Glossary

• Achdut — Jewish unity
• Akeyda — the binding (and near sacrifice) of Isaac on top of Mount Moriah
• Aleynu — closing prayer declaring God’s oneness and the hope for Tikkun Olam
• Aliyah — emigration to Israel; referring to the divisions of the Torah portion into smaller subsections; calling someone up to read from the Torah
• Alter Kaker — slang term for a senior citizen (Yiddish)
• Am Kadosh — Holy Nation
• Amidah — the standing prayer, the main part of any given prayer service
• Amud — synagogue lectern from which clergy leads services; one side of a folio of Talmud
• Arba Minim — the four species waved on Sukkot (palm, myrtle, willow, plus the citron/etrog)
• Aseret Y’mei T’shuva — the Ten Days of Return from Rosh Hashana through Yom Kippur
• Ashkenazi — a descendant of Jews from Eastern European communities
• Ashrei — fortunate; alphabetic prayer of praise recited three times a day
• Aufruf — celebration where a groom is called to the Torah on the Shabbat before his wedding (Yiddish)
• Aveirot — sins, lit. to cross over (a moral boundary)
• Avinu Malkeinu — “Our Father, Our King” prayer recited during High Holidays and fast days
• Avodah — sacred work
• B’chol Dor Vador — “in every generation,” shorthand for the rabbinic obligation for all Jews to visualize themselves as having participated in the Exodus from Egypt
• B’ezrat Hashem — with God’s help
• B’hatzlacha — much success (or good luck)
• B’racha — a blessing
• B’racha Achrona — blessing after food is eaten
• B’reishit — “in the beginning;” Genesis, the first book of the Torah
• B’tzelem Elokim — in God’s image
• Ba’alei T’shuva — “masters of return,” those who have returned to the path of the Torah
• Bachura — young woman
• Badeken — ceremony where the groom veils the bride
• Bamidbar — Numbers, the fourth of the Five Books of Moses, lit. “in the desert”
• Baruch Hashem — Blessed is God, or thank God
• Bashert — soulmate
• Batim — boxes housing Mezuzah scrolls
• Beit Din — Jewish court
• Beit Hamikdash — Holy Temple
• Beit Midrash — study hall
• Bimah — pulpit
• Birkat Hamazon — blessing after eating bread
• Bitachon — acting on one’s faith in God; in modern Hebrew, security
• Bocher — young man; an unmarried male student
• Brit milah (also bris) — circumcision ceremony
• Chabad — a Chassidic sect of Judaism focused on Jewish outreach and spirituality
• Chad Gadya — playful Passover song with deep symbolism; lit. “one small goat”
• Chag Sameach — traditional Jewish holiday greeting; lit. “happy holiday”
• Chai — life; also refers to the numerological value of eighteen
• Chalav — milk
• Challah — traditional braided bread made for Shabbat and holidays
• Chametz — food that is prohibited on Passover; lit. “leaven”
• Charedim — strictly Orthodox Jews, usually rejecting modern secular culture; lit. “those who tremble (in fear of God)”
• Chas V’shalom — God forbid; lit. “completely disgraced”
• Chassid — a follower of the Chassidic movement
• Chassidim — plural form of Chasid
• Chassidut — the teachings of Chassidic rabbis based in Jewish mysticism
• Chatzot — midday or midnight according to rabbinic calculations
• Chaya — life force; can also mean “animal”
• Chazal — an acronym for “our sages, of blessed memory”
• Chazzan — cantor
• Cheder — classroom, elementary school for Charedi children
• Chet — sin; lit. “missing the mark”
• Chevra — peer group, any group of friends
• Chevra Kadisha — Jewish mortuary, prepares body for burial, lit. “holy community”
