Jewish Tradition

Shema

"Hear O' Israel, Lord is our God, the Lord is one" - Comprises the central prayer in all morning and evening prayer services. Essentially the statement that sheds light on the monotheism that is reflected in all of Judaism. Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Nefesh

"Soul." Means breath, though it is usually used in the sense of living beings. The immaterial soul separates from and surviving the body. It's thought of as describing the living being.

Bar/Bat Mitzvah

"son/daughter of the commandments." Refers to the coming of age ceremony of a Jewish boy or girl @ age 13 when they are considered an adult member of the Jewish community and responsible for their own actions. B'nei mitzvoth are called to the bimah to read from the Torah, the Haftorah and give a speech/discussion of the weekly torah portion. They are then blessed by the Rabbis. Orthodox tradition does not allow women to read from the torah, so they therefore cannot become bat-mitzvahed.

mikveh

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Purim

14th of Adar—Commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people from the Persian empire as recorded in the book of Esther. After the Babylonians defeated the Kingdom of Judah and destroyed the temple, they conquered Persia and the Jews were in their captivity. Jewish Halloween b/c time when Jews typically dressed in costumes and engage in celebrations. Story told in a bound book called the Megillah.

Peasach

14th of Nisan, Passover—commemorates the exodus from Egypt and the liberation of the Hebrew slaves from the Pharoah. Celebrated by holding a seder and reading the Haggadah. Traditionally the first day of Passover marks the day on which Jews stop eating leavened food products for the first of seven days.

Tu Bi-Shvat

15th of Shevat- The new year of the trees, celebration of the earth and is often commemorated by planting trees in Israel. Thought of as taking back the land of Israel through trees

Sukkot

15th of Tishrei—Biblical pilgrimage festival that marks the autumn harvest. Jews used to congregate in the Temple of Jerusalem on this day, bringing harvest fruits and vegetables in supplication.

Shemini Atzeret

22nd of Tishrei. 8th day of the festival of Sukkot, but still its own holiday. Celebrates the love of Torah and the rainy season of the harvest. Last day of all the high holidays so it's thought of as the last day that God is one w/ all the people.

Simhat Torah

23rd of Tishrei. The day that celebrates the people receiving the torah. It's also the day that the annual cycle of weekly Torah readings is completed. There is traditionally a lot of dancing and singing and processing with the Torah.

Rosh ha-shanah

29th of Elul. Jewish New Year, day on which the shofar is blown and the first day of the Hebrew calendar is marked.

70 CE

2nd Temple Fell

Shavuot

6th of Sivan. Day that marks the conclusion of the counting of the Omer (the day the Torah was received on Mt. Sinai). Begins on Passover and lasts 7 weeks culminating in Shavuot.

Yom Kippur

7th of Tishrei. Jewish day of atonement. Occurs 10 days after Rosh Hashanah and is considered one of the most solemn days on the Jewish calendar. If you don't atone for your wrongdoings you will not be inscribed in the book of life for another year. Jews traditionally fast on this day as a way of honoring the solemnity of the day.

Tish-ah Be-Av

9th of Av—Fast day, observed as remembering the "saddest day in jewish history" when first and second temple were destroyed (about 650 yrs. Apart but same date).

dreidel

A 4 sides spinning top played with on Hanukkah. (nun, gimel, hei, shin). You can play it as a gambling game.

Hevra Kadisha

A burial society of men and women. They believe the bodies should be prepared a certain way and protected for desecration.

huppah

A canopy under which a Jewish couple getting married stands under during the whole wedding. The huppah symbolizes the home the couple will create together.

Moses Maimonides (RaMBaM)

A medieval Spanish Sephardic Jewish philosopher who also influenced the outside world. Was a doctor as well. His ideas were met with a lot of opposition but he is post-humously credited with being the cornerstone of Jewish thought and study. Rose to be revered as head of Jewish community in Egypt. His Mishneh torah still carries significant importance in Talmudic law.

yahrzeit

A memorial candle. A candle lit in the memory of someone in Judaism.

