Download Glossary of Jewish definitions

Unit 3- Judaism Glossary #1- General
1.
2.
Ark (not from Noah)
Chanukkah/Hanukkah
3.
Circumcision
4.
Covenant
5.
Conservative Judaism
6.
Hebrew
7.
Holocaust
8.
Kabbalah
9.
Kaddish
10. Kibbutz
11. Kosher
The cabinet where the Torah scrolls are kept
An eight day holiday celebrating the rededication of the
Temple in Jerusalem after it was defiled by the Seleucid
Greeks.
The outward symbol of the covenant between God and
Abraham. Removal of the foreskin, a commandment in
Judaism performed on the 8th day of a male child's life or
upon conversion to Judaism.
In theology and Biblical studies, the word "covenant"
principally refers to any of a number of solemn agreements
made between God and the children of Israel in the Hebrew
Bible. The foundation of the Torah is the belief that God
chose the Children of Israel, in His wisdom and for His
purposes, and made His covenant with them.
One of the major movements of Judaism, accepting the
binding nature of Jewish law but believing that the law can
change.
The language of the Torah, in which all prayer should be
recited.
The Holocaust (from the Greek holókaustos: hólos, "whole"
and kaustós, "burnt"),[2] also known as The Shoah (Hebrew:
HaShoah, "calamity"; Yiddish: Churben or Hurban,[3] from
the Hebrew for "destruction"), was the genocide of
approximately six million European Jews during World War
II, a program of systematic state-sponsored extermination by
Nazi Germany.[4] The genocide of these six million people
was genocide of two-thirds of the population of nine million
Jews who had resided in Europe before the Holocaust.[5]
Jewish mystical tradition.
While codes of Jewish law focus on what it is God wants
from man, kabbalah tries to penetrate deeper, to God's essence
itself.
The Kaddish is a prayer that praises God and expresses a
yearning for the establishment of God's kingdom on earth.
The emotional reactions inspired by the Kaddish come from
the circumstances in which it is said: it is recited at funerals
and by mourners, and sons are required to say Kaddish for
eleven months after the death of a parent.
The kibbutz (Hebrew word for “communal settlement”) is a
unique rural community; a society dedicated to mutual aid
and social justice; a socioeconomic system based on the
principle of joint ownership of property, equality and
cooperation of production, consumption and education; the
fulfillment of the idea “from each according to his ability, to
each according to his needs”; a home for those who have
chosen it.
The laws of Kashrut are the Jewish dietary laws. Food in
accordance with Jewish law is termed kosher, meaning "fit"
(in this context, fit for human consumption). Food not in
accordance with Jewish law is termed treifah or treif ("torn");
the term originally referred to animals which had been
slaughtered after being mortally wounded by wild beasts and
therefore were not fit for human consumption.
12. Menorah
13. Mezuzah
14. Orthodox Judaism
A candelabrum. Usually refers to the nine-branched
candelabrum used to hold the Chanukkah candles
Literally, doorpost. A case attached to the doorposts of
houses, containing a scroll with passages of scripture written
on it
One of the major movements of Judaism, believing that
Jewish law comes from God and cannot be changed.
15. Parveh
Food which is classified by the Jewish authorities
as neutral. It is neither milk nor meat and therefore
under the rules of kashrut can be eaten with either
16. Passover
Holiday commemorating the Exodus from Egypt.
The holiday also marks the beginning of the harvest
season.
One of the major movements of Judaism, an
outgrowth of Conservative that does not believe in a
personified deity and believes that Jewish law was
created by men.
The Sabbath (or Shabbat, as it is called in Hebrew) is a
precious gift from God, a day of great joy eagerly awaited
throughout the week, a time when we can set aside all of our
weekday concerns and devote ourselves to higher pursuits.
Shabbat is primarily a day of rest and spiritual enrichment.
The word "Shabbat" comes from the root Shin-Bet-Tav,
meaning to cease, to end, or to rest.
