The Hebrew Language Academy is responsible for many language innovations that have become established in our lives, and its people work day and night to find creative and practical solutions for new words and expressions that will fit into the daily routine of Hebrew speakers in Israel and around the world. One of the Academy’s favorite types of posts is “names and meanings”, and today (Friday) the Academy published the decipherment of the name Yair.
The one who won the illustration post is the journalist Yair Sharki, who made headlines recently after coming out of the closet with a long and shocking post. “Beloved Yair! According to the data of the Central Bureau of Statistics, no fewer than 24,676 Irish babies have been given the beautiful name Yair since the establishment of the state,” they wrote in the academy and continued:
- Yair, spreader of light! The dictionary definition of the verb ha’air (the active participle, the root of the light) is to spread light, and in the loan, the bright and the clear.
- Yair and friends are enlightening! The root Or, similar to the root Ranan, has given modern Hebrew many proper names. Yair is joined by Meir, Maor, Or, Uri, Ora, Oriya, Orit, Naor, Lior, Orli and more.
- Yair, from day to day! In the Bible, three people bore the name Yair: Yair ben Menashe, a grandson of Joseph (mentioned in the book in the desert, one of the heroes of the settlement and conquest of the land); Yair HaGaladi from the Judges of Israel (won three verses in the Book of Judges) and Yair Avi Mordechai (mentioned in the Book of Esther).
- Why Yair and not Yar? It is interesting that the form Ya’ir was chosen as a proper name and not the form Ya’ar. Yair is the usual form of the future, while yair is a form expressing a wish and it would be interpreted today as ‘I wish it would shine’. Thus, for example, in the second verse of the blessing of the priests, the wish is expressed “May the Lord make His face shine toward you and teach you” (Bamadbar 6:20).
- Yair and Tair! The feminine form of the verb Yair is Tair, and nowadays it is also used as a common first name for girls – 226 babies were named with this name in the last three years.
- Nero Yair! The coin of the word ‘Nero Yair’ is a wish for a person who will live longer (mainly in religious or Torah contexts) – and in its initials: Ni.
- Yair in the underground! Avraham Stern, the founder and first commander of the Lahi organization, was also known by his underground nickname “Yair” (named after Elazar ben Yair, one of the commanders of the great revolt against the Romans and the commander of the Zealots in Masada).