Passing Phrase - www.learnhebrew.org.il

Yatza Yedei Chova/Chovato

Literally: He went out according to his duty
Idiomatically: Fulfilled his duty; Carried out his obligation

Although on the surface, it looks as if this phase is a compliment or at least neutral, but something may be missing from the person’s actions. The Talmud though, takes it at its face value (Pesachim 10:5 / Succah 2a): If you sleep under a bed in a succah, you don’t fulfill your Biblical obligation. We are familiar with the word “yatza” as in “to go out,” but it also has the meaning of to fulfill an obligation (Berachot 2a). Today we tend to see this phrase more as a minor criticism regarding someone who did only what he had to do and not a bit more. Some people familiar with Yiddish may recognize a similar phase - “Yotze (tze) zein” - which depending on the way you say it is either praise or criticism. It reminds me of asking a child who knows he did something wrong to apologize. The child reluctantly mumbles “sorry” under his breath, no louder or clearer than was absolutely necessary.

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