hold by

verb

To subscribe to (an idea , rule, authority, etc.); to personally consider valid or authoritative.

Meanings

verbhold by (third-person singular simple present holds by, present participle holding by, simple past and past participle held by)

present singular third person holds by · participle present holding by · participle past held by · past held by

  1. JudaismTo subscribe to (an idea , rule, authority, etc.); to personally consider valid or authoritative.

    The rabbis can't legislate something which the people won't hold by - consent of the governed exists even in traditional halacha.

    2000 April 10, Jonathan J. Baker, “[Halacha] About rice, beans, and corn on Pesach”, in soc.culture.jewish (Usenet)
    5 more examples

    Micha claims that C is non-halakhic because it does not hold by the "Gdly" origin of Gezera Shava or the other hermeneutical principles.

    1998 March 24, Jay Lapidus, “Gezera Shava”, in soc.culture.jewish (Usenet)

    If you hold by the Reb Moshe Tsuvah and elect in accordance with his Tshuva to use Chalav Yisroel, you are right. According to those who follow poskim who reject that Tshuva, it is not kosher.

    1998 July 10, Harry Weiss, “Calling for Kashrut”, in soc.culture.jewish (Usenet)

    Whether or not C conversions are done halachicly or not is debatable. For example, the greatest posek of our generation, Rav Moshe, did not hold by them.

    1998 August 12, jody eisenman, “An Open Message to Gene”, in soc.culture.jewish (Usenet)

    Unlike Rabbi Wolf, I am not particularly wedded to the De Sola Pool Siddur (although my shul uses it for Shabbat and Holidays), I personally hold by the Birnbaum (which also has flaws - just is IMHO the best of the bunch).

    1999 August 22, David Barak, “Artscroll books: a review”, in soc.culture.jewish (Usenet)

    most/all say that someone obligated in the mitzvah of tsitsit has to tie them on for them to be valid, which if you hold by traditional halacha would be a male over age 13.

    2000 March 27, j e rosenbaum, “Questions about Tallit”, in soc.culture.jewish (Usenet)

Origin

  1. Yiddishהאַלטן בײַ“stick to”
  2. Englishhold by

Calque of Yiddish האַלטן בײַ (haltn bay, “stick to”).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

hold by. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hold%20by

MLA

“hold by.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hold%20by. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hold by,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hold%20by.

Source: hold by on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.