STANDING STRONG IN YOUR FAITH | Rabbi Israel Yakobov (Likutei Etzot)
The Hebrew word עַזּוּת (azut) means boldness, audacity, brazenness, or impudence, depending on context.
The expression you’re thinking of is:
הֱוֵי עַז כַּנָּמֵר — Hevei az ka-namer
“Be bold as a leopard.”
It comes from Pirkei Avot 5:20:
יְהוּדָה בֶן תֵּימָא אוֹמֵר: הֱוֵי עַז כַּנָּמֵר, וְקַל כַּנֶּשֶׁר, וְרָץ כַּצְּבִי, וְגִבּוֹר כָּאֲרִי, לַעֲשׂוֹת רְצוֹן אָבִיךָ שֶׁבַּשָּׁמָיִם.
“Yehudah ben Teima says: Be bold as a leopard, light as an eagle, swift as a deer, and strong as a lion, to do the will of your Father in Heaven.”
Here עַז (az) is positive: bold, fearless, determined. עַזּוּת (azut) is the quality of boldness. But azut can also have a negative meaning—chutzpah, brazenness, shameless audacity—depending on how it is used.
