Abba – Means ‘father’
Acharit HaYamim – Means ‘end of days’
Afikomen – Means ‘dessert’ – it contains a broken piece of matzah and is hidden during the Passover seder only to be brought out at the end of the meal (hence ‘dessert’).
Aliyah – To immigrate to the land of Israel, also being called to read from Torah at shul or to recite the blessing.
Apostolic Writings – aka New Testament or Brit Chadasha
Ashkenazi – Eastern and central European Jews also, Jews from France; Ashkenazi have customs that differ from Sephardic Jews.
B”H – an abbreviation of Baruch HaShem which means “Blessed is The Name (Praise the L-RD).” Baruch HaShem is also a common Hebrew response to greetings such as “What’s new?” or “How’s it going?”, etc.
Baruch Means blessed (Blessings begin with “Baruch atah…”); Berachot = Blessings.
Brit Chadasha – Means ‘New Covenant’ aka New Testament or Apostolic Writings.
Chag Sameach – A greeting used to mean ‘Happy Holiday’ during the festivals. Can be personalized for the specific moedim: Chag Pesakh, Chag Sukkot, etc.
Challah – A braided sweet egg bread served traditionally in a braided loaf shape for the weekly shabbat and served in a round shape for Rosh Hoshana.
Chametz – Means ‘leaven’ which is forbidden during Pesach (Passover) and Chag HaMatzah (Unleavened Bread).
Chanukah or Hanukkah – Means “Dedication” [festival of] and traditionally commemorates both the battle triumph of the Maccabees in recapturing Jerusalem and the temple miracle of the olive oil burning for 8 straight days which the rabbis teach.
Chanukiah or Hanukiah – The 9-branched menorah used at Chanukah, as opposed to the biblical 7-branched menorah.
Charoset – Traditionally, this is mixture of apples, raisons, nuts and wine served at Pesach (Passover) to represent mortar on the seder plate.
Chasidic or Hasidic – A sect of Orthodox Judaism.
Circumlocution – The use of evasive speech, a roundabout or indirect way of speaking. An example is to use “Heaven” instead of using the Name of G-d.
Daven – To pray.
Days of Awe – Traditionally, the ten days following Rosh Hoshana and preceding Yom Kippur; aka “Ten Days of Awe.” This is a time to examine one’s life, make peace, seek forgiveness and make amends for all the wrongs committed in the previous year.
Diaspora – The dispersion of the Jewish people to lands outside of Israel.
Dispensationalism – Relatively new church doctrine which divides G-d’s Plan up into two separate dispensations; it pits Torah against Grace; an age of Israel against a church age. Basically, Dispensationalism creates a confused G-d and confused followers. It leads to anomianism (lawlessness) and pre-tribulational eschatology scenarios to accommodate G-d’s supposed ‘two sets of people.’ Dispensationalists read the bible in terms of ‘this applies to me, this doesn’t apply to me’ instead of acknowledging G-d has One Way for *all* His children.
Etrog – Citrus fruit used during festival of Sukkot.
Eyshet Chayil/Eshet Chayil – Means ‘woman of valor’ as taught in Proverbs 31:10-31
Gemara – from the Hebrew “gamar” for “[to] complete” and the Aramaic “[to] study”, the Gemara is the name for the collective body of rabbinical commentaries and analysis of the Oral Torah (Mishnah). The Gemara, when combined with the Mishnah, forms the Talmud.
Ger – A non-Israelite who dwells among the Israelites, a sojourner.
Haftarah – Weekly reading from the Prophets, read in addition to Torah Parsha.
Haggadah – Means ‘the telling’ of the Exodus, it codifies the order of the Pesach meal (seder).
Halachah – Means “the way to go” or the “way to walk” in Hebrew and may refer to a single rule, to the entire literary corpus of rabbinic legal texts, as well as to the overall system of Jewish religious law.
