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Top Document: soc.culture.jewish FAQ: Miscellaneous and References (11/12) Previous Document: Question 19.5: Is "shvartze" offensive? Is "goyim" offensive? Next Document: Question 19.7: I am going to be in (name your city), where can I eat, stay for Shabbat? See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge
Answer:
Shiksa and Shaygetz are the Yiddish derivative of the respective
feminine and masculine Hebrew words for something unclean, dirty. The
appellations are customarily applied to gentiles who do things
inimical to Jewish interests, such as vandalizing Jewish buildings,
robbing Jewish kids of their lunch money, or becoming romantically
involved with Jews :-). The root is "sheketz", which refers to house
rodents and lizards. They impart ritual impurity, and therefore the
term lends itself to the same kind of idea. Some have taken to using
the term to refer to Christian women in general. If Christians were
using the term against Jews in English, they would be saying "Filthy
Jews" or "Dirty Jews", and we Jews would rightly be offended. Hence,
use of these terms should really be avoided; it is insulting and
inappropriate, even if no bad intent was behind the usage. It is
always better to use neutral, less pejorative (judgemental) terms,
such as non-Jew or Christian.
Note: In Israel, shaygetz is sometimes used to refer to a misbehaving
child.
Note: There are other words for non-Jewish women, "nachriah", and
"goyah", that are more properly used in less judgemental situations.
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Last Update March 27 2014 @ 02:11 PM
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