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Aggadah |
Traditional Jewish literature; commentaries, aphorisms, legends of the Talmud. |
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ahavat Israel |
Love for, devotion to, the Jewish people. |
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aliyah |
1) “Ascent” toward Jerusalem, hence immigration to Israel; 2) the honor of being called up to read a section of the weekly portion of the Torah. |
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Amidah |
The principal daily prayer, recited standing and silently. |
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Aufruf |
The tradition in which a bridegroom is called to the Torah on the Shabbat preceding his wedding. |
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bar mitzvah |
The ceremony marking the assumption of adult religious responsibilities, at age thirteen. |
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Beit (Ha)midrash |
A house of study and prayer; a synagogue. |
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Besht |
Initials of Baal Shem Tov, the “Master of the Good Name,” founder of the Hasidic movement. |
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Bimah |
The raised platform used for the reading of the Torah. |
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B’nai B’rith |
A Jewish social and philanthropic organization. |
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chuppah |
At a wedding, the canopy under which the marriage ceremony is performed. |
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genizah |
A hiding place for sacred books and objects. |
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Haganah |
The well-known Jewish paramilitary self-defense organization in Palestine. |
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Halakhah |
The body of rabbinical law. |
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Halakhic |
Relating to Halakhah. |
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Hasid (Hasidim) |
Literally, “pious man.” A disciple of the movement founded by the Baal Shem Tov. |
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Havdalah |
The ceremony at the conclusion of Shabbat marking its separation from the rest of the week. |
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heder |
A religious elementary school; Hebrew school. |
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Irgun |
A Jewish nationalist underground organization which fought against the British occupation in Palestine. |
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Kaddish |
The prayer for the dead. |
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kipa |
A skullcap, or yarmulka, worn by Jewish males. |
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Kol Nidre |
The prayer opening the Yom Kippur evening service. |
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kosher |
Ritually pure, in accordance with dietary laws. |
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Marranos |
Spanish Jews who, though forced to convert to Catholicism, continued to practice Judaism clandestinely. |
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mezuzah |
A parchment containing passages from the Pentateuch that is rolled into a case and affixed to the doorpost as an expression of faith. |
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midrash |
A parable; a story that embodies and expresses moral teaching or a tenet of faith; also, a volume of midrashim. |
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Minha |
The afternoon service. |
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minyan |
A quorum of ten men required for a communal religious service. |
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Mishna |
The codification of the Oral Law based upon the laws and commandments of the Torah, and the basis in turn for the Gemara, or Talmud. |
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mitzvah |
A divine commandment. |
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Musaf |
The additional service following the main morning service on the Shabbat and holidays. |
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Neilah |
The concluding service of Yom Kippur. |
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Palmah |
An elite Haganah strike force whose members were recruited from kibbutzim. |
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Pesach |
Passover, the Jewish holiday celebrating the Exodus from Egypt. |
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Purim |
The holiday (marked by games, exchanges of gifts, and skits) commemorating the victory of the Jews of Persia over their enemy Haman. |
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Rosh Hashana |
The Jewish New Year. |
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rosh yeshiva |
The head of a rabbinical academy. |
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Seder |
The ritual meal on Passover, during which the story of the Exodus from Egypt is told. |
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Sefer Torah |
Sacred parchment scroll containing the books of the Pentateuch. |
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Shaharit |
The morning service. |
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Shavuot |
Pentecost; chiefly commemorates the Giving of the Law on Mount Sinai. |
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shivah |
The first period of mourning, which lasts seven days. |
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shofar |
The ram’s horn used in Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur services. |
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shtetl |
A Jewish village in Eastern Europe. |
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shtibel |
A Hasidic place of prayer. |
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shtreimel |
The wide-brimmed fur hat traditionally worn by Hasidim. |
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siddur |
A prayer book. |
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Simhat Torah |
The holiday celebrating the completion of the year-long reading of the Torah, and the renewal of the cycle of readings, beginning with Genesis. |
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Sukkot |
The Feast of Tabernacles. |
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tallit |
A ritual prayer shawl. |
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Talmud |
The vast collection of rabbinical teachings, laws, and commentaries based upon the Mishna (q.v.); also called the Gemara. |
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tefillin |
Phylacteries—two small leather boxes containing four passages from the Pentateuch; one is strapped to the left forearm and one to the forehead during weekday morning prayers. |
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Tisha b’Av |
The Ninth of Av, a day of fasting in memory of the destruction of the Temple, which according to tradition occurred on this date. |
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Torah |
The five Books of Moses, or Pentateuch; in the broader sense, the sum total of Jewish lore and learning, of which the Pentateuch is the foundation. |
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Tsahal |
The Israeli army. |
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Vidui |
A confession of sins. |
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Yad Vashem |
The Holocaust museum in Jerusalem. |
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yahrzeit |
The anniversary of the death of a parent. |
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yeshiva |
A talmudic academy. |
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(pl. yeshivot) |
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Yizkor |
A service in memory of the dead, recited on the three festivals of Sukkot, Pesach, and Shavuot, and on Yom Kippur. |
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Yom Kippur |
The Day of Atonement, the culmination of the Ten Days of Penitence which begin with Rosh Hashana, and the most sacred day in the Jewish year. |