A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z
A Abraham The founding father of the people Israel and the first of the three patriarchs. According to Genesis, he was the first person with whom God chose to have a special relationship.
Aramaic A semitic language, like Hebrew, which was the primary language spoken by Jews in Israel and the Middle East from about the fifth century.
Ashkenazic Judaism This is the term used to describe the Jews who lived, and to some extent still live, primarily in northern Europe, away from the Mediterranean nations.
B Bar Mitzvah, Bat Mitzvah A Bar Mitzvah is a rite of passage for a boy into manhood at the age of 13, when he takes on the full responsibilities of a worshipper. In recent decades, Reform and Conservative Judaism have created Bat Mitzvahs to celebrate a girl’s coming of age at 12.
Brit Milah In Judaism, brit milah or bris (circumcision) is the removal of the foreskin of the penis and serves as an outward physical sign of the eternal covenant between God and the Jewish people. It is performed on all male babies eight days after their birth by a ritual surgeon called a mohel.
C Chanukah Chanukah means dedication, but the festival itself is known as the Festival of Lights. It celebrates the rededication of Jerusalem’s Second Temple in 166 BCE and the miracle of its menorah (nine-stem candelabrum), which was kept alight for eight days with one day’s oil.
Chuppah The canopy under which the bride and groom stand during a wedding ceremony.
Classical Judaism Same as Rabbinic Judaism.
Conservative Judaism Although it began in Europe, Conservative Judaism really took off and flourished in the United States at the beginning of the twentieth century.
Covenant Covenant is a biblical term describing an ‘agreement’ between God and the Jewish people. God makes covenants with Abraham, Issac, Jacob and Moses promising that He will be their God of the people Israel if they will be his people.
D David David was the first king of the united monarchy and transformed the twelve tribes of Israel into a unified nation (around 1000 BCE).
Day of Atonement The Day of Atonement takes place between Rosh Hashanah (New Year) and Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles). In Hebrew, it is called Yom Kippur. It is a time when all Jews atone for their sins and plead with God for forgiveness.
Diaspora The term for all lands outside the Land of Israel.
Dietary Rules Same as Kosher.
E Eighteen Benedictions This is an ancient prayer regularly recited in the fixed prayers three times a day.
Emancipation When the Enlightenment enabled Jews in Europe to become citizens of the nations in which they lived, they gained the same rights as other citizens. As a result, Jews were no longer restricted to where they lived. They moved out of the ghettos, mixed with non-Jews, voted in elections and generally became integral parts of each nation.
Enlightenment An intellectual movement in Europe that held that the power of reason and rational thought was the highest source of knowledge and understanding. For Jews, the Enlightenment led to the Emancipation.
F
G Ghetto In the Middle Ages, European cities often confined Jews to living in a specified district of town, a place that often had gates that were closed at night. The term ghetto comes from the name of an island in Venice, the restricted area for Jewish residence called Ghato.
God In the Hebrew Bible, there are two terms for God, namely, Yahweh and Elohim. Yahweh is God’s name, while Elohim is usually translated as the title Lord.
H Halakhah The halakhah is the body of ritual, moral, ethical, and religous rules that govern the life of an observant Jew. The terms literally means the path that one walks.
Hasidism Hasidic Jews continue the mystical aspects of traditional faith into the modern period. They are essentially Orthodox and highly observant of Halakhah.
Holocaust The Holocaust, referred to in Hebrew as the Shoah, is the term given to the destruction of six million Jews by the Nazis during World War II (in addition to gypsies, homosexuals, blacks, the disabled , and other minorities).
I Isaac One of the three patriarchs. He was the son of Abraham and the father of Jacob.
Israeli An inhabitant of the modern state of Israel. It cannot be used to designate the ancient Jews nor should it be confused with Israelite.
Israelites This is the main term Jews used for Jews of the Bible Period. Another term used to designate them then was Hebrews.
J Jacob Jacob is the third patriarch. God changed his name to Israel and made him the father of the people Israel –the Jews. His twelve sons were each the founding father of one of the twelve tribes of Israel.
Jerusalem Jerusalem was originally the capital city of the United Kingdom of Israel under David and Solomon. After Solomon’s death, it was the capital city of the Kingdom of Judah. It was destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BCE, but rebuilt then destroyed again by the Romans in 70 CE.
Jews The definition of a Jew has traditionally been straightforward: a Jew is someone who was born to a Jewish mother or who converted to Judaism.
K Kaddish An Aramaic prayer that praises and blesses God. It is often said by mourners as a memorial prayer. The word kaddish means sanctification and so the prayer can be seen as sanctifying (making holy) God's name.
Kohein (pl. Koheinim) Koheinim are descendants of Aaron (brother of Moses) and are the priestly caste of Judaism. Jews today with the last name of Cohen, Coehn, Katz are often Koheinim.
Kosher To ‘keep kosher’ means to keep the Jewish dietary rules (which are called kashrut). Kashut means literally fit or proper, and determines what food Jews can and cannot eat and how these foods must be prepared.