Karaites

A movement of Judaism that relies solely on the TaNaKH as scripture and rejects the Oral Torah. Means "readers of scripture." Text is read literally, as opposed to rabbinical Judaism, which relies a lot on interpretation of the scripture.

Tzit tzit

A part of the prayer shawl—fringes worn around the abdomen (4 corners of the talit) as Orthodox men wear them as a daily reminder of their faith.

Ezra

A priestly scribe who led the people of Israel from Babylon to Jerusaem in 459 BCE.

Lulav

A ripe green date palm that is used in the prayer services of sukkot. Myrtle and Willow are bound together to create the lulav and waving it is considered a mitzvah. 3 elements of lulav are held in one and and the etrog in the other, and all 4 are waved around to attest to God's master over all creation.

Essenes

A sect of Jews in the 1st Century BCE, who are most commonly credited with the founding/production of the Dead Sea scrolls.

Pharisees

A social movement in Jewish history during the second temple period after the destruction of the 2nd temple. Pharisaic sect was reproduced as rabbinic Judaism, what we think of now as normative, traditional Judaism

Miqveh

A type of ritual bath used for immersion, most commonly in the conversion ceremony. Women are commanded to go to the miqveh after menstruation or childbirth because it is the only way to achieve ritual purity. Also used to purify utensils for food in the milchig and fleischig.

Isaac

Abraham's son

TaNaKH

Acronym for the Jewish holy bible. Contains the Torah, the Nevi'im and the Ketuvim.

Kippah

Also a yamulkah -religious skull cap that is used to cover the head in respect for God. Covering ones head is discussed in both the Talmud and the Sulchan Aruch as a sign of respect for God and the tradition of Judaism. Boys often begin wearing them at a young age, and women and men are known to wear them in reform and conservative traditions.

Sanhedrin

Assembly of Jewish Judges who legislated in ancient Israel, essentially their supreme court who originally met in the 1st temple.

Rabbi Solomon ben Isaac

Author of the first comprehensive Talmudic commentary.

550

Babylonian Talmud completed.

David

Became 2nd king of Israel. Acclaimed ruler, poet and warrior. Very righteous.

Oral Torah

Believed to be received in conjunction with the written scrolls of the Torah, the same as those recorded in the mishnah and the gemara.

Melakhah

Best translated as creative activity—its is the word used to describe prohibited behaviors on the Sabbath.

Barukh Dayyan ha-Emet

Blessed is the True Judge. Rip a piece of clothing while saying this prayer during the funeral service.

Berakhah

Blessings—usually being with "Barukh atah adonai"—blessed are you adonai.

Menorah

Candelabra lit on Hanukkah—7 branches on a menorah said to symbolize the burning bush. The hanukiah has 8 branches, 1 for each day of the holiday and 1 for the Shamash (the central branch) used to light the others.

Tiqqun Layl Shavuot

Celebrated on the night of Shavuot. After the Ma'ariv service, people stay up all night and study torah.

Amidah

Central prayer of Jewish liturgy, which constitutes the core of each of the Jewish prayer services, consists of 18 blessings, and is discussed in the Talmud.

Rabbi Judah the Prince

Chief redactor of the mishnah. Some scholars believe him to be a Davidic descendent.

Etrog

Citrus fruit primarily found in Israel. They are used in the ritual of Sukkot and must be unblemished and blessed by rabbi's in order to be sacred.

Matzah

Cracker like bread made of plain flour and water. Bread is pricked in several places and not allowed to rise before or during baking. Unleavened bread is symbolic of the bread that the Hebrew slaves are told to have baked on their backs during the exodus from Egypt

1948

Creation of the State of Israel

Tractate

Divisions of laws set forth in the mishnah and tosefta

Ashkenazi

Eastern European Jews (e.g. German)

Erusin (Kiddushin)

Engagement part of marriage.

Shekkinah

Feminine side of God. The settling, nurturing presence of God. One of Gods many names because has many different attributes.

