Why is it that many people say זכותו יגן עלינו - according to grammar, shouldn't it be תגן עלינו since זכות is feminine?
I guess I am just looking for a justification of the general practice.
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Sign up to join this communityWhy is it that many people say זכותו יגן עלינו - according to grammar, shouldn't it be תגן עלינו since זכות is feminine?
I guess I am just looking for a justification of the general practice.
In Medieval Rabbinic literature nouns with suffixes were generally seen as grammatically male, hence the זכותו יגן instead of זכותו תגן.
See http://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%95%D7%95%D7%AA#cite_note-6