HaShem – Literally means “The Name” in Hebrew and refers to The Name of the L-RD. Commonly used as a respectful substitute for the four Hebrew letters (yud-hey-vav-hey) or Tetragrammaton, that form His ineffable Name. Removing the letter “O” in G-d and L-rd is also another way of remaining respectful of HaShem, and sanctifying His Name in everyday correspondence.
Havdalah – Means ’separation.’ An traditional observance marking the end of the weekly Shabbat/Sabbath with wine and spices.
Kashrut – Means ‘proper’ and refers to Kosher dietary laws.
Kavanah – Means ‘intention’
Ketubah – A traditional Jewish marriage contract
Kethuvim/Ketuvim – The Writings, the section of the TaNaKh containing: Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and The Chronicles.
Kiddush Prayer of santification
Kosher – Foods that Torah permits man to eat are kosher. Used loosely to mean anything permissible for G-d’s people.
Lashon Hara – Means ‘evil tongue’ and is a prohibition against harmful speech against others
L’Chayim – From ‘Chai’ meaning ‘life’ — this popular greeting means ‘to life.’ In Jewish mysticism, the numeric value of words are often added up to find hidden meanings in words. The letters comprising “Chai’ equal a total of 18, hence the practice of giving money and donations in increments of 18 dollars.
Maimonides – The famous Jewish scholar/author Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon (1135-1204) better known as ‘Rambam.’
Mashiach/Moshiach – Means ‘annointed’ and translated as Messiah.
Matzah – Unleavened bread eaten during Pesakh (Passover) which Yeshua used to designate His body at the last Pesach seder (Last Supper) prior to His crucifixion.
Mazel Tov – Means ‘good star’ or ‘good constellation’ and comes from Jewish mysticism; commonly used today as ‘congratulations.’
Menorah – The seven-branched lampstand G-d commanded the Israelites to make.
Messiah – Means ‘annointed’ and comes from the Hebrew word ‘mashiach.’ Yeshua was the Messiah foretold in the TaNaKh.
Messianic Age – A thousand year period where Yeshua will rule the earth as its king. Israel will reside again in the land, the temple will be rebuilt, the resurrection will occur, there will be peace on earth.
Mezuzah – Means ‘doorpost’ — this is a rabbinic tradition where a miniature scroll is affixed to a doorway. The mezuzah contains two verses inside it, Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and 11:13-21. G-d instructs us in these two passages to “Lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates.” “These words” refer to His Torah.
Midrash – Means ’study’
Mikvah – (plural = mikva’ot) an artificial pool of water used for total immersion in a purification ceremony within Judaism or the act of purification through total immersion (translated as “baptism” in the English NT). At the time of Yeshua, mikveh was used to identify one’s religious affiliations and to renew one’s faith — baptism itself is a type of mikveh. Mikva’ot are used today by Torah observant women to achieve ritual purity after menstruation or childbirth, by Torah observant men to achieve ritual purity, part of the procedure for conversion to Judaism, and to purify utensils used for food.
Mishnah – Means “repetition” in Hebrew. The Mishnah gets its name because it is the first recording of the Oral Torah–which up until the time it was written down (about 200 C.E.) was repeated until memorized. It is taught by the Sages (rabbis of old) that at the same time the Written Torah was given to Israel at Mount Sinai, the Oral Torah was also given as an inseperable companion to the Written.
Mitzvah/Mitzvot – Means ‘commandment’ — used to mean any commandment or good deed one might perform.
Mo’ed or Mo’edim – Singular and plural, respectively, for “G-d’s Appointed Time”. G-d tells us in His Torah (Gen. 1: 14) that He created the sun, moon, and stars in the sky solely for us to use in planning to meet Him at His appointed times (the Hebrew word that is translated as “seasons” in most English Bibles in that verse is actually mo’edim, or appointed times). G-d’s appointed times (incorrectly referred to as “Jewish Holidays”) are:
* Rosh HaShanah (lit. Head of the Year, i.e. New Year; Feast of Trumpets; “Day No Man Knows”, etc.)
* Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement)
* Sukkot (Booths; Feast of Tabernacles, etc.)
* Pesach (Passover)
* Chag HaMatzah (Unleavened Bread)
* Shavuot (Weeks; Pentacost, etc.)
* Rosh Chodesh (lit. Head of the Month, i.e. New Moon/New Month)
* Shabbat (Sabbath) Defined as G-d has defined it–the seventh day of the week
There are several fasts, and two non-mo’edim holidays (Chanukah and Purim) that are meaningful in their own right but aren’t Torah commanded and so are in a separate category. Information on them will appear near their occurence throughout the year. Look under the “Appointed Times” tab on the home page. As for the earlier comment that “Jewish Holidays” is a misnomer for mo’edim, the fact of the matter is that these appointed times are for all mankind (see Isaiah 66:23, Exodus 20:10, and Zechariah 14:16-19), and specifically for those in covenant with Him.
Nevi’im – The Prophets, the section of the TaNaKh containing: Joshua, Judges, Books of Samuel, Books of Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.
Niddah – The laws governing separation of man and wife during her menstrual cycle.
Olam Haba – Means ‘the world to come’ and refers to the Messianic age when Yeshua will rule and peace will abound.
Oral Torah/Oral Law – These are traditional writings written by rabbis and scribes. Considered by traditional/rabbinic Judaism to be as inspired as Scripture itself, called the Talmud, which consists of Mishneh and its commentaries (Gemara). Messianic Judaism does not consider the oral tradition equal to the Bible.
Orthodox – Strictest sect of Judaism, devotes tremendous amount of study not only to Torah and Talmud, but to Jewish mysticism (Kabbalah) also.
PRDS PaRDes – Four rabbinic levels of Torah understanding: Pashat-simple; Remez-hint; Drash-search; Sod-hidden
Pareve (parve) – Means ‘neutral’ and refers to foods that contain neither meat or dairy products.
Parsha – The weekly Torah readings read at shul and studied at home.
Patriarchs – Refers to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob — forefathers of the Jewish people.
Pharisees/P’rushim – Ancestor to modern day rabbinic Judaism — this sect of Judaism was flourishing at the time of Yeshua — they put great importance on the oral tradition. After the destruction of the temple, most other sects of Judaism died out, leaving Pharisaic Judaism to dominate.
Pirkei Avot – Also known as “Ethics of the Sages/Fathers,” this is a rabbinic tractate traditionally studied between (Passover) and Shavuot (Pentecost).
Purim – Means ‘lots’ and is the celebration of Jewish victory after the failed attempt to exterminate Jews from Persia — story found in scroll of Esther.
Rabbi / Rav – (also rebbe) Means ‘master’ — used in messianic circles by those who ignore Matthew 23:8 by seeking superiority and authority over others. (Judaism tends to require a degree or some sort of certification — a knowledgeable layman generally won’t earn such a title anymore).
Rambam – Famous Jewish scholar/author Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon (1135-1204) also known as ‘Maimonides.’ You may already be familiar with his: Thirteen Articles of the Jewish Faith and Eight Levels of Charity
Rashi – Famous bible commentator, Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (1040-1105 CE).
Rebbetzin – Means the wife of a rabbi
Replacement Theology – False church doctrine which teaches the church replaces Israel in G-d’s Plan. The blessings promised to Israel are usurped by the church (though the replacement theologists generally allow Israel to keep all the curses she was promised). See also Supersessionism.
Rosh Chodesh – Means ‘head of the month’ — the new month begins when the first sliver of the new moon is seen.
Rosh Hashana – Traditional Judaism refers to Rosh Hashana as the ‘new year’ but this is actually inaccurate from a Scriptural point of view. In Scripture, Rosh Hashana (or “Feast of Trumpets/Shofar) occurs in the seventh month, not the first month. It is not the new year at all according to biblical year reckoning but according to the agricultural year.
