Yiddish is a wonderfully colorful language, packed with idioms, phrases, and sayings for every occasion. But some phrases in particular practically shout “Chabad!” Here’s a list of 12 Yiddish phrases that capture key ideas of Chabad philosophy and lifestyle, and are a seamless part of Chabad vocabulary.
1. Lechatchilah Ariber
This phrase, attributed to the fourth Chabad Rebbe, Rabbi Shmuel Schneersohn, translates as “Start by leaping over!” It comes from a longer teaching: “The world says that if you cannot crawl under an obstacle, try to leap over it. However, I say, start by leaping over!”
It’s a lesson in how to handle the “lemons” of life. Don’t meet the obstacle eye-to-eye. You and it aren’t even on the same page. You’re a Jew with a G‑dly soul, standing on a higher plane than any curveball life can throw. Nothing can get in the way of your determination to do what G‑d wants. So just leap right over the obstacle, and before you know it, it will be behind you.
2. Chap Arayn
“Seize the moment.” Got a spare minute? Chap arayn and open a Torah book or do a mitzvah. Someone needs a hand? Chap arayn and help before the chance slips away. Moshiach will arrive any minute, so every moment is precious!
3. S’iz Gishmak tzu Zayn a Yid
“It’s a delight to be a Jew!” Who said Judaism was supposed to be a burden? There’s nothing more fulfilling than living a life of purpose, aligned with your Divine mission. But beyond that, it’s also fun, plain and simple. Just ask any child on Purim or at a Jewish wedding.
4. Tracht Gut Vet Zayn Gut
This famous line was coined by the third Chabad Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Lubavitch, known as the Tzemach Tzedek: “Think good, and it will be good.” Positive thinking isn’t just a passive reaction; it has real, active power. When you place your full trust in G‑d and live with complete certainty that everything will be good, that very attitude shapes your future for the better.
Read: Good Thinking
5. M’darf Leben mit der Tzayt
The first Chabad Rebbe, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, once said: “M’darf leben mit der tzayt—We must live with the times.” His followers were puzzled. Was their teacher suggesting they should keep up with the news? The clarification came soon after: he meant that a Jew should live with the weekly Torah portion, studying it and drawing out lessons to guide daily life.
6. America Iz Nisht Andersh
Between 1880 and 1920, more than two million Eastern European Jews fled pogroms and persecution for the safety of the United States. For most of them, America felt like a different universe. It was a place where everything revolved around making a few more dollars, while tefillin, Shabbat, and mikvah were tossed in the dustbin.
But when the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, set foot on these shores in 1940, he set out to change that mindset. “America iz nisht andersh!” he declared. America is no different! It could, and would, become a place where religious Jewish life thrives, just as it did in the alteh heim (the “old home”).
7. Es Iz Nishto Kein Farfalen
This phrase is linked to Pesach Sheni, the “second Passover,” when those who couldn’t bring the Paschal offering the first time were given a second chance. It means “it’s never too late.” No matter what the past holds, no matter which choices you’ve made or which twists and turns your journey has taken, there’s always another chance to make things right.
8. A Chossid Macht a Svivah
“A true chassid creates his surroundings.” He or she doesn’t let the environment shape them. Quite the opposite: they bring light to the people around them, showing a living example of what it means to live Jewishly and joyfully and inspiring their whole circle to change. As another Yiddish saying goes, when you place a lantern in a dark room, people draw close to the light, because lichtikayt tzit tzu, “light attracts.”
9. A Tzaddik in Peltz
It’s the flip side of the chassid who lights up their surroundings: the tzaddik in peltz, the “righteous person in a fur coat.” Put on a warm coat on a cold day, and you’re nice and toasty, but everyone else around you is just as cold as before. In the same way, a person can be righteous in their own life without doing enough to inspire others. They’re like Noah, who was saved from the flood but never begged G‑d to spare the rest of his generation. Our job is to be like Abraham instead, who taught the whole world about the One G‑d, and even prayed on behalf of the wicked people of Sodom.1
Read: Noah and the Fur Coat
10. Der Aybershter Firt di Velt
“G‑d runs the world.” Nothing happens by chance. Everything is orchestrated from Above and plays a part in bringing the world closer to its purpose.
11. Ah Tzibeleh Zol fun Dir Veren…
This is the first half of a teaching from Rabbi Dovber, the second Chabad Rebbe: “An onion should become of you, [but don’t stop reviewing Chassidic teachings]!” He said this to someone who worried that sharing Chassidic teachings with others would make him feel conceited. The message: It’s not about you, but about what you’re here for. Of course we want to steer clear of arrogance, but don’t let that concern stop you from sharing the light of Torah, Judaism, and Chassidism with others.
Read: The Onion
12. Ker a Velt Haynt!
“Turn over the world today!” This line comes from a thundering 1984 talk by the Rebbe, on the urgent need to bring the Redemption through Moshiach. “Imagine you were watching the Holy Temple burn to the ground,” he exclaimed passionately. “Even if you had a heart of stone, you’d turn over worlds to stop it! That’s exactly what’s happening every moment the Jewish nation remains in exile. If the Temple hasn’t been rebuilt, in a sense it’s being destroyed right now. So how can you just stand there and watch? Ker a velt haynt!!!"
Do you have a favorite Yiddish phrase? What is it and what does it mean to you? Please leave a comment below and let us know!
Start a Discussion