A-Z Jewish Terms and pronounciation - Work in progress

Rabbi Hyman Krustofsky and his son, Krusty the clown from The Simpsons, third season.

Have you ever been stuck over a Jewish word or confused by a word you hear in Shul or elsewhere? Here is a guide to how to talk the Jewish talk. It is work in progress, so if you do not find the word you are looking for, please email me and hopefully I'll know what it means!


If you see a word which you do not understand that is used to explain a term, look for that word's entry in the list.

Here are a few general notes and pointers for understanding some aspects of Hebrew pronounciation.

Hebrew nouns and adjectives are either masculine or feminine. Masculine plurals end in '- im'. Feminine plurals end in '- ot' for Ivrit (Modern Hebrew ) or Sepharadi pronounciation. Alternatively, plural end in '-os' for Ashkenazi pronounciation. See, you already have two terms!!

'Ch' is pronounced as a gutteral, as in 'loch'.

The 'T' shaped Hebrew vowel is pronounced 'uh' in Ivrit and 'oh' in Ashkenazi pronounciation.

Examples

1. If an adjective or noun ends with the letter Tav, then it is pronounced 't' in Ivrit/Sepharadi and 's' in Ashkenzai. For example, Simchat Torah/Simchas Torah.

2.The word Shabbat/Shabbos is a singular feminine and ends in '-os' despite this. Therefore the plural is Shabbatot or Shabbosos.

In the following list, plurals are in (brackets) and written with Ivrit pronounciation. When Ashkenazi pronounciation is commonly used, it is written alongside the Ivrit pronounciation. Please contact me if you have any questions or want to read them with Ashkenazi pronounciation and need some help:

A
Aliya/ot - literally means 'going up'. Refers to call-ups to the Torah and also to going to live in Israel.

Anim Zemirot - a special responsive song recited on Shabbat and Yom Tov in many communities, often sung by a young boy.
Aron Hakodesh - the Holy Ark. This refers to the Ark in the Shul which holds the Sifrei Torah and also refers to the Aron (Ark) in the Mishkan described in the Torah.
Aveil (im) - a mourner.
Aveilut - being in mourning.

B
Bedikat Chamaitz - searching for Chamaitz before Pesach.
Beit Hamikdash - the two Temples that stood in Jerusalem.
Beit Knesset - Hebrew term for a Synagogue/Shul.
Beit Midrash - Study room, sometimes also used for prayer services.
Bima - the platform in a Shul, often where the Chazan leads prayers and where the leining takes place. In some shuls, the Chazan leads prayers from a different location.
Brit Mila/Bris Mila - circumcision. See here for more information.

C
Chazan - cantor, leader of communal prayers.

Chumash - Pentateuch, 5 Books of Moses.
Chupa - marriage canopy. Also used colloquially to refer to the whole wedding ceremony.

D
Daven - Yiddish word for prayer or praying. Sometimes anglicised to 'davening'.
Dinim - laws.

E
Eid(im) - religiously competent witnesses for certain ceremonies and for executing some commercial deals in Jewish law.

Eirusin- the first part of the marriage ceremony, the betrothal, which concludes with the giving of the ring.

Erev- the eve, such as Erev Shabbat=Friday.

Eruv/Eruv Chatzairot - an area in which items may be freely carried in the street on Shababt. Without such an Eruv, items may not be carried from one domain to another on Shabbat.

F
Frum- Yiddish for piety, religiousity.

G
Gabbai - voluntary warden of a Shul, an administrator; a administrator of charitable funds.
Gelila - rolling and dressing the Sefer Torah after Hagbaha.

H

Halacha/Halocho - Jewish law.
Haftara/Haftora - a reading from one of the books of Nevi'im to supplement the leining on Shabbat or Yom Tov.
Hagbaha - lifting up the Sefer Torah after the leining.
Havdala - short ceremony marking the end of Shabbat or Yom Tov. Either Havdala or a verbal proforma that Shabbat or Yom Tov has ended - 'Baruch Hamavdil bein Kodesh leChol' must be made to end Shabbat or Yom Tov. See page 608 in the green Siddur and page 618 in the Artscroll Siddur.

I
Ivrit - modern Hebrew, as opposed to Biblical Hebrew.

J

K
Kashrut/Kashrus - relating to kosher food; describes how something is suitable.
Keriat HaTorah - the reading of the Torah, aka leining.
Korban(ot) - a sacrifice.

L
Leining - a Yiddish word to for Keriat HaTorah, the reading of the Torah.
Luach - a calendar

M
Maariv - the evening prayers
Mincha - the afternoon prayers
Mohel - the person who performs Brit Mila. See here.

Musaf - Literally means 'additional'. An additional prayer recited on Shabbat, Yom Tov and Rosh Chodesh. A special korban was offered on these days in the Beit Hamikdash. After the destruction of the Beit Hamikdash, the Musaf prayer is recited instead.

N
Nevi'im - the books of the Prophets, the second part of the Bible. Runs from the book of Yeshoshua (Joshua) to the book of Malachi (Malachi).

O

P
Parasha (Parashat Hashavua) aka 'Sidra' - the weekly Shababt Torah reading; a 'parasha' also refers to one of the sections of the Parashat Hashavua.
Peticha/Pesicha- opening the Aron Hakodesh.
Parev/Parve - food which which is neither meat not dairy.

Q


R
Rosh Chodesh - the beginning of a new month in the Jewish calendar.

S

Sefer Torah - the Torah scroll containing the 5 books of Moses.

Seuda Shelishit - the third of the three Shabbat meals, eaten on Shabbat afternoon.

Sidra aka Parash/Parashat Hashavua - the weekly ShabbatTorah reading.

Shacharit/Shacharis - the morning prayers.

Shiur - Class or lesson.

T

Tanach/Tenach - an acronym of Torah, Nevi'im, Ketuvim which are the three sections of the Bible. This is the Hebrew phrase for the Bible.

Tefila(ot) - prayer.

U

V

W

X

Y

Yartzeit - the yearly anniversary of a deceased persons passing.

Z

Zeman - a time, such as the cut-off time for eating Chametz on Erev Pesach.