Hannukah

Festival of lights commemorating the eradication of the temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean revolt. Observed for 8 nights usually around same time as Christmas but may differ depending on the Jewish Calendar.

Abraham

First forefather of Judaism. Made the covenant with God.

Mishnah

First time the oral torah (unwritten tradition that was believed to have been revealed to Moses on Mt. Sinai but was not incorporated in the text of the Torah) was actually recorded. It had been passed down through oral tradition, but Judah the Prince redacts it. This and the Gemara make up the Talmud. a. Zera'im: "Seeds"- Agricultural law b. Mo'ed: "Festival"- laws of the Sabbath and festivals c. Nashim: "Women"- Marriage and Divorce d. Neziqin: "Damages"- Criminal and civil law e. Qodashim: "Holy things"- sacrificial rites f. Toharot: "Purities"- laws of purity and impurity for the priests kohanim), dead, family, etc.

Fleischig

Food prepared with utensils that have come in contact with meat. May not come in contact w/ dairy if this is the case.

Milchig

Food prepared with utensils that have come into contact w/ dairy. If something is milchig it may not come into contact w/ meat.

Pareve

Foods neither dairy nor meat and can be eaten/served w/ both.

Rabbi Akibah

Great authority on matters of Jewish law and tradition, and one of the essential contributors to Midrash Halakah. Referred to in the Talmud as the head of all sages, father of rabbinical Judaism.

Septuagint

Greek name for the Hebrew bible. Name refers to the 72 Jewish scholars who translated the Pentateuch into Greek for the kings.

Minyan

Group of 10 men and the torah—a jewish prayer quorum

afikoman

Half of a piece of matzoh that is broken into 2 pieces during the early part of the Passover seder and set aside to be eaten for dessert. Head of the household hides the afikoman for the children to find.

Muktzeh

Hebrew word that describes prohibited objects Jews many not handle or move on the Sabbath. Translated as "money," something which the Jews are not allowed to handle on the Sabbath.

Philo

Hellenized Jewish philospher, used to fuse harmony of Greek and Jewish practices.

Shofar

Horn blown on Rosh Hashanah made from the horns of any animal except a cow or non-kosher animal. Blown 4 times in the Rosh Hashana service and on Yom Kippur to denote the end of the fast. Not blown if either holiday falls on the Sabbath b/c it's considered to be work.

Yetzer ha-ra

Inclination to do evil by violating the will of God. Identified with Satan but not in the same sense as Christians view Satan—Satan is considered to be fulfilling God's will by testing man's faith.

Jacob

Isaac's son, also known as Israel.

Shabbat

Jewish day of rest (also known as the Sabbath). Begins sundown Friday and ends sundown Saturday. Total and complete rest from activities considered "work" is mandated. It is out of respect for the day of rest the God is believed to have taken after creating the world in 6 days. Nothing considered work can occur after sundown if someone is observant of the Sabbath.

Kashrut

Jewish dietary laws. Kosher means "fit for consumption." Food not kosher is called "treif." Most of the laws of kashrut are derived from Leviticus and Deuteronomy and are detailed in the Mishnah and the Talmud.

Get

Jewish form of divorce, supervised by a rabbinical court. A man has the right to divorce his wife but she cannot divorce him. The man can be encouraged to seek a get if there is a just case on the woman's behalf such as, when the husband refuses to have sex w/ his wife, when he does not provide her w/ adequate support, when is unfaithful/abusive, or when he has a loathsome disease.

Hillel

Jewish leader that came to power during the Mishnah and Talmud period. Founded a school for the Tannaim—had opposing views to Shammai the Elder. Believed the Earth came before the heavens.

Maccabees

Jewish national liberation movement that fought for and won independence from Antiochus IV Epiphanes.

Beraita

Jewish oral law not incorporated into the Mishnah.

Tefillah

Jewish prayer services usually led from the Jewish prayer book (the siddur). In order to accomplish tefilah you are required to establish a minyan (group of 10 men and the torah).

Talit

Jewish prayer shawl, worn over the shoulders during prayer services.

