Glossary
To make this website as accessible as possible, we offer the following glossary of terms used elsewhere on the site.
It is a work in progress.
We'll try to err on the side of caution, and include any Hebrew, Yiddish, or Yinglish word you might run into here.
If we've not done justice to a term here, or have missed a term used elsewhere on the site, please
try to let us know.
Jump to section:
- Aleinu
- Prayer near the end of each of the three daily services.
- Amah
- Unit of measure about the length from elbow to fingertip (known in English as "cubit"). Plural: amos.
A common halachic measure is 4 amos. With the number 4
expressed via the letter daled (or dalet or dales), this measure is referred to as daled amos.
- Amidah
- Another term for Shemoneh Esrei.
- Amud
- Piece of furniture where the leader of the prayer service stands at and places his prayer book.
Or sometimes just the location where the leader is standing.
- Ashkenaz
- [to be filled in]
- Assur
- Prohibited halachically.
- Az Yashir
- Portion of the Torah recounting H-shem's saving Bnei Yisrael at the splitting of the Sea of Reeds, said towards the end of Pesukei d'Zimra.
- Ashrei
- Prayer said at the beginning of Mincha (the afternoon service), plus twice in Shacharis (the morning service). "Ashrei" is the first word said at Mincha.
- b'Shogeig
- Unintentionally.
- Baal tefilla
- Person leading the prayer service.
- Baal t'shuva
- Someone who wasn't religious before but now is.
- Bachur
- Young man.
- Baflacor
- The Barry Flass Coat Room
- Baruch She'amar
- Opening blessing of the Pesukei d'Zimra portion of the morning service.
- B'di'eved
- OK, but not ideal.
- Beis Medrash
- Building or room inside another building where Jews study Torah. There are generally an assortment of sefarim there.
- Beis haMikdash
- The Holy Temple.
- Bim'heira b'yameinu
- Speedily in our days.
- Bnei Torah
- Children of Torah, meaning people with a strong commitment to Torah and halacha.
- Bnei Yisrael
- Children of Israel, an often-used reference to the Jewish people.
- Borchu
- Phrase that is said in the morning service at the beginning of the segment in which the Shema is recited.
- Bracha
- Blessing.
- Bria
- Creation, or state of the physical world.
- Chasidim
- In addition to its meaning nowadays, it also refers to especially pious individuals of earlier times.
- Chazal
- Acronym for "Chachameinu, zichronom l'vracha", which means "our wise ones, may the rememberance of them
be for a blessing."
- Chazaras haShatz
- Repetition of the Shemoneh Esrei by the shaliach tzibur.
- Cheshbon haNefesh
- Doing a accounting of yourself from the perspective of Torah.
- Chiyuv
- Obligation.
- Chizuk
- Strength, of the reinforcing kind.
- Choshen Mishpat
- Volume of Jewish law dealing with finance-related halachas.
- Cudgelwielders
- Perenially losing local team of the National Creditball League. Referred to affectionately as "the Cudgies".
- Daven
- To pray as a Jew.
- Devarim
- Deuteronomy.
- Eitza
- Piece of advice.
- Eretz Yisrael
- The land of Israel.
- Ezras Avoseinu
- One of the paragraphs said in the morning service between Shema Yisrael and Shemonah Esrei.
- Falafel
- Popular Israeli food made from balls made of spices and chick pea flour, deep fried.
- Frum
- Religious.
- Gawlapur
- Gertrude and Wilhelm Loghshmeer All Purpose Room.
- Gemara
- A major component of the Oral Torah.
- Gilgul
- Instance of reincarnation.
- Halacha
- Torah law. Adjective derived from it is "halachic," meaning having to do with Torah law.
- Halevai
- Exclamation to the effect of, "If only that would be true!"
- HaNosein LaYo'ef Koach
- One of the morning blessings, "Who gives strength to the weary."
- H-shem
- G-d.
- Havdalah
- Ceremony marking the end of Shabbos. It involves wine, spices, and a candle.
- Hisbodedus
- Seclusion.
- Hisbonenus
- Meditation.
- Hodu
- Paragraph said toward the beginning of Pesukei d'Zimra.
- Ikkar
- The main point or principle (as opposed to toffel, which is subsidiary to the main point).
- Issur
- Halachic prohibition. An issur d'Oraisa is a more severe prohibition, as it is specified in the Torah.
An issur d'Rabbanan is one that is enacted by the Sages - still binding, but the penalty is often less severe.
- Kaddish
- Aramaic prayer said at a number of points during a service, sometimes by the person leading prayers, and sometimes by mourners.
- Kal v'Chomer
- Type of logical argument that says if such-and-such is true for the more lenient case,
of course it will be true for the more stringent case.
- Kapital (pl. Kapitalech)
- Chapter (usually of Psalms).
- Kav
- Common unit of dry essure in halacha. Its use in exclamations, for instance "kav of bones", is strictly fictional at this point.
- Kavanna
- An essential part of prayer that often some of us don't quite achieve.
It is translated as one or more among: concentration, intention, aim.
- Kavod
- Honor.
- Kehilla
- Congregation.
- Klopp
- A bang with a hand on something hard, to signify the beginning of a prayer service or a reminder that the Shemonah Esrei has some differences to keep in mind (because sometimes you can't interrupt with speech to say what is different).
- Korban
- Sacrificial offering.
- Krias Shema al HaMita
- Prayer, including the Shema, said before going to sleep at night.
