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Apparently this abbreviation is supposed to mean זכותו יגן עלינו. Surely this is grammatically incorrect, as the word זכות is feminine, and the phrase should be זכותו תגן עלינו?

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marked as duplicate by Monica Cellio May 2 '13 at 14:16


I've heard that in medieval Hebrew words ending with the oot sound ות were mostly considered masculine. I don't have the source but if you look through Zemirot Shabbat you'll find this to be quite true. –  David Perlman May 2 '13 at 12:49
I dont think its a real noun at all. Just made up from the verb zocho. –  user2709 May 2 '13 at 12:56
books.google.com.au/… –  Michoel May 2 '13 at 12:59
ivelt.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=5427&start=150 (the second post) –  Michoel May 2 '13 at 13:02

1 Answer 1

Could it be that chassidim - who are the ones who generally use this expression - are largely not knowledgable in or interested in Hebrew grammar?

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This sort of speculation is interesting, but in its current form it's another question, not an answer. Although this question has been closed as a duplicate, it couldn't hurt to edit your answer to be more, um, answer-y. –  Seth J May 2 '13 at 14:18