Ketubah

Jewish prenup considered to be an integral part of the traditional Jewish marriage. Commitment to provide financially, designated sum upon divorce, etc. Usually done in front of friends and family before the ceremony, and signed by witnesses.

Mohel

Jewish ritual circumciser or surgeon who performs the bris.

Amora

Jewish scholars who spoke about the teaching of the oral law (immediately followed the Tannaim).

1492

Jews expelled from Spain.

Sefardi

Jews from Spain, Portugal, and the middle east

167-164 BCE

Jews overthrew Greeks.

Shivah

Judaism's week long period of grief and morning for the even first degree relatives of the deceased. Process of sitting shivah begins immediately upon burial of the departed which traditionally occurs within one day of death. During the 7 days the family stays in one house and receives visitors. At the funeral the mourners tear an article of clothing and don't repair it for the duration of the mourning period.

Sefirah

Kabbalistic idea—Ten attributes that God created through which he can manifest both the physical and metaphysical universe.

Ein Sof

Kabbalistic term meaning "without end." Refers to state of being preceeding the creation of the world.

Shulhan Arukh

Known as the code of Jewish Law. It is a written catalogue of Halakah, most authoritataive compilation since the Talmud. 4 books written by Yosef Karo.

hametz

Leavened food that are forbidden on Passover. Jews may not own, eat, or benefit from chametz.

Mitzvah

Literally means "commandments." There are 613 commandments (248 human bones + 365 days in a year) in the torah, but also refers to any Jewish Law. Has taken on the meaning of good deed or any act of human kindness, because this is a commandment. One performs mitzvot for his/her bar/bat mitzvah.

shiddukhin

Marriage contract between man and woman.

Sheloshim

Means "30." Refers to the 30 day mourning period following the death of a family member. During this time a mourner is forbidden to marry or attend religious festive meals, men don't shave or cut their hair, considered a mitzvah to learn torah in the name of the deceased as it is believed that a deceased person can still benefit from the merit of mitzvah.

Yad

Means "hand." Referring to the ritual pointer used to point to the text of the torah scroll during a prayer service. It is used to prevent the reader from touching the actual parchment as it is considered sacred.

Torah

Means "teaching" or "law." Compiled of the 5 books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. The main Jewish text that was divinely inspired.

Halakhah

Means "the way." The collection of all Jewish laws- 613 mitzvot as well as the Talmudic and Rabbinic laws, which came about later after the rabbis had collected their interpretations of the application of Torah to daily life.

Sefer Torah

Means book of the torah. The handwritten copy of the torah. The torah scrolls.

200

Mishnah was compiled.

Haftarah

Modern observers read the haftarah publicly on the Sabbath. The readings are taken from Nevi'im (book of prophets) and usually have a thematic link to the parashah ha'shavuah.

Shaharit

Morning service both on Shabbat and on weekdays.

Midrash Aggadah

Non-legal discourse of portions of the bible not dealing with law.

Sukkah

On sukkot this is the hut that Jews build where they eat their meals and spend most or all of their time. They decorate the hut with fruits and vegetables and other items from nature—roof must be partially open to the sky and must be made of organic materials.

Shammai

Opposing views to Hillel. Believed the Heavens were created first. One of the core figures whose ideas are reflected in the Mishnah.

Tefillin

Philactories—worn on the upper arm and the forehead as instructed in the Veahavta.

Gemara

Portion of the Talmud that contains the rabbinical commentaries and analysis of the Mishnah. After the Mishnah came about the rabbis spent centuries studying it and the discussions were written down in what became this.

Kabbalah

Practice of Jewish mysticism. The main book is the Zohar. The spiritual experience of the torah.

Mihah

Prayers recited in the afternoon on weekdays and Shabbat.

Ma'ariv

Prayers recited in the evening both on weekdays and Shabbat.

Sadducees

Priestly group of Jews in the Biblical Period. In Hebrew they're referred to as "Tzadikim" (the righteous ones). They interpreted the laws of the Torah literally, and rejected the idea of the oral torah.

