first person plural form of the verb לראות (to see).

Breakdown:

• ראה = he saw
• ראיתי = I saw
• ראינו = we saw
• ראו = they saw

So לא ראינו means we did not see.

Because Hebrew verbs already show the subject.

ראינו already means we saw, so אנחנו is not necessary.

Hebrew often leaves subject pronouns out unless they are needed for emphasis, contrast, or clarity.

So:

• לא ראינו הרבה כוכבים = We didn’t see many stars

If you say אנחנו לא ראינו הרבה כוכבים, that can sound more emphatic, like we didn’t see many stars.

In Hebrew, לא usually comes directly before the verb it negates.

So:

• ראינו = we saw
• לא ראינו = we did not see

This is the normal way to negate past-tense verbs in Hebrew.

Both can mean many stars, but הרבה כוכבים is much more common and natural in everyday Hebrew.

• הרבה כוכבים = many / a lot of stars
• כוכבים רבים = many stars, but more formal or literary

So in normal spoken or standard everyday written Hebrew, הרבה כוכבים is the usual choice.

Here הרבה means many / a lot of.

It behaves more like a quantifier than a typical adjective.

So:

• הרבה אנשים = many people
• הרבה זמן = a lot of time
• הרבה כוכבים = many stars

It does not have to match the noun in gender or number the way normal adjectives do.

כוכבים is the masculine plural form meaning stars.

The singular is:

• כוכב = star

Since the sentence says many stars, Hebrew uses the plural:

• כוכבים = stars

Because את is used before a definite direct object, and הרבה כוכבים is indefinite.

Compare:

• ראינו כוכבים = we saw stars
• ראינו הרבה כוכבים = we saw many stars
• ראינו את הכוכבים = we saw the stars

Since הרבה כוכבים means many stars, not the stars, there is no את.

The sentence is:

בלילה היה ירח, אבל בגלל הגשם לא ראינו הרבה כוכבים.

Its structure is roughly:

• בלילה = time expression
• היה ירח = there was a moon / the moon was out
• אבל = but
• בגלל הגשם = because of the rain
• לא ראינו הרבה כוכבים = we didn’t see many stars

Hebrew is flexible with word order, but this order is very natural. It starts with the setting, then gives a contrast, then gives the reason and result.

It is somewhat idiomatic in the sense that it does not just mean a moon existed. It more naturally suggests that the moon was visible / the moon was out / there was moonlight.

So a very natural English understanding is:

• At night, the moon was out, but because of the rain we didn’t see many stars.

That captures the feeling of the Hebrew well.