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הָרוֹב

An important part of what חֲנֻכָּה – Hannukah – represents is the victory of the few over the many.

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The common spoken-Hebrew word for many is הַרְבֵּה, but in a more literary sense or when referring to majority, the word is רוֹב. The ר.ו.ב (r.w.b) root is the same as that of the word for rabbi –רַב – and means greatness.

Whereas in English, we talk about the vast majority, in Hebrew we say: הָרוֹב הַמֻּחְלָט the absolute majority 

or הָרוֹב הַמַכְרִיעַ the decisive majority

or, to simplify: הָרוֹב the majority

חַג חֲנֻכָּה שָׂמֵחַ! Happy Hanukkah holiday!

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Ami Steinberger is founder and director of Ulpan La-Inyan.