Word Prompt – CHUTZPAH – Ziona Greenwald

Chutzpah is one of those Jewishisms that cannot be perfectly translated into English. What other term so emphatically encapsulates the indignant outrage steeped in these two guttural syllables? That’s probably why it was long ago adopted as an English word. To borrow the immortal non-definition of obscenity by Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, chutzpah is an “I know it when I see it” commodity. It has even become a go-to epithet in judicial decisions.

Whereas in our own circles, being accused of chutzpah is generally not a compliment, in common parlance the word seems to have taken on a more positive connotation. This is reflected in the Collins definition: “If you say that someone has chutzpah, you mean that you admire the fact that they are not afraid or embarrassed to do or say things that shock, surprise, or annoy other people.” Driving up and slipping into a parking spot someone else was about to back into? Unacceptable chutzpah. Lobbying a prospective employer for another chance? Commendable chutzpah.

As the world seems to fill more each day with truly heinous chutzpah (a “Globalize the Intifada” march right down the road from where Jews were just massacred!), we can take heart from the Gemara’s teaching in Sota 49b: “In the lead-up to Moshiach, chutzpah will multiply.”