• Chevrusa — (or chevruta) learning partner
• Chok — a Torah law that does not necessarily make logical sense, i.e., not eating shellfish
• Cholent — traditional Shabbat stew, usually served at Shabbat lunch
• Chiddush — an new interpretation; lit. “renewal”
• Chinuch — education
• Chiyuv — halachic obligation
• Chol Hamo’ed — the intermediate four days of an eight day holiday when one is free to engage in activities prohibited on the first and last days of the festival
• Chrein — horseradish, usually served with gefilte fish
• Chumus — Middle Eastern chickpea spread
• Chuppah — bridal canopy
• Chutzpadik — with chutzpah, audacious
• D’varim — Deuteronomy, the final of the Five Books of Moses, lit. “words”
• D’veykus — deep connection with God, cleaving
• Daf — a leaf (both sides of the page) of Talmud
• Daf Yomi — the tradition of learning a daf of Talmud each day in conjunction with Jews worldwide, eventually finishing all tractates in seven and a half years
• Daled Amos — biblical measurement equivalent to six feet; the distance one escorts guests
• Daven — to pray (Yiddish)
• Dayenu — Pesach song with theme of gratitude; lit. “it would have been enough”
• Derech — path; commonly refers to the path of Torah
• Derech Eretz — “the way of the land;” acting with civilized behavior
• Emes — truth
• Emunah — faith
• Emunah P’shuta — simple faith
• Eretz — the land, pertaining to Eretz Yisrael
• Eruv — Shabbat boundary fence beyond which no object may be carried
• Etrog — citron fruit essential to the rituals of Sukkot
• Fleishig — a meat dish
• Frum — observant of halacha (Yiddish)
• G’zeirot — “fences,” or rabbinic laws to prevent inadverdent transgression
• Gam zeh l’tovah — for our ultimate benefit; lit. “this is also for good”
• Ganze mishpacha — the whole family
• Gashmius — materialism
• Gedolim — Torah luminaries
• Gemach — free loan society, i.e. for cash, strollers, wedding dresses, etc.
• Gemara — rabbinic commentary on the Mishnah (oral tradition); lit. “the completion”
• Gematria — numerical value of a Hebrew letter or word
• Gerim — converts to Judaism (singular is “ger”), lit. “strangers”
• Geulah — redemption
• Gevurah — strength/discipline
• Haftorah — selection from Nevi’im read on Shabbat and holidays
• Hagbah — lifting of the Torah at the end of the public reading
• Haggadah — book of Passover liturgy read during the Seder
• Halacha — Jewish law as established by the rabbis
• Halachic — of or relating to Jewish law
• Halevai —it should be, if only (Aramaic)
• Hallel — a series of Psalms sung on holidays describing national redemption, God’s love for the Jewish People and how we reciprocate with partnership and gratitude.
• Halleluyah — “praise the Lord”
• Hamelech — “the King”; often used in reference to a prayer said on Rosh Hashana asserting God’s Kingship
• Hashem — title used in place of the ineffable four-letter name of God; lit. “the name”
• Hatarat Nedarim — Nullification of Vows ceremony on Erev Rosh Hashana
• Hatikvah — Israel’s national anthem
• Havdalah — the ceremony with which we commemorate the Sabbath’s departure on Saturday night; lit. “the separation”
• Hechsher — a mark on a product signifying it has been certified Kosher
• Hesped — eulogy
• Heter — a rabbinic leniency
• Hillel — student organization on college campuses named for a great sage of the Mishnah
• Hineni — an enthusiastic response to the call of a higher purpose; lit. “here I am”
• Hodu — “thanksgiving” or “turkey” in Hebrew.
