Passing Phrase - www.learnhebrew.org.il
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Ain Hakomets Masbi'a et Ha'ari |
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Literally: Scraps do not satisfy the lion
Idiomatically: A drop in the bucket "Kometz" is a small measurement of volume - as much as you can hold with your three middle fingers (Leviticus 5:12). The word "masbi'a" comes from the root ש'ב'ע - sin-bet-ayin - meaning satisfied (Psalms 22:27) or full after eating. The phrase, which is Talmudic (Berachot 3b) is used today to tell us that just like a lion cannot survive on such a small portion of food, so too whatever someone is offering you - simply won't do. התלמידים ארגנו מסיבה, אך רבים התלוננו על "הכיבוד העלוב" - כי אין הקומץ משביע את הארי. "Hatalmidim irgenu mesiba, ach rabim hitlonenu al "hakibud ha'aluv" – ki ain hakomets masbi'a et ha'ari." The students organized a party, but many complained about the meager amount of refreshments – because (for them) it was only a drop in the bucket. Consider how some teenagers eat I am not sure that the criticism was warranted.
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