hamevin yavin
Pronunciations
Definitions
interj. 'Those who understand will understand'; 'those in the know will understand what I
mean.'
Example Sentences
"...I won't clarify; hamavin yavin."
"The best use of this phrase ever is in the Biblical commentary of the 11th century Spanish Biblical exegite Rabbi Abraham Ibn Ezra. Ibn Ezra was foremeost a grammarian, and his readings of the Bible led him to conclude that its constant variations of language could be the result of multiple authorship. However, he didn't dare proclaim this openly, so within his commentary on the Bible, whenever he approached a controversial insight, he left his point unclear and simply concluded, hamayvin yavin." (source)
Languages of Origin
- Textual Hebrew
Etymology
המבין יבין
- Religious: Jews who are engaged in religious observance and have some Jewish education
- North America
- Great Britain
- South Africa
- None
Who Uses This
Regions
Dictionaries
Alternative Spellings
ha-mevin yavin, hamaven yavin, ha mavin yavin, hamavin yavin, hameyvin yavin, hamayvin yavin, hamaivin yavin, hameivin yavin
Notes
This expression is used extensively by the Ramban in his commentaries when there is a mystical explanation for the subject under discussion and he either doesn't want to explain it for some reason or he really can't because of the complexity of the idea. In such a case it not used in order to be intentionally vague but rather to signal that there is more to know about this.
Sometimes preceded by 've' meaning 'and.'
Edit Something missing from this entry? Inaccurate? Feel free to suggest an edit.