• Ikar — central point
• K’lalot — curses
• K’hila — congregation
• K’hila Kedosha — holy congregation
• K’riya — ritual tearing of clothes upon a close relative’s death
• Kabbalah — a term referring to the body of Jewish mystical teachings; lit. “receiving tradition”
• Kabbalist — one who possesses a masterful understanding of Kabbalah
• Kaddish — Aramaic prayer exalting the Kingship of God; recited multiple times throughout every prayer service as well as at funerals, houses of mourning, and during the eleven-month period after the death of a close family member
• Kaparot — pre-Yom Kippur atonement ceremony using cash or fowl
• Kasher — to make something Kosher
• Kasha — a difficult Halachic question
• Kashrut — Kosher status
• Kavod — respect
• Kedusha — holiness; the central, interactive part of the cantor’s repetition of the Amidah
• Kedoshim t’hiyu — “you shall be holy”, the mission statement of the Jewish people
• Kedushin — the first stage of the Jewish wedding process in which the bride and groom “separate” themselves as a couple from all others
• Ketuvim — the third part of Tanach after the Chumash and Nevi’im; lit. “writings”
• Kever — grave
• Ki heym chayeynu — expression used to stress the importance of the Mitzvot to the Jewish people; lit. “because they (the Mitzvot) are our very lives!”
• Kibbutzniks — residents of a Kibbutz (Israeli commune)
• Kiddush — sanctification of the day integral to the blessing over wine for Shabbat or a holiday; the festive snack served at synagogue following services
• Kiddush Hashem — a sanctification of God’s name; an action through which the beauty of Jewish values is put on display for all to see
• Kinderlach — term of endearment for “children” (Yiddish)
• Kinnot — the anguished poetry of suffering through the ages; read primarily on Tisha B’av
• Kippah — Hebrew word for yarmulke, the skullcap worn by Jewish men
• Kiruv — outreach; the act of bringing relatively uninvolved Jews closer to Judaism
• Kittel — a white ceremonial robe worn by men for weddings, certain holidays and burial
• Kiyor — the washbasin used by priests in the Mishkan
• Klezmer — Ashkenazi folk music
• Kodesh — holy
• Kohanim — priests (also Cohanim, singular is Kohen)
• Kotel — The Western Wall in Jerusalem, the only remnant of the Holy Temple foundation; the holiest religious site of the Jewish people
• Kumzitz — a communal gathering to sing spiritual songs with musical accompaniment, often held around a campfire or in a dimly lit area
• L’chaim — the traditional Jewish toast; lit. “to life!”
• L’haniach — “to put on”; the key word in the blessing for putting on Tefillin (see below)
• L’hitpalel — to pray; a reflexive verb, can be translated as to imagine or dream
• L’shana haba’ah — final song at the end of the Seder and Yom Kippur services, “next year” (in Jerusalem)
• Latkeh — potato pancake fried in oil; a traditional Chanukah treat
• Lech L’cha — “go for yourself”; God’s command to Avraham to travel to the land of Israel
• Leil — the night of, as in Leil Seder, the night of the Seder
• Levaya — funeral
• Lichvod Shabbas — to honor the Sabbath
• Limudei Kodesh — Torah studies
• Litvak — Lithuanian-style
• Lulav — the combined species of plants waved in conjunction with the Etrog for the rituals of Sukkot, also refers specifically to the palm frond
• M’varchim — the Shabbat before Rosh Chodesh when we bless the upcoming new month
• Ma yakar — how precious; the first few words of the prayer uttered while putting on the Tallis
• Ma’ariv — the evening prayer, established by the patriarch Yaakov
• Machmir — strict, especially in regards to matters of halacha
• Machzor — a prayer book used for a specific holiday
• Magen David — Jewish star: lit. Shield of David
• Maykel — lenient, especially in regards to matters of halacha
• Manna — an edible substance that God provided for the Israelites in the desert
• Mashal — parable; example
• Matzah — flat, crunchy, unleavened bread eaten on Passover
• Mazel tov (or Mazal Tov) — Hebrew equivalent of “congratulations”; lit. “good luck”
