## Malbim Ayelet HaShachar Klal 87

###### Malbim Ayelet HaShachar 87:1
[Malbim Ayelet HaShachar 87:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Malbim%20Ayelet%20HaShachar/r/87:1)

יש הבדל בין שם **מחצית** ובין שם **חצי**. 'מחצית' היא דבר הנחצה בידי אדם בצמצום לשני חלקים שוים אבל 'חצי' נחצה מאליו, או שהיא מדה ידועה עד שאין צורך לחצות עתה, או שלא חצה בצמצום. (צו ס' מד)

**Ayelet Hashachar, translated by Betzalel Avraham Feinstein, 2021:**
There is a difference between the noun **מחצית** (half) and the noun **חצי** (half). מחצית is a thing that is carefully divided by a person into two equal parts, but חצי means divided in half on its own, or it is a specific measurement with no current need to be divided, or it is not carefully divided into two equal parts.

*An example of “divided in half on its own” is*חצי הלילה*(half of the night). An example of “a specific measurement with no current need to be divided” is*חצי האמה*(half of a cubit). An example of “it is not carefully divided into two equal parts” is*חצי המלכות*(half of the kingdom)¹⁶⁴.*

footnotes:
¹⁶⁴ Malbim, HaTorah v’HaMitzvah Tzav 44.