Aug 6, 2003 16:23
21 yrs ago
1 viewer *
Yiddish term
charles o'brien
momzer
Non-PRO
Yiddish to English
Art/Literary
negative description of person
Proposed translations
(English)
| 5 +2 | bastard |
Jarema
|
| 4 | bastard |
Cristina Moldovan do Amaral
|
Proposed translations
+2
7 mins
Selected
bastard
Momzer: a bastard, used in the same literal and figurately senses as it is used in English. "My boss is such a momzer!"
Bubby's Yiddish Glossary
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Note added at 8 mins (2003-08-06 16:31:51 GMT)
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No halachic discussion of shidduchim can avoid the serious subject of what the Torah calls \"momzer.\" A momzer is the descendant of a coupling prohibited by the Torah (e.g. adultery or close relatives) and is only allowed to marry another momzer. Momzer status is irreversible and continues in all descendants for all generations. All Jewish families are considered kosher when there is no reason to suspect otherwise. But, when there is reason to suspect a single might be a momzer (e.g. if the single person\'s mother was married previously to a man other than the single\'s father, and there is reason to believe there was no halachic get [Jewish law divorce] from the first husband) this requires investigation (check practical questions with a rov). A \"soffaik momzer\" [a \"maybe momzer\"] is more serious, in shidduchim terms, than a \"definite momzer\" [Evven Ha\'Ezzer, Hilchos Pirya Virivya] because he or she can not marry anyone at all, since marriage between a momzer and non-momzer is a strict Torah prohibition. If (s)he turns out to be a momzer, (s)he cannot marry a kosher Jew. If (s)he turns out to be a kosher Jew, (s)he cannot marry a momzer. A soffaik momzer is stuck, unable to marry anybody, until a determination one way or the other is made by a universally accepted rov [Torah law authority who has fear of Heaven] or bais din [Torah court]. A definite momzer can marry another definite momzer. A SHIDDUCH MUST ONLY BE BETWEEN DEFINITE MEMBERS OF THE SAME CATEGORY.
http://www.shemayisrael.com/rabbiforsythe/zivug/matchmaking....
Bubby's Yiddish Glossary
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 8 mins (2003-08-06 16:31:51 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
No halachic discussion of shidduchim can avoid the serious subject of what the Torah calls \"momzer.\" A momzer is the descendant of a coupling prohibited by the Torah (e.g. adultery or close relatives) and is only allowed to marry another momzer. Momzer status is irreversible and continues in all descendants for all generations. All Jewish families are considered kosher when there is no reason to suspect otherwise. But, when there is reason to suspect a single might be a momzer (e.g. if the single person\'s mother was married previously to a man other than the single\'s father, and there is reason to believe there was no halachic get [Jewish law divorce] from the first husband) this requires investigation (check practical questions with a rov). A \"soffaik momzer\" [a \"maybe momzer\"] is more serious, in shidduchim terms, than a \"definite momzer\" [Evven Ha\'Ezzer, Hilchos Pirya Virivya] because he or she can not marry anyone at all, since marriage between a momzer and non-momzer is a strict Torah prohibition. If (s)he turns out to be a momzer, (s)he cannot marry a kosher Jew. If (s)he turns out to be a kosher Jew, (s)he cannot marry a momzer. A soffaik momzer is stuck, unable to marry anybody, until a determination one way or the other is made by a universally accepted rov [Torah law authority who has fear of Heaven] or bais din [Torah court]. A definite momzer can marry another definite momzer. A SHIDDUCH MUST ONLY BE BETWEEN DEFINITE MEMBERS OF THE SAME CATEGORY.
http://www.shemayisrael.com/rabbiforsythe/zivug/matchmaking....
Reference:
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "a terrific answer; thanks"
9 mins
Cristina Moldovan do Amaral
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Related KudoZ points
:
4
bastard
child of a prohibited relationship
"Just like the word momzer in Yiddish, which is literally "bastard." It's generally used in a more angry tone than is the word schmuck. But again, no one is really saying that the guy they're calling a bastard is legally a bastard. He's just a bastard in the other person's eyes.
When you call a guy a bastard, or a momzer, you're saying the man's an idiot, he's a jerk, he's a goof, he's a lowlife, he's a real good-for-nothing schmuck."
"Just like the word momzer in Yiddish, which is literally "bastard." It's generally used in a more angry tone than is the word schmuck. But again, no one is really saying that the guy they're calling a bastard is legally a bastard. He's just a bastard in the other person's eyes.
When you call a guy a bastard, or a momzer, you're saying the man's an idiot, he's a jerk, he's a goof, he's a lowlife, he's a real good-for-nothing schmuck."
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