• Mechitza — room divider in Orthodox congregations to separate men’s and women’s sections
• Megillah — scroll; refers to the story of Purim, or Megillat Esther; Other Megillot are Ruth, Eicha (Lamentations), Kohelet (Ecclesiastes), Shir Hashirim (Song of Songs)
• Melech — King
• Mensch — an individual of exemplary character (Yiddish)
• Menucha — rest
• Mesorah — heritage, religious tradition
• Mevatel — nullify
• Mezuzah — scroll mounted on the doorposts of a Jewish home; contains the Sh’ma and V’ahavta (D’varim 6:4-9)
• Midrash — the non-legal oral tradition, a collection of stories and wisdom teachings relating to Tanach
• Mikvah — ritual bath
• Milchig — a milk-based dish
• Mishlei — the Proverbs of King Solomon, part of the Ketuvim (Writings) section of Tanach
• Mishnah — the Torah’s law-related oral tradition, passed down from Moses at Sinai through the generations, eventually compiled by Rabbi Yehuda HaNassi (189 CE)
• Mincha — the afternoon prayer, established by the patriarch Yitzchak
• Minyan — a group of ten assembled for prayer; an established prayer group
• Mishpatim — Torah laws that make logical sense; i.e. thou shalt not kill
• Mishkan — the Tabernacle, or the portable temple used for priestly service in the desert and up until the building of the first Temple in Jerusalem
• Mishpocha — family
• Mitzvot — commandments; the 613 Torah commandments, composed of 248 positive commandments (thou shalt) and 365 negative commandments (thou shalt not)
• Modim — prayer in the Amidah (see above) offering thanks to God
• Muktzeh — any object not to be used/touched on Shabbat or holidays
• Mussaf — additional prayer service for Shabbat and most holidays; lit. “that which is added”
• Nachat (Nachas) — Jewish pride
• Nazir — one who gave up grape products and haircuts in order to connect with God
• Nechama — comfort
• Nefesh — the basic life force, instinct, autonomic survival functions; the first of the five levels of the soul
• Neshama — the generic Hebrew term for soul; the third level of the five levels of the soul
• Netzach — eternity
• Nevi’im — the books of Tanach after the Five Books of Moses, describing the period of the prophets; lit. “prophets”
• Nusach — the unique, traditional melodies of prayer
• Olam habah — the World that is Coming; the Jewish conception of heaven, the world as it will be in the Messianic era
• Omanut — Hebrew word for “art,” also used to refer to crafts done at children’s camp
• Omer — a measurement used during the Temple era for grains and dry goods, equal to about 3.64 liters; the daily offering of barley between Pesach and Shavuot
• Oshkibunis — my Grandpa Bill’s nonsense term for taking walks
• P’sukei D’zimra — Psalms of Praise; collection of prayers providing emotional uplift and connection in the morning service; lit. “sung passages”
• Parashat Hashavua — the Torah portion of the week
• Pasuk — sentence; a verse of Tanach
• Pesach —Passover
• Peyot (Peyos) — the sidecurls of a man’s hair that grow unchecked in accordance with the Torah’s chok to “not round off the corners of your head”
• Pidyon haben — the ceremony performed in order to redeem the firstborn son who is the property of God according to the Torah; lit. “redemption of the son”
• Pinteleh yid — the Jewish pilot light that gets ignited when visiting Israel or hearing a great sermon, song or story; lit. ”the spark of the Jew” (Yiddish)
• Poskim — rabbis who answer halachic questions
• Poskin — to rule in accordance with a Halachic dictate (see above)
• Posul — not fit for ritual use
• Pushke — tzedakah box (Yiddish)
• Resha’im — evil people, plural of rasha
• Rachamim — compassion
• Ratzon — desire; will
• Rebbe — a term of endearment applied to a rabbi; the head of a Chassidic sect
• Rebbetzin — a rabbi’s wife
• Refa’eynu — shorthand for the blessing in the Amidah (see above) where we pray for God to heal us; lit. “heal us”
• Rosh — the head, as in Rosh Yeshiva (head of a yeshiva) or Rosh Hashana (head of year)
• Rosh Hashana — Jewish New Years; the first of Tishrei
