I go to a Gemara shiur, and the rabbi always says "the first aman deamar", "the second aman deamar"... What does it mean exactly? What is the meaning of the different words?
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2JOJO, welcome to Mi Yodeya, and thanks very much for bringing your question here! Please consider registering your account, which will give you access to more of the site's features.– Isaac Moses ♦Dec 16, 2014 at 19:45
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4the "man de'amar" is "the one who says" and it is used to introduce a particular opinion (as in "this explanation works according to the one who says X but..." or "the first man de'amar holds that").– rosendsDec 16, 2014 at 19:46
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1 Answer
The words you're actually hearing are "man de'amar", or מאן דאמר in Aramaic.
"Man" here actually has the same meaning in Aramaic as in English - man. "D'amar" is like the Hebrew שאמר. Translated, it means "who says".
The whole phrase together means "the [first/second] one who says".
It's often used as a noun when talking about different opinions - "this man d'amar says x, while the other man d'amar says y". Or: "according to the first man d'amar...".
While not the case you're talking about, aman d'amar (אמאן דאמר) is also an Aramaic phrase. The initial א means "on", so it means "on the one who says". Maybe i'm not listening to the right shiruim, but i haven't heard this used so much in English.
answered Dec 16, 2014 at 19:53
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1"The whole phrase together means 'the [first/second] one who says'." I don't think there's usually a "first/second" implied. It's just "the one who says [such-and-such]".– msh210 ♦Dec 16, 2014 at 19:56
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"first/second" is only because the OP talks about "first man d'amar". Dec 16, 2014 at 19:57
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Oh, I see. But that's AFAIK only in its colloquial use as a noun, not in its original use meaning "the one who says".– msh210 ♦Dec 16, 2014 at 19:58