One of the many marvelous words in the Yiddish language is “chutzpah,” the classic illustration of which is: A man kills his parents, then throws himself on the mercy of the court because he’s an orphan.

But a man in Tennessee has given the old word a new twist.

At the age of 33, Desmond Hatchett has fathered 30 children by 11 different woman.

So now he’s appealing to the state for help with his child support payments.

Because even if he pays the state-mandated 50 percent of his minimum wage salary, some of the many mothers of his children are receiving less than $2 a month.

And while the cost of living in Tennessee may not be as high as it is in some other states, feeding a child on $2 a month probably would require a great deal of coupon clipping and a steady diet of Hamburger Helper with grits.

This is not the first time Hatchett has had trouble meeting his fatherly financial obligations.

In 2009, the Los Angeles times reported that he had fathered 21 children and was paying approximately $1.49 a month per child.

Asked back then how he wound up with so many kids, Hatchett explained, “It just happened” and said he didn’t intend to have any more.

But since then, it just happened nine more times, so maybe he forgot. Not that Hatchett has a bad memory. He insists that he knows the names and birth dates of all 30 children, who range in age from 14 to infancy.

As impressed as I’m sure we all are by a father who knows the names of his children, not everyone has a great deal of sympathy for Hatchett’s financial problems.

Many online posts have suggested that he might want to find a new hobby that is not so creative.

Or, at the very least, that he start hanging with women who were not quite so friendly. Others have less understanding, urging that the state of Tennessee needs to see if there’s a law requiring a surgical procedure.

With or without an anesthetic.

“If there’s something out there like that, I’m unaware of it,” a spokeswoman for the Knox County child support clerk’s office said. “It definitely needs to be.”

It’s possible, of course, that Hatchett’s commitment to fatherhood has been underestimated and that he fully intends to be at every one of his children’s soccer practices, ballet recitals and parent-teacher conferences.

But for a man who has brought into the world 30 children that he can’t begin to support, another Yiddish word seems appropriate.

That word is “schmuck.”

Contact this columnist at dlstew_2000@yahoo.com.