L
M Matriarchs, the four The four matriarchs are the wives of the three patriarchs. Sarah was Abraham’s wife, Rebecca was Isaac’s wife, and Rachel and Leah were the wives of Jacob. They are seen as paragons of womanly virtues in Judaism.
Moshiach The moshiach (or messiah) literally means the annointed one. The moshiach will be a human who brings an end to wickedness, sin and heresy and will herald a new dawn for Israel. A belief in the moshiach is a basic and fundamental part of traditional Judaism.
Mezuzah A small box, usually decorated, fixed to the door post of a Jewish home. It marks the distinction between the profane outside world and the holy world inside.
Mitzvah (pl. Mitzvot) Literally means commandment, as in The Ten Commandments. It is used to refer to actions that a Jew is required or expected to perform.
Mohel A trained ritual surgeon who performs circumcisions.
Moses In the book of Exodus, Moses was chosen by God, in a face-to-face encounter, to lead the Israelite slaves out of Egypt to the Promised Land, the Land of Canaan. He is the greatest of all the prophets, to whom God revealed the Torah on Mount Sinai.
N
O Orthodox Judaism Orthodox Judaism is Traditional Judaism and holds that the Torah is the word of God and cannot be altered by man.
P Passover A spring religious festival that usually takes place in April. Passover, called Pesach in Hebrew, commemorates the Exodus from Egypt.
Patriarchs, the three The three men with whom God had a special relationship: Abraham, his son Isaac, and his son Jacob. Jacob, who was renamed Israel by God, fathered twelve sons. The descendants of these sons became the Twelve Tribes of the people Israel. Their wives are known as the four matriarchs.
Purim The festival celebrating the saving of the Babylonian Jews from genocide by Queen Esther.
Q
R Rabbi In Hebrew, Rabbi literally means my teacher or my master.
Rabbinic Judaism This is the form of Judaism created by the rabbis during the Rabbinic Period and recorded in the Talmud.
Rebbe The main leader of a Hasidic community, essentially the Grand Rabbi.
Reform Judaism Reform Judaism was the first stream of Judaism to differentiate itself from Traditional Judaism at the start of the Modern Period.
Rosh Hashannah In Hebrew, this term literally means New Year. It is a joyous holiday, usually in September, which begins the New Jewish year.
S Sabbath According to the first chapter of Genesis, God created the world in six days and on the seventh he rested. Therefore, Judaism holds that the seventh day is a holy day, when no work should be done.
Synagogue Synagogue is from the Greek, meaning assembly. The synagogue is the main place of worship for Judaism. Until the modern period, it was primarily a gathering place for all Jews and thus the name. Used for worship throughout the week, it is the centre of the Jewish religious community. In Hebrew, it is known as the Bet K’nesset (House of Assembly).
T Talmud The Talmud – specifically the Babylonian Talmud – is a written compilation of two books: the oral laws (Mishna), and commentaries on them (Gemara). It was composed by the rabbis living in Babylon and records sayings of many great rabbis. It was ‘published’ in the sixth century CE. It provides a comprehensive interpretation of the written laws of the Torah.
Ten Commandments The most famous part of the covenant between God and the people of Israel given to Moses at Mount Sinai (see Exodus).
Torah Torah is a word with many meanings. (1) It refers to the first five books of the Hebrew Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. These were the first books to become sacred in Judaism. (2) It sometimes refers to the whole Hebrew Bible itself. (3) It means the Dual Torah, the Written Torah of the Hebrew Bible and the Oral Torah of the rabbis. (4) It can mean the rules, principles, beliefs contained in one of the Torah texts or collections of texts.
Traditional Judaism Traditional Judaism refers to the form of Judaism practiced during the Medieval Period. It is based primarily on the Talmud; its central religious authority is the rabbis; worship takes place in the synagogue.
Treif Food that is not kosher and therefore may not be eaten by observant Jews. Literally means torn, and derives from the commandment not to eat animals torn by other animals.
Twelve Tribes The twelve tribes were descended from and named after the twelve sons of Jacob. Together they make up the people Israel. The twelve sons of Jacob are: Reuben, Issachar, Asher, Gad, Judah, Benjamin, Simeon, Levi, Zebulan, Joseph, Naphtali, and Dan.
U Ultra-Orthodox Judaism This is a term used to identify Jewish groups who keep to the strict letter of the Jewish law.
V
W Wailing Wall The Wailing Wall (or Kotel in Hebrew) is the outer western wall of the Temple in Jerusalem. It is the only lasting remnant of the Temple and is the most holy site in Judaism.
Writings The Writings are the books of the Tanak classified in Hebrew as ketubim. They are: Psalms, Proverbs, Job, the Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiates, Esther, Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah, and Chronicles.
X
Y Yahrzeit This is the anniversary of the death of a close relative. At this time every year, it is customary for the nearest relative to the deceased to say the kaddish prayer in memory of the dead person.
Yiddish Yiddish is a dialect of German written in Hebrew characters. It was spoken by Jews living in Germany, or whose ancestors had lived in Germany before migrating.
Yom Kippur See Day of Atonement.
Z Zionism In short, Zionism is a political movement to create and maintain a Jewish state in Israel (or Zion), the land promised to the Jews in the Bible.
|
Contact
