ataman:
a Cossack chief, synonymous with hetman; leader of an armed band; both words are used here referring to pogrom leaders
bar mitzvah:
ceremony marking a youngster’s reaching the age of religious majority, usually thirteen
bet din/beit din:
court of law
bet hamidrash/beit hamidrash:
house of study or learning
bimah:
platform, high place where the Torah is read
bris/brit malah:
circumcision ceremony
bubbe:
grandmother
challah:
braided white bread often used for the Sabbath and holidays
chazzan:
cantor
chuppah:
wedding canopy
datcha:
country house; a camp-like setting
daven:
to recite Jewish prayers
dorf:
a village that is smaller than a shtetl
get:
a divorce
Goldene Medina:
Golden Land (reference to the United States)
graf:
a count or nobleman
guberniya:
county or province
gymnasium:
school
Haftorah:
selection from one of the biblical books of the Prophets read on Shabbat or on holidays after the Torah reading
hetman:
leader, synonymous with ataman
intergesl:
side street, backstreet, or alley
Kaddish:
Jewish prayer recited during the three daily synagogue services and by those who are mourning the death of a relative
kapchonka:
smoked and salted whitefish
kest:
boarding provided by the parents of newlyweds through the early period of marriage; this is written in the marriage contract
keter:
crown
kibitz:
to chat or converse
kloyz:
small synagogue or house of study
kreplach:
small noodles or dumplings that are often filled with meat; they can also be filled with cheese, potato, or fruit
kugel:
savory or sweet pudding with noodles
landsman (plural: landslayt/landsleit):
a person from one’s hometown or shtetl
melamed:
teacher of young children in a Jewish school
minyan:
quorum of ten adult Jews necessary for public prayer
mohel:
ritual circumciser; one who performs the ritual of brit malah
pitseleh:
little one
pogrom/pogromit:
an organized, often officially encouraged massacre or persecution of a minority group, especially one conducted against Jews; to outrage or to wreak havoc
poritz/porets:
nobleman, lord, or landowner
portyanki:
foot cloths worn under Russian boots
preetza:
noblewoman, usually the wife of a poritz
rugelach:
Jewish pastry/dessert with a filling rolled up inside. In Yiddish, it translates to “little twists” and is of Jewish Ashkenazi Polish origin.
Shavuot:
Jewish holiday, the Day of Pentecost, receiving of the Torah. It is also the beginning of the wheat harvest.
sheitel/sheytel:
traditional wig worn by Orthodox Jewish women
shidduch:
an arranged marriage
shtetl (plural: shtetlach):
a small town or village with a large Jewish population
shul:
synagogue
tallis:
prayer shawl
tante:
aunt
Tenaim:
engagement contract
uyezd:
district
vants (plural: vanzen/vantsn):
bedbug
varenikes:
Ukrainian word for “kreplach” or “pierogi”; dumplings that are filled with meat, cheese, potato, or fruit
viorst:
a Russian measure of distance equal to about 3,500 feet (about .662 mile/1 kilometer)
yarid:
marketplace
Yizkor Book:
any Holocaust memorial book
zaftig:
juicy, succulent; often used to describe an overweight person
zeyde:
grandfather