how to say “Renaissance Man” in Hebrew
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/איש-אשכולות-#.m4a” /]אִישׁ אֶשְׁכּוֹלוֹת
A person who was good at many things is called איש אשכולות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/איש-אשכולות-#.m4a” /] – a man of clusters (of grapes). The Talmud takes the word אשכול[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/איש-אשכולות-#.m4a” /] and expounds: איש שהכל בו[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/איש-אשכולות-#.m4a” /] – a man in whom there is everything.
איש אשכולות is the Hebrew equivalent of a Renaissance Man.
Here’s a gender expansion of the term:
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/איש-אשכולות-#.m4a” /]יש לה ידע מעמיק בכל תחום – היא ממש אשת אשכולות!
She has deep knowledge of every field – she’s really a Renaissance Woman!
Some trace the word אשכול in this expression (not the literal meaning of אשכול) to the Greek σχολή (schole) – leisure, also the origin of the word school.