Time Travel: מעולם vs. לעולם

When is it correct to use מעולם, and when should you use לעולם? The rule is simple: מעולם is for the past, and לעולם is for the future.

The adverb מעולם is used with past-tense verbs to mean "always" or "since the beginning of time." For example:

• "Your throne is established from of old; מעולם You are." (Psalms 93:2)

• "And perhaps, these things מעולם did not happen." (Rachel the Poetess)

• "Have you ever skydived?" – "I have מעולם not skydived, but I’d really love to try."

In contrast, the adverb לעולם is primarily used with future-tense verbs, meaning "forever," "eternally," or "always." For example:

• "But My righteousness shall be לעולם, and My salvation from generation to generation." (Isaiah 51:8)

• "You will לעולם not know how I cried like a child." (Arkadi Duchin)

• "Do not give up לעולם, because there is always a chance you will succeed in the end!"

  
  

What about the present tense?

Technically, neither word is a perfect fit, as they both describe a range of time: "from then until now" (מעולם) or "from now onwards" (לעולם). In the present tense, it is more common in modern Hebrew to use Tamid (always) or Af Pa'am (never).

However, in Sages' literature (Mishnah), the word לעולם is sometimes used in the present tense to mean "always," alongside its common use for the future. For instance: "לעולם he gives as Pe'ah (the corner of the field)" (Mishnah Pe'ah 1:6).