מִי וָמִי
Growing up in Los Angeles, I used to get excited about the Oscars.Now, living in Jerusalem, I’m a lot more excited about the who’s who in the new Knesset.
The Hebrew term for an illustrious who’s who is list מִי וָמִי – literally, who and who.
If you’re up the challenge, read this Ynet article about the מִי וָמִי בַּכְּנֶסֶת הַחֲדָשָׁה – the who’s who in the new Knesset, or perhaps just the first paragraph, or even just the title.
The phrase first appears in סֵפֶר שְׁמוֹת the Biblical Book of Exodus:
וַיּוּשַׁב אֶת-מֹשֶׁה וְאֶת-אַהֲרֹן, אֶל-פַּרְעֹה, וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵהֶם, לְכוּ עִבְדוּ אֶת-ה’ אֱלֹהֵיכֶם; מִי וָמִי, הַהֹלְכִים?
(שְׁמוֹת י’:ח’)
And Moses and Aaron were summoned back to Pharoah, and he said to them, “Go, worship the L-rd your G-d – who and who is going?” (Exodus 10:8)
In Modern Hebrew, we might encounter:
לַתַּעֲרוּכָה הֻזְמְנוּ כָּל הַמִּי-וָמִי שֶׁל תֵּל אָבִיב.
All the who’s who of Tel Aviv were invited to the exhibition.
Visit Ktzat Ivrit.