Ruach – Means ‘Spirit’ from Hebrew for ‘wind, breath, air, strength, breeze.’
Ruach HaKodesh – The Holy Spirit; also known as Bat HaKol (Daughter of the Voice) in Talmudic writings.
Sabbath – From ‘Shabbat’ — G-d blessed and sanctified the seventh day of the week as a day of rest.
Sadducees – This sect of Judaism died out with the loss of the temple in 70CE, since their whole belief revolved around temple work, and not oral tradition.
Sages – Refers to the great Jewish scholars whose work is preserved still this day in oral tradition.
Seder – Means ‘order’ and is usually used to refer to the Pesakh dinner using the Haggadah as a guide.
Sephardic Jews – Jews from Spain, Portugal, Africa and middle eastern countries.
Shabbat – Means ’sabbath’ G-d blessed and sanctified the seventh day of the week as a day of rest
Shabbat Shalom – Means ‘peaceful sabbath’ — a common greeting when Shabbat is approaching.
Shalom – Means ‘peace’ but also used as a greeting to say hello or goodbye.
Shalom Aliechem – Means ‘peace to you’ or ‘peace unto you’ — a greeting.
Shalom Bayit/Shalom Bayis – Means having/maintaining peace within the home.
Shammus – Means ’servant’ and is the candle used to light other candles in menorah; also, a synagogue custodian.
Shavua Tov – Means ‘good week’ and is a popular greeting when shabbat ends.
Shavuot – Means ‘weeks’ — known in Greek as Pentecost.
Shekinah – (Also spelled Shechinah, Shekinah, etc.) The manifested presence of G-d.
Shema – Means ‘hear’ and is the quintessential Jewish text from Deuteronomy 6:4: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD” showing the uniqueness of the G-d of Israel. Israel didn’t require many gods (like harvest gods, fertility gods, fire gods) The G-d of Israel is unique and infinite — He alone is sovereign. Reciting the Shema at set times during the day is akin to reciting marriage vows to your spouse or, in old American public schools, daily reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
Shemoneh Esrei – “Standing” prayer that originally consisted of 18 benedictions, but interestingly, a 19th malediction (a curse) was added to the Shemoneh Esrei intended (supposedly) as a jab against Jews who believed in Yeshua as messiah, since it cursed ‘heretics’ to traditional Judaism.
Shofar – Ram’s horn, also translated ‘trumpet’ in some bibles.
Shul – Synagogue in Yiddish.
Siddur – Prayer book
Simchat Torah – Means rejoicing in Torah and celebrates the ending and beginning of the Torah parshot annual reading cycle.
Sukkah – Means ‘booth’ and translated ‘tabernacles’ in some bibles. Shaul the tentmaker may have been a sukkah maker.
Sukkot – Means ‘booths’ — this is the festival of tabernacles which commemorates G-d’s protection on Israel when she lived in tents under His protection.
Supersessionism - Particular interpretations of New Testament claims, viewing God’s relationship with Christians as being either the replacement or completion of the promise made to Israel. This doctrine maintains that the Jews are no longer considered to be God’s Chosen people in any sense. Biblical expressions of God’s relationships with people are known as covenants, so the contentious element of supersessionism is the idea that God’s New Covenant with the Christian Church replaces God’s Mosaic Covenant with Israel, and in particular the Mosaic Law (or Torah). See also Replacement Theology.
Synagogue – From the Greek synagogia, this is a meeting place for assembly.
Syncretism – Religious syncretism is the blending of two (or more) religious belief systems and/or practices into a new system. This often happens when one people group is conquered by another, or when it benefits the political leaders by pleasing the masses to join two (or more) groups together under one new system.