- L'chatichila
- Ideal.
- Maaser
- Portion of income set aside for aiding the poor.
- Malach
- Angel.
- Mazel tov
- Congratulations and other types of well wishes.
- Metsudah
- A publisher of prayer and other Jewish books, many of which feature Hebrew on the right side of a page with the English translation of the phrase on the left side.
- Mevushal
- Cooked; often used to refer to wine which has been heated over a certain temperature during processing, which then affects
its halachic properties.
- Mincha
- The afternoon service.
- Minyan
- A quorum of ten or more men, required to say certain parts of the prayer service. Also, this quorum in davening action.
- Mishna Brura
- One of the most often referred-to sefarim on halacha, written by the Chofetz Chaim.
- Mispallelim
-
- People who are engaged in praying.
- Mitzvah
- Commandment.
- Modim
- 18th bracha in the Shemoneh Esrei, where we give thanks to H-shem.
- Morah d'Asra
- Religious head of the community.
- NCL
- National Creditball League
- Nosh
- Snack (noun and verb).
- Nu?
- So? Well? Interjections like that.
- Nusach
- [to be filled in]
- Pasuk
- Verse (plural, pesukim).
- Perek
- Section or chapter of a sefer or prayer service.
- Pesukei d'Zimra
- Collection of verses of praise said at the outset of the morning service.
- Posul my eidus
- Another fictional exclamation. Would mean literally, "discredit my testimony."
- Rabbanim
- High-level Torah authorities of the past and present.
- Rabbi
- [to be filled in]
- Reb
- Title often used for ordinary lay folk, as opposed to Rav or Rabbi for those with a measure of Torah authority.
- Reshus
- Domain (as in private, public, etc.). A factor in many halachas.
- Ribbono Shel Olam
- Master of the Universe, a reference to H-shem.
- Rosh Chodesh
- First day of the month (sometimes including last day of previous month).
- Sefard
- [to be filled in]
- Sefer (plural, sefarim)
- Literally, book, but used here means a book with Torah content.
- Shacharis
- The morning service.
- Shaila
- Question on a matter of Torah law.
- Shaimos
- Names (of Hashem). Often extended to any Torah-related written content. Must be treated with dignity. Can't be simply thrown out.
- Shaliach Tzibur
- The person leading the service, who serves as the agent of the congregation.
- Shalom aleichem
- Popular greeting, literally kind of "peace on you."
- Shamayim
- Heaven, or sky.
- Shaym
- Name (I gave that as an alternate spelling).
- Shema
- Section of the Torah recited in morning and evening services where we declare the One-ness of H-shem.
It is one of the cornerstones of Jewish prayer services and of our faith.
- Shemoneh Esrei
- The silent prayer which serves as the focal part of the prayer services. It consists of 19 blessings on weekdays, fewer on Sabbaths and holidays.
- Shir shel yom
- Song particular to the day of the week, said at the end of the morning service.
- Shiur
- Class on a Torah topic.
- Shtimm
- Go together. Usually used in the negative.
- Shul
- Synagogue.
- Siddur
- Prayer book.
- Sof Zman Krias Shema
- Latest time one can say the Shema prayer in the morning. Sof = end, Zman = time, Krias = reading, Shema = Shema.
- Succos
- Jewish holiday in which most of one's time is spent in a temporary structure outside one's home.
Also features hoshannas, which is a part of the synagogue service in which the members of the minyan
circle around the lectern at which the Torah is read.
- Sugya
- Topic of study.
- Tachanun
- Supplicatory prayer said after Shemonah Esrei in the morning and afternoon. The version said on Monday and Thursday mornings is much longer than the version said at other times.
- Tallis
- Prayer shawl.
- Tanach
- Acronym that represents the complete written Torah - Five Books of Moses, Prophets, and Writings.
- Taryag
- When numbers are expressed with Hebrew letters, "taryag" would be the pronunciation of the number 613. That is the number of
mitzvos in the Torah.
- Techeiles
- A bluish color (maybe turquoise, maybe something else) which the Torah says must be the color of one of the threads in tzitzis.
There is a specific source of techeiles used in tzitzis, and there is uncertainty whether what is called techeiles today is the
authentic thing, so most people don't use techeiles in their tzitzis.
- Tefach
- Unit of measure about the width of a hand. Plural: tefachim. A common halachic measure is 10 tefachim. With the number 10
expressed via the letter yud, this measure is referred to as yud tefachim.
- Tefilla
- Prayer (plural, tefillos).
- Tefillin
- Phylacteries, worn on the arm and the head during davening at primarily the morning service.
- Tehillim
- Psalms.
- Teshuva
- Repentance.
- Torah
- [to be filled in]
- Tzibur
- Public, or community, or congregation.
- Tzitzis
- Threads which, according to halacha, must be tied at each corner of a four-cornered garment.
- Vilna Gaon
- [to be filled in]
- Yarmulke
- Skullcap.
- Yeshiva
- School of study of Torah.
- Yetzer hara
- The evil inclination.
- Yiddishkeit
- Judaism.
- Chasuna
- Gvir (plural gvirim)
- Gabbai
- Yahrzeit
- Avel
- Kever
- Kapitel
- Ad meia v'esrim shana
- Chutzpahdik
- L'chaim
- Yevamos
- Eruvin
- Mishnah (plural, Mishnayos)
- Heicha Kedusha
- V'hu rachum
