inshézu, n. Lemma; sub-problem; crisis; a question or challenge that must be resolved before another (larger) issue, particularly of a philosophical or mathematical nature.

usage: Initially limited in meaning similar to the familiar English usage of "lemma," poets quickly seized upon inshézu and used it to describe a variety of problems. The most dramatic of these is inshéze 'l veshekía, or a lemma of life, describing a crisis which must be resolved before one can continue growing up, or before society can continue.