Tanna

Rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah. Their period lasted about 130 years.

Kaddish

Refers to important prayer which is the magnification and sanctification of God's name. Mourner's kaddish is said as part of the mourning rituals in Judaism in all prayer services as well as at funerals and memorials.

Aggadah

Refers to the Talmud and the Mishnah. They're presented as folklore, historical anecdotes, etc. and often refer to mythical creatures.

Aron

Refers to the ark in which the Torah scrolls are kept. Ashkenazi Jews usually refer to it as Aron Kodesh, which is the blessed ark

Kol Nidre

Refers to the declaration recited in synagogue the night before Yom Kippur. Also the name for the actual service. Creates a dramatic introduction to the holiday.

Brit Milah (Bris)

Religious ceremony used to welcome infant Jewish boys into a covenant between God and the children of Israel through ritual circumcision performed by the Mohel. Traditionally done on the 8th day after birth except for health reasons.

Seder

Ritual feast on the first and second nights of Passover during which the Haggadah is used as a guide to tell the story of the Hebrew slaves and the exodus from Egypt and to remember the symbolism and the plight of the Jewish ancestors.

Shechitah

Ritual slaughter of animals in accordance w/ the Jewish dietary laws. Animal must be killed with respect and compassion and the slaugterer must have the life of the animal in mind when he draws the knife across the animal's throat.

Solomon

Ruler of Israel from 970 to 928 BCE. Builder of the 1st temple. Leaded 2 tribes: Israel (northern part of land)and Judah (rules souther part of land).

Tosefta

Second compilation of the oral torah. Seen as supplement to the Mishnah.

Midrash

Teachings and commentary on the torah. Comes in the form of stories or folklore.

Nevi'im

The 2nd of 3 major sections of the TaNaKH. It is the writings of the prophets. Haftarah comes from these readings.

Ketuvim

The 3rd book of the TaNaKH. Means "writings." Encompasses the remaining books of the TaNaKH: Job, Ecclesisates, Proverbs, Psalbs, Lamentations, Songs of Solomon, the historical books of Ezra-Nehemiah, and Chronicles.

Shul

The Yiddish term for Synagogue or Jewish house of prayer.

Bikkur holim

The act of visiting the sick. It's considered a mitzvah to do so.

Talmud

The compilation of the Mishnah and the Gemara.

Nissu'in

The marriage. When 2 people start their lives together. Today happens when man gives woman a ring.

Humash

The printed form of the torah, different from scrolls. Means "5 parts" and comes rom the root of Chamesh which is the Hebrew word for "5".

Mohar

The purchase of a wife

Haggadah

The text that sets for the order of the Passover seder- means "telling," and is fulfillment of the commandment to "tell your son" about the Jewish liberation from slavery in Egypt.

Written Torah

The torah as it was received at Mt. Sinai by Moses.

Bedekken

The veiling of a Jewish bride at a Jewish wedding by the groom. Supposed to represent biblical story of Jacob, Rachel, and Leah. In the bedekken, the groom lowers the veil over the bride in order to ensure he doesn't make the same mistake Jacob did and marry the wrong woman.

YHWH

Translated as "Yahweh," referring to the unspoken name of God. Supposedly so sacred that it's never supposed to be vocalized or written. Jews instead use HaShem, or Adonai.

Yom Tov

Translated as "good day."—used to describe religious holidays. Rosh ha-shanah, Yom kippur, Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, Simhat Torah, Pesach, Shavuot.

Parashah

Translates as the torah portion of the week. A parashah is read every single week of the year.

Midrash Halakhah

Ways of linking laws to halakhah as proof of authenticity

Aufruf

When the groom is called up for an aliyah.

586 BCE

Year the 1st temple fell, and the Babylonians captured the Judeans and the king.

Frum

Yiddush word referring to someone observant of 613 mitzvot. Especially Orthodox. Ie. shabbat, kashrut.

sheva berakhot

blessings recited at a wedding for a bride and a groom.

mazal tov

good fortune