דְּבָרִים בְּטֵלִים

ביטוי (אנגלית)

Nonsense/ Idle words

הגדרה (אנגלית)

Words without meaning. Speech lacking validity.

(“‘I give thanks before You, Lord my God, that You have placed my portion among those who sit in the study hall and have not placed my portion among those who sit on street corners; for I rise early and they rise early—I rise early for words of Torah, and they rise early for idle matters; I labor and they labor—I labor and receive reward, and they labor and do not receive reward; I run and they run—I run toward the life of the World to Come, and they run toward the pit of destruction’” (Berakhot 28b), and likewise: “And our Rabbis learned from here that there is no dream without idle matters” (Rashi on Genesis 37:10), and likewise: “Do not complain, do not tell him idle things about yesterday, for it has passed” (Sholem Aleichem, Hush, Today Is Not a Day for Weeping), and likewise: “These are among the ‘idle matters’ that creep in and attach themselves to every dream” (Y. Burla, Longings, p. 215), and likewise: “Worshippers gather in the synagogue for the evening prayer, chatting among themselves about idle matters, waiting for a quorum for the third meal” (Haim Sabato, As the Eyelids of Dawn, p. 33).)