Bar
Mitzvah
|
Son of the commandment
(a boy who has reached
the age of religious
maturity, age 13,
culminating in a special
ceremony)
|
Barucha
|
Means :blessings";
prayer offered on any
occasion which calls for
praise
|
Bat
Mitzvah
|
Daughter of the
commandment (a girl who
has reached the age of
religious maturity, 12 or
13, culminating in a
special ceremony)
|
Bris
|
Covenant of circumcision
(Genesis 17:9-14)
|
Cabalah
|
Kabbalah in Hebrew;
means "transmitted
teachings" or "tradition";
mystical Judaism based
on The Zohar; concerned
with Jewish speculation
on the mysteries of God
and the universe;
derives neither from
revelation nor from
science, but from
individual mystical
speculations which
became more and more
esoteric; only initiated
considered capable of
comprehending or
communicating
knowledge accumulated
in this manner
|
Chazzan
|
Cantor (usually the
leader of the service)
|
Haftorah
|
Section of the Prophets
read immediately after
the reading of the Torah
in the services on
Shabbat and on most
holidays
|
Halakhah
|
Tradition, practice, rule
in Judaism
|
Hallel
|
Psalms of praise (root
word of Hallelujah
|
Huppah
|
Bridal canopy denoting
God's presence in the
new home, and a
reminder of the Temple
at Jerusalem; symbolic of
God's dwelling place with
man
|
Kabbalah
|
Jewish mysticism; see
also Cabalah
|
Kaddish
|
Means "Holy"; praise to
God recited in memorial
to the departed
|
Kashrut
|
Means "kosher"; clean,
acceptable food in
accordance with Jewish
Law (especially excluding
pork and shell fish)
(Deuteronomy 14:3-21)
|
Ketubah
|
Jewish marriage contract
|
Kiddush
|
Benediction over the
"fruit of the vine" (wine)
in the ceremony of
sanctification of Shabbat
and holidays
|
Megillot
|
Means "scrolls"; part of
the Ketuvim, includingg
the books of Esther
(known as the Megillah),
Lamentations, Song of
Solomon, Ruth, and
Ecclesiastes
|
Menorah
|
Candle holder; a
seven-branch menorah
used (Exodus 25:31-37)
except during Hanukkah,
when a nine-branch
menorah is used to
remind Jews that a
container of oil found
when the Temple was
being cleansed and
rededicated burned for
eight days instead of one
day- long enough for
more oil to be
consecrated according
to Scripture
|
Mezuzah
|
Parchment scroll usually
in a metal container
attached to the door post
on the right side of the
entrance to a house or
room (Deuteronomy 6:9),
containg the Shema
(Deeuteronomy 6:4-11)
and the Vehoyo Shamon,
section dealing with
God's love and precepts
(Deauteronomy 11:13-21);
also worn as jewelry
|
Mikvah
|
Means "immerse"; ritual
bath of purification
|
Minyan
|
Quoram needed for a
service (ten men, 13
years older)
|
Mitzvah
|
Command; commonly
used to mean "a good
deed"
|
Ner Tamid
|
Perpetual light signifying
God's presence
|
Nevi'im
|
The Prophets (books of
prophecy)
|
Ruach Ha
Codesh
|
The Holy Spirit
|
Shulchan
Aruch
|
Codified laws of Rabbinic
Judaism
|
Shammash
|
Caretaker or sexton of
the synagogue or temple
|
Shema
|
Jewish affirmation of
faith (Deuteronomy 6:4),
recited morning and
evening by religious
Jews and during all
worship services
|
Shivah
|
Seven-day mourning
period interupted only on
the Sabbath or major
holidays
|
Shule
|
Another word for an
Orthodox of Chasidic
synagogue, from the
German word for school;
it indicates that the chief
purpose of the
synagogue is for the
study of the Law (the
Torah)
|
Siddur
|
Prayer book (contains
prayers, Scripture, order
of services)
|
Synagogue
|
Means "assembly"; this
word usually indicates
either Orthodox or
Conservative Judaism
(the word church is its
equivalent)
|
Tallit
|
Prayer shawl worn by
men during worship in
the synagogue or at home
|
Talmud
|
Means "study"; oral
traditions, discussions,
and instructions in 37
volumes (English) of the
great rabbis and scholars
of Judaism (100 B.C.E. to
200 C.#.); consists of two
distinct parts (1) the
Mishnah and a
commentary on it and (2)
the Gemara (there are
two Gemaras, and thus
two Talmuds - the
Babylonian and the
Palestinian);contains a
commentary on Scripture
written by "Tannaim"
(teachers mentioned in
the Mishnah, A.D. 1-200);
"Amoraim" (teachers
mentioned in the
Gemara); and "Saborim"
(reasoners who added
comments to the Talmud
in teh sixth and seventh
centuries); consists of 63
tractates. By the time the
Mishnah was completed,
this system of comments
had become more
important than the
Scripture upon which it
was based- thus began
Talmudic or Rabbinic
Judaism, culminating in
what we call Orthodox
Judaism; translations
available in Hebrew,
English, German, and
possibly other languages.
|
Talmud Torah
|
Community religious
school teaching Hebrew,
Talmud, the Law (Torah),
and sometimes secular
subjects
|
Tefillin
|
Leather boxes attached
to leather thongs wound
around the head and
arm, used by very
religious Jews during
prayer; the box contains
portions of the Torah
(Deuteronomy 6:8), also
called Phylacteries
|
Temple
|
Place of worship of
Reform Jews
|
Tenach
(TeNaK)
|
Torah, Nevi'im, Ketuvim
(the Old Testament);
commentary on the
Tenach called the Oral
Tradition
|
Torah
|
The five books of Moses;
the Law; also known as
the Chumash
|
Trefeh
|
Unclean, forbidden food
|
Tzaddik
|
Means "righteous one";
usually applied to a
spiritual leader or to one
who is learned and pious
|
Tzitzit
|
The fringes attached to
the four corners of the
tallit (Numbers 15:38-40)
|
Yahrzeit
|
Death anniversary; the
tombstone unveiling
ceremony conducted on
the first anniversary of
death; each year
observance of the
anniversary is made at
home, by the lighting of a
special candle, and at
synagogue
|
Yarmulkah
|
Skull cap used to cover
men's heads, especially
during worship in the
synagogue or home (or
kippot - "covering")
|
Yeshivah
|
Religious school of
higher learning (high
school, and so forth)
|
Yitzkor
|
Means "May he
remember"; memorial to
the dead and
re-dedication to the
spiritual heritage of the
fathers
|
