חשוב שהרוטב לא יהיה חמוץ מדי, אז אל תסחטי את כל הלימון לקערה.

In present-tense Hebrew, the verb to be is usually omitted.

So חשוב ש... literally looks like important that..., but it naturally means it’s important that....

You could also say זה חשוב ש... for extra emphasis, but חשוב ש... is very normal and common.

The prefix ש־ means that.

So:

• שהרוטב = ש + הרוטב
• literally: that the sauce

It introduces the clause after חשוב:

• חשוב שהרוטב לא יהיה חמוץ מדי
• It’s important that the sauce not be too sour

In speech, this is pronounced roughly she-ha-rotev.

After expressions like חשוב ש... , Hebrew often uses the future tense to express something desired, expected, or important.

So:

• חשוב שהרוטב לא יהיה חמוץ מדי
• literally: It’s important that the sauce will not be too sour
• natural English: It’s important that the sauce not be too sour / shouldn’t be too sour

This is a very common Hebrew pattern. The future here is not mainly about time; it’s about what should happen.

Because הרוטב is masculine singular.

Hebrew verbs and adjectives often agree with the noun they refer to.

So here:

• הרוטב = masculine singular
• יהיה = masculine singular future form
• חמוץ = masculine singular adjective

If the noun were feminine, the forms would change. For example:

• העוגה לא תהיה חמוצה מדי
• The cake shouldn’t be too sour

מדי means too, overly, or excessively.

So:

• חמוץ מדי = too sour

In Hebrew, מדי usually comes after the adjective:

• יקר מדי = too expensive
• גדול מדי = too big
• מלוח מדי = too salty

So the word order is different from English, but it is completely normal in Hebrew.

Both are possible in different contexts, but here אז means so or therefore.

It links the two parts of the sentence:

• It’s important that the sauce not be too sour, so don’t squeeze...

So in this sentence, אז introduces the result or consequence.

Because Hebrew usually uses אל + future tense for a negative command.

So:

• אל תסחטי = don’t squeeze

By contrast, לא is the regular word for plain negation:

• היא לא סוחטת = she isn’t squeezing
• היא לא תסחט = she won’t squeeze

But for telling someone don’t do X, Hebrew normally prefers:

• אל ת...

Also, תסחטי shows that the speaker is talking to one female.

From the verb לסחוט (to squeeze):

• to one female: אל תסחטי
• to one male: אל תסחט
• to a group: אל תסחטו

Right — here את is the direct object marker, not the preposition with.

Hebrew uses את before a definite direct object.

So in:

• אל תסחטי את כל הלימון

the thing being squeezed is the direct object, and it is definite.

That’s because כל הלימון means all the lemon / the whole lemon, and הלימון is definite because of ה־.

So this את has no separate English translation; it just marks the object.

Yes, literally it means all the lemon or the whole lemon.

In a cooking context, that naturally means all of the lemon juice from the lemon. Hebrew often uses this kind of shorthand.

So:

• אל תסחטי את כל הלימון
• literally: don’t squeeze the whole lemon
• natural meaning: don’t squeeze all the lemon juice in

If you wanted to be more explicit, you could say:

• אל תסחטי את כל מיץ הלימון
• don’t squeeze all the lemon juice

But the original wording is very natural.

Because Hebrew prefixes prepositions directly onto the noun.

Here ל־ means to / into, so:

• לקערה = ל + קערה

Also, when ל־ combines with the definite article ה־, the ה is absorbed and does not appear as a separate letter in normal spelling.

So without vowel marks, לקערה can represent either:

• לְקערה = to a bowl
• לַקערה = to the bowl

In context here, the intended meaning is into the bowl.

Also, Hebrew often uses ל־ where English uses into, especially with verbs like put, pour, throw, or squeeze. A more explicit version would be לתוך הקערה, but לקערה is very natural.