to be melamed zechut

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Definitions

  • v. To speak in someone's defense; give the benefit of the doubt.

Example Sentences

  • "I know he's screwed up, but you have to be melamed zechut—it's his first job." (Glinert)

  • "That is what the Sages did. Building on the prophets but going beyond them, they were melamed zechut for the Jewish people." (source)

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Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • Y מלמד־זכות זײַן melamed-skhus zayn

      • Who Uses This

      • Religious: Jews who are engaged in religious observance and have some Jewish education

      Regions

      • North America

      Dictionaries

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

      Alternative Spellings

      to be melamed zekhut, to be melamed zkhut, to be melamed zchut

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