Jewish Holidays & Vocabulary

Tallit

Hebrew prayer shawl worn by adult males

Bar Mitzvah

Initiation ceremony marking the 13th birthday of a Jewish boy and signifying the beginning of religious responsibility.

Rosh Hashanah

Jewish New Year -- sounding of the shofar (rams horn), early fall.

Shabbat

Jewish Sabbath; Friday at sundown until Saturday at sundown

Yiddish

Jewish language; combination of German and Hebrew languages

Shalom

Jewish word which means "peace"

Shavuot

Means the festival of fruits/harvest; occurs in May or June; commemorates Moses' receiving of the Ten Commandments; to celebrate Jews offer fruits to each other, nighttime study sessions, and special readings of the Hebrew Bible

Passover

The night the Lord passed over the houses of the Israelites marked by the blood of the lamb, and spared the firstborn sons from the angel of death. It also is the feast that celebrates the deliverance of the Chosen People from bondage in Egypt and the Exodus from Egypt to the Promised Land.

Circumcision

The surgical removal of the male foreskin; it was the physical sign of the covenant between God and Abraham.

Matzah

The unleavened bread that is made before Passover because it represents how the Jews were unable to wait for their bread to rise the night before their exodus.

Gesundheit

Used to wish good health especially to one who has just sneezed

Torah

A Hebrew word meaning "law," referring to the first five books of the Old Testament.

Purim

A Jewish holiday based on the book of Esther, celebrates the Jewish people's escape from a genocidal plot against them by Haman. Early Spring

Menorah

A Jewish lamp-stand with seven or nine branches; the nine-branched one is used during the celebration of Hanukkah; representations of the seven-branched one, once used in the Temple of Jerusalem, became a symbol of Judaism

Talmud

A collection of rabbinical teachings collected after the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in AD 70; collection of laws.

Yom Kippur

A day set aside for fasting, depriving oneself of pleasures, and repenting from the sins of the previous year. Day of atonement. Most important holiday. Celebrated in early fall.

Sukkot

"booths"; a festival in the late autumn that recalls the Jews' period of wandering in the desert after their exodus from Egypt.

Bat Mitzvah

Initiation ceremony marking the 12th birthday of a Jewish girl and signifying the beginning of religious responsibility.

Mazel Tov

A jewish phrase expressing congratulations or wishing someone good luck

Zealot

A person who is fanatical and uncompromising in pursuit of their religious, political, or other ideals.

Messiah

A savior figure to be sent by God, awaited by the Jews.

Yarmulke

A small skullcap worn by Jewish men when they pray. Pronounced "Yah-mu-kuh"

Abba

Abba means "my Father" or "our Father" in Aramaic. A way of addressing God the Father used by Jesus to call attention to his—and our—intimate relationship with his Heavenly Father.

Hanukkah

An eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the recovery and dedication of the Temple of Jerusalem in 165 BC. Festival of Lights