Tallit – Prayer shawl with tzitzit (fringed edges), based on the command in Numbers 15:38 and Deuteronomy 22:12 that men wear Tzitzit on their garments. The prayer shawl is a rabbinic compromise to this law since a tallit isn’t quite a garment, but it does contain tzitzit.
Tallit Katan – Closer to a garment than the regular prayer shawl, this is worn under clothing and contains the commanded tzitzit.
Talmidim – Literally means “students”, especially disciples; Talmid = Student = Disciple
Talmud – The collection of oral tradition: the Mishneh and Gemara/commentaries.
TaNaKh – An acronym that identifies the Hebrew Bible (a.k.a. Old Testament). The acronym is based on the initial Hebrew letters of each of the text’s three parts:
Torah (תּוֹרָה)–meaning “Instruction” (not “law”) and is composed of the “five books of Moses”, also called Pentateuch in Greek.
Nevi’im (נביאים)–meaning “Prophets”.
Ketuvim (כתובים)–meaning ”Writings”.
“Rendered ’scripture’ or ‘it is written’ in most translations of the New Testament. The reason the New Testament writers cite the TaNaKh so frequently is that they understand it as G-d’s authoritative Word to mankind.” (David H. Stern)
Tashlisch – Means ‘casting away’ and refers to a tradition on Rosh Hashana of casting bread or a stone into a body of moving water to symbolize sins being removed.
Techelet/T’chelet/Tekhelet – The blue cord on each corner of the tzitzit, “Bid them that they make them throughout their generations fringes in the corners of their garments, and that they put with the fringe of each corner a thread of blue.” Numbers 15:38 Traditional Judaism doesn’t add the blue cord to their tzitzit, arguing they aren’t sure about identifying the chilazon, a snail of Tyre from which the Phoenicians traditionally extracted the blue dye. Written Torah never commanded the blue dye come from this particular snail, in fact, any blue dye would fulfill this command.
Tefillah – Means ‘prayer’
Tefillin – Means ‘remembrance’, called phylacteries in the English Bible. These are leather boxes containing scrolls with Scripture passages, the rabbis interpreted G-d’s command to wear His Word on hands and forehead.
Teshuvah – Means ‘return’ as in ‘return to G-d; teshuvah is the way to repent: to stop and turn in the direction of G-d.
Tehillim – Psalms
Tisha B’Av – Means the ‘ninth of Av’ — a fast day remembering the temple destructions.
Torah – Means ‘instruction’ and refers to the books of Moshe — the ‘law’ comprised of the books: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. ‘Torah’ is also used loosely in traditional Judaism to mean all Jewish law, Scriptural and oral.
Treyf/Treif – Means ‘torn’ and refers to non-kosher meat, meats not sanctioned by G-d.
Tzaddik – Means a ‘righteous person.’
Tzedakah – From same root as Tzaddik, meaning righteous, but refers to charity. Many Jewish homes have a small box for collecting money that will later be donated to a charitable cause.
Tzitzit – Fringes G-d commanded be attached to the corners of garments.
Yahrtzeit – Anniversary of someone’s death. There are a number of Jewish mourning customs regarding the obligations of descendants on a yartzheit.
Yeshiva – Institution for Torah and Talmud study primarily within Orthodox Judaism and primarily attended by males. This world may also refer to a religious Jewish school for all ages and for both genders.
Yeshua – The Name of the Messiah. In Hebrew, it is the masculine form of the word, “yeshu’ah” or “salvation”. Yeshua is derived from Yehoshua, which is often translated as Joshua. In fact, His Name means “The L-rd Saves”. The word used as His Name, “Jesus” is actually a relatively recent creation (17th Century) and is the anglophonization of the Latinized word for the Greek word ”Iêsous”.
Yetzer Ra – In traditional Judaism, this means the ‘evil impulse’ which leads us to sin if not controlled.
Yetzer Tov – In traditional Judaism, this means the ‘good impulse’ which leads us to obey G-d
Yiddish – Originating among Ashkenazic Jