bitul zman

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Pronunciations

bitul zman (BIH-tuul zmahn)

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Definitions

  • n. Time wasting.

Example Sentences

  • "Unfortunately, in contemporary Yeshiva culture, fiction is verboten [forbidden] as bitul zman." (source)

  • "Don't watch TV so much. It's such a bitul zman." (Glinert)

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Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew

Etymology

  • TH ביטול זמן 'cancelation of time'

      • Who Uses This

      • Orthodox: Jews who identify as Orthodox and observe halacha (Jewish law)

      Regions

      • North America

      Dictionaries

      • The Joys of Hebrew, by Lewis Glinert (New York, 1992).

Notes

  • "In traditional Jewish eyes, time was created for the performance of mitzvot (religious deeds). And so bitul zman is not just wasting time, it amounts to the heinous offense of killing time." (Glinert)

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