yordim

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Pronunciations

yordim (yor-DEEM) listen
yored (yor-ED) listen

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Definitions

Example Sentences

  • "To call someone a yored is still a put-down, but it doesn’t have that sting of betrayal, that implication that you’re a quitter. But then Israel is doing better economically. So there aren’t as many reasons to leave." (source)

  • "Is her family just here temporarily from Tel Aviv, or are they yordim?" (Glinert)

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Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew

Etymology

  • יוֹרד 'one who goes down, descends'

      • Who Uses This

      • Israel: Diaspora Jews who feel connected to Israel and have spent time there

      Regions

      • North America

      Dictionaries

      • The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).
      • The Joys of Hebrew, by Lewis Glinert (New York, 1992).
      • Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Popular Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms, by Sol Steinmetz (Lanham, MD, 2005).

      Alternative Spellings

      yored

Notes

  • "The verb form of this word translates literally as 'to descend' or 'to go down.' By contrast, the word for immigration to Israel is aliyah, which literally means 'going up.' This choice of verbs reveals some of the contempt some Israelis have for those who leave Israel to live elsewhere." (JPS)

    See also yerida.

    The opposite of yordim are olim.

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