The Passover Seder is a Jewish ritual feast that marks the
beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is held on the
evening of the 14th day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar,
which corresponds to late March or April in the
Western/Christian calendar. The Seder is a ritual performed
by a community or by multiple generations of a family,
involving a retelling of the story of the liberation of the
Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt. Seder customs
include drinking four cups of wine, eating matza and
partaking of symbolic foods placed on the Passover Seder
Plate. The Seder is performed in much the same way by Jews
all over the world.
The Jewish Sabbath, a day of rest and spiritual enrichment
A ram's horn, blown like a trumpet as a call to repentance.
The Yiddish term for a Jewish house of worship. The term is
used primarily by Orthodox Jews
From a Greek root meaning assembly. The most widely
accepted term for a Jewish house of worship.
The six-pointed star emblem commonly associated with
Judaism. The six points symbolize God's rule over the
universe in all six directions. Originally, the Hebrew name
Magen David ― literally "Shield of David" ― poetically
referred to God. It acknowledges that the Jewish military
hero, King David, did not win by his own might, but by the
support of the Almighty. This is also alluded to in the third
blessing after the Haftorah reading on Shabbat: "Blessed are
you God, Shield of David."
17. Reconstructionist Judaism
18. Sabbath
19. Seder
20. Shabbat
21. Shofar
22. Shul
23. Synagogue
24. Star of David
25. Talmud
The most significant collection of the Jewish oral tradition
interpreting the Torah. The central text of mainstream
Judaism, in the form of a record of rabbinic discussions
pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and
history. The Talmud has two components: the Mishnah (c.
200 CE), the first written compendium of Judaism's Oral Law;
and the Gemara (c. 500 CE), a discussion of the Mishnah and
related Tannaitic writings that often ventures onto other
subjects and expounds broadly on the Tanakh.
26. Tallit/Tefillin
A shawl-like garment worn during morning services, with
tzitzit (long fringes) attached to the corners as a reminder of
the commandments. / Leather pouches containing scrolls with
passages of scripture, used to fulfill the commandment to bind
the commandments to our hands and between our eyes.
The central place of worship in ancient Jerusalem, where
sacrifices were offered, destroyed in 70 C.E. Reform Jews
commonly use the term "temple" to refer to their houses of
worship.
Tikkun olam is a Hebrew phrase that means "repairing the
world." In Judaism, the concept of tikkun olam originated in
the early rabbinic period. The concept was given new
meanings in the kabbalah of the medieval period and further
connotations in modern Judaism.
In its narrowest sense, Torah is Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,
Numbers, and Deuteronomy. In its broadest sense, Torah is
the entire body of Jewish teachings
Fringes attached to the corners of garments as a reminder of
the commandments
A name of the Hebrew God, represented in Hebrew by the
tetragrammaton ("four letters") (Yod Heh Vav Heh),
transliterated into Roman script Y H W H. Because it was
considered blasphemous to utter the name of God it was only
written and never spoken. This resulted in the original
pronunciation being lost. The name may have originally been
derived from the old Semitic root (hawah) meaning "to be" or
"to become".
The most commonly known and recognized piece of Jewish
garb is actually the one with the least religious significance.
The word yarmulke (usually, but not really correctly,
pronounced yammica) is Yiddish. According to Leo Rosten's
The Joys of Yiddish, it comes from a Tartar word meaning
skullcap. According to some Orthodox and Chasidic rabbis, it
comes from the Aramaic words "yerai malka" (fear of or
respect for The King). The Hebrew word for this head
covering is kippah (pronounced key-pah). It is an ancient
practice for Jews to cover their heads during prayer.
The "international language" of German Jews, based
primarily on German with words taken from Hebrew and
many Slavic languages, and written in the Hebrew Alphabet.
27. Temple
28. Tikkun
29. Torah
30. Tzittzit
31. Yahweh
32. Yarmulke/Kippah
(often mispronounced as Yammike
33. Yiddish