Explore College Commons Podcasts Now:
Passionate perspectives from Judaism’s
leading thinkers

Shlemiel

Answer:

They’re very similar and often overlap, but the schlemiel is perhaps more of an agent of his bad luck, while the schlimazel is a more passive victim of it. Leo Rosten, in the Joys of Yiddish, clarifies with the classic distinction:

A schlemiel is the waiter who spills hot soup on the schlimazel.

To learn more about the College Commons, be sure to see the other pages on our website. For more information, email Joanne at collegecommons@huc.edu