English

Alternative forms

• balabos, balaboss, baleboss

Noun

balebos ‎(plural balebatim)

1. (Judaism) Master of the house, head of the household, host.
2. (Judaism) House owner, homeowner.
3. (Judaism, by extension) Boss, person in charge (of anything).
4. (Judaism) Important man, bourgeoisie.
   • 2008, Joseph Margoshes, “Reb Vovtshi's Kloyz”, in A World Apart: A Memoir of Jewish Life in Nineteenth Century Galicia, ISBN 9781934843109, page 51:

     An annual custom that lasted for many years involved a celebration of the eight days of Chanukah for all of the balebatim. Every evening was hosted by a different balebos and there was a lavish feast.

5. (Judaism) Layman, congregant, non-clergy.
   • 1996, Jonathan Boyarin, “My Trip to Israel, Continued”, in Palestine and Jewish History: Criticism at the Borders of Ethnography, ISBN 9780816627646, page 153:

     The rabbi, whom I met and then overheard at a kiddush after shul, was going over his sermon with some of the balebatim, […] .

Related terms

• Baal
• baleboste