• Rova — the Jewish Quarter of the Old City
• Ruach — the second of the five levels of the soul; great feeling and enthusiasm; lit. “wind”
• Ruchnius — spirituality
• S’fatai — my lips
• S’firat Ha’omer — the forty-nine day period between the second day of Passover and Shavuot
• S’lichot — penitential prayers said on fast days and during the High Holiday period
• Sh’ma (Shema) — the quintessential prayer of Judaism, declaring God’s oneness and uniqueness; lit. “hear”
• Sh’moneh Esrei — alternate name for the Amidah; lit. “eighteen” in reference to the original Amidah being composed of eighteen blessings
• Sh’mirat Halashon — Guarding one’s tongue, not engaging in lashon hara
• Sh’mittah — the seventh year when we let the land go fallow in Eretz Israel
• Sh’mot — Exodus, the second of the Five Books of Moses, lit. “names”
• Sh’varim — shofar sound in which three medium long blasts are blown
• Sh’vil Hazahav — the balanced path; lit. “the golden path”
• S’micha — rabbinical ordination; lit. “the leaning of the hands”
• Sabras — refers to native—born Israelis, who are characteristically prickly on the outside and soft on the inside; lit. “prickly pear cactus”
• Sandek — the person honored with holding the baby boy during the bris
• Sanhedrin — the supreme court in Temple times, located adjacent to the Temple in Jerusalem
• Schnorrer — a beggar or scrounger, one asking for charity
• Seder — the succession of readings and rituals performed around the dinner table on the first and second night of Passover (first night only for residents of Israel); lit. “order”
• Sephardi — Jews from Spanish, North African and Middle Eastern communities
• Shacharit — the morning service established by the patriarch Abraham
• Shalom Bayit — peace in the home
• Shalosh Esrei Middot — Thirteen Attributes of God, part of prayers of S’lichot and holidays
• Shana Rishona — the first year of marriage
• Shana tova umetuka — traditional greeting used during Rosh Hashana and the days immediately following the holiday; lit. “a good and sweet new year”
• Shavua tov — “have a good week,” greeting after conclusion of Shabbat
• Shavuot — the festival of “weeks” celebrating the giving of Torah; occurs the 6th of Sivan
• Shefa — abundance
• Shehakol — shorthand for the blessing recited over any food or drink that does not fall under the category of fruit, vegetable, baked goods, bread, or wine
• Shehechyanu — a blessing over something new, ie. clothing or fruit, also said in the first night Kiddush of any given holiday
• Sheker — falsehood
• Shep nachas — to derive pride (Yiddish)
• Sheish Mitzvot Temidiot — The Six Constant Mitzvot (see Coda chapter)
• Sheish Z’chirot — The Six Remembrances (see Coda chapter)
• Sheva brachot — the seven blessings recited under the chuppah; the festive meals during the week after a Jewish wedding
• Shiva — week long intense mourning period and prayer gathering after burial
• Shidduch — a marriage arranged by a matchmaker; also refers to the person with whom the match is being made
• Shochet — one who performs ritual slaughter
• Shofar — the ram’s horn blown each day of Elul and on Rosh Hashanah
• Shoftim — refers to the leaders of Israel during the period preceding the Davidic monarchy; lit. “judges”
• Shomer — guarding, as in guarding Shabbat, mitzvot, or negiah (physical contact with opposite sex other than parent, child or spouse)
• Shpilkes — impatience (Yiddish)
• Shtetl — the insular Jewish village of “the old country”
• Shtreimel — a fur hat worn by men of certain Chassidic sects (Yiddish)
• Shuckling — ritual swaying of worshipers, from the Yiddish “to shake,”
• Shuk — a Middle Eastern market
• Shul — synagogue (Yiddish)
• Shyla — question; Yiddish analogue of the Hebrew word “She’elah”
• Siddur — prayer book
• Siyum — celebratory completion of a holy book, i.e. a tractate of Talmud
• Sofrim — scribes; singular is “sofer”
• Sukkot (Succot) — 7 or 8 day festival of joy (depending on whether or not one lives in Israel) marking the ending of the harvest and culmination of the High Holiday season
• Sukkah — the temporary dwelling we build and live in throughout the holiday of Sukkot
• Sur meyrah v’asey tov — “run from evil and do good,” T’hillim 34:14
• T’kiyah — the shofar sound in which one long blast is blown
• T’kiyah g’dola — the final extended blast of the shofar service; also the end of Yom Kippur
• T’ruah — the shofar sound in which nine or more short, stacatto blasts are blown
• T’shuva — repentance, the process of returning to God; lit. “return”
• Tachanun — portion of the daily prayer service where one asks God’s forgiveness
• Tachlis — the bottom line, the heart of the matter
• Tafkid — personal task or responsibility
• Tahor — pure
• Tahara — ritual washing of a Jewish corpse
• Takanot — rabbinic decrees
• Tallis — (or Tallit) prayer shawl
• Tallit katan — the inner garment with four fringes worn under one’s shirt
• Tanach — complete Bible, composed of the Five Books of Moses, Nevi’im and Ketuvim
• Tefillah — prayer
• Tefillin — pair of black leather boxes containing the passages from Torah on parchment; one is strapped on the forehead, the other to the weaker bicep
• Tehillim — the book of Psalms, part of the Ketuvim
• Talleisim — plural form of Tallis
• Tikkun Olam — the responsibility to fix the world; lit. “healing of the world”
• Tinok — baby
• Tish — a celebratory ceremonial meal, often accompanied by singing and dancing
• Tisha B’Av — the Ninth of Av, annual fast day commemorating the destruction of both Temples and other tragedies befalling the Jewish people
• Tishrei — the seventh month of the Jewish year containing the High Holidays
• Tochacha — rebuke
• Tofel — secondary
• Treif — non-kosher food; also used colloquially to describe anything incongruous with a Torah lifestyle; lit. “unfit for use”
• Tzara’at — a skin condition often mistranslated as leprosy, usually resulting from speaking lashon harah,
• Tzedakah — charity; lit. “righteousness”
• Tzitzit — the fringes attached to a four cornered garment to remind one of the Mitzvot; also used to describe the tallit katan, the inner garment
• Tzniut — modesty or privacy
• Tzuris — strife; Yiddish analogue of the Hebrew word “Tzarot”
• Uman — the city in Ukraine where Rabbi Nachman of Breslov is buried
• Upsherin — first haircut for boys on their third birthday (Yiddish)
• V’ahavta — shorthand for the second paragraph of the complete Sh’ma reading, which is made up of four paragraphs; lit. “and you shall love”
• Vaad — a rabbinic council or group
• Vaiter — forward, as in moving on in the text when studying (Yiddish)
• Vayikra — Leviticus, the third of the Five Books of Moses, lit. “And He called”
• Vidui — portion of the daily Tachanun prayer and Yom Kippur prayers where one recites a “confession” of sins committed
• Y’mach sh’mo — may his name be obliterated, a phrase used when referring to an archenemy of the Jews
• Yam Suf — Reed Sea (often mistranslated as Red Sea), crossed by the Jews a week after leaving Egypt
• Yarmulke — Yiddish word for kippah, the skullcap worn by Jewish men
• Yahrzeit — anniversary of one’s death
• Yechida — to be alone with God; The fifth level of the five levels of the soul; the identification with the ultimate universal soul. Lit. “oneness”
• Yehudim — Jews
• Yeshiva — a place of Jewish learning with a Beit Midrash; lit. “sitting”
• Yetzer harah — the evil inclination
• Yetzer hatov — the good inclination
• Yichud — to be alone with another, namely with one’s spouse right after the chuppah
• Yichus — direct connection to one’s Judaically enlightened ancestry
• Yidden — Jewish people, plural of Yid (Yiddish)
• Yiddishkeit — Judaism (Yiddish)
• Yisrael — Israel
• Yitro — the Torah portion containing the Ten Commandments; named for Moses’ father-in-law
• Yizkor — the memorial service held on certain Jewish holidays
• Yom Kippur — The Day of Atonement; the tenth of Tishrei
• Yovel — the fiftieth “Jubilee” year after seven sh’mittah cycles
• Z’rizut — alacrity; an intense readiness to perform God’s will
• Ziv Hashechina — the light of God