Balabusta
Balabusta (Yiddish: בעל־הביתטע) is a Yiddish expression describing a good homemaker among Ashkenazi Jews. The Anglicized form is baleboste. the expression derives from Hebrew in a creole fashion- the Hebrew word pair Template:Rtl-lang bá'al habáyit (lit: "the home owner") was borrowed in its masculine from and became balebos, which was then feminised to Template:Rtl-lang balabusta according to the Yiddish rule for feminine nouns and became more popular than the original Hebrew expression for female home owner Template:Rtl-lang bá'alat habáyit. the term shares its Hebrew origin with the deity Baal, which literally means either husband, owner or master.
Connotations
It usually has purely positive connotations,[1] although there are sources that claim otherwise.[2] The traditional role of the balabusta also includes, besides fulfilling the household duties for the family, its spiritual bonding and helping its members hold together.[3]
Variations
Variations on this word include the Yiddish Balabuste or Balabusteh and the Ladino Balabusha among Sephardi Jews.[4]
In popular culture
Martin Davidson's Rechnitzer Rejects group recorded a song titled "Balabustas", an homage to the traditional role set to the theme song of the 1984 movie Ghostbusters.
See also
- Homemaker
- Jewish views of marriage
- List of English words of Yiddish origin
- Rebbetzin
- Role of women in Judaism
- Tzniut
References
- ^ "Modern Balabusta". Retrieved 2007-12-03.
- ^ "Website of Santa Barbara Jewish Festival". Archived from the original on 3 December 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-03.
- ^ "Balabusta Project". Archived from the original on 13 December 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-03.
- ^ "Webster's Online Dictionary". Retrieved 2007-12-03.[permanent dead link]
 | This vocabulary-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This Yiddish language-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |