balabos

plural balabatim

1. JudaismalternativeAlternative spelling of balebos.

   One cloth merchant, one of the more important balabatim in the city, lost almost all of his possessions and declared bankruptcy. With a heavy heart, he decided to go to the head of the city, Rabbi Yosef, and ask for a loan of several hundred rubles so he could repay his debts.

   2000, Jason Aronson, “What Made Rabbi Yitzhak Change His Behavior”, in Stories within Stories: From the Jewish Oral Tradition, →ISBN, page 320

   2 more examples

   In the United States and Israel, however, insiders view one who leaves the yeshiva or kollel for outside employment and thus becomes a balabos, a lay householder, as a flop. He has, after all, abandoned eternity, a life of the spirit, for everyday work. Every yeshiva student I spoke to expressed this “fear” of ending up a balabos.

   2004, Martin E. Marty, R. Scott Appleby, “By Torah Alone: Yeshiva Fundamentalism in Jewish Life”, in Accounting for Fundamentalisms: The Dynamic Character of Movements, →ISBN, page 249

   I once knew a balabos who was a very fine person. He came to me at a time when we didn't have a mikveh or a yeshivah in our community. He said to me, “Rabbi, there is one thing that this place is missing in order for it to be a top-notch Torah community. […] A first-class, elegant glatt kosher French restaurant.”

   2007, Rabbi Zev Leff, “Glatt Kosher Goyishkeit”, in Torah Talks: 25 Leaders and Educators Talk about the Power of Torah in Our Lives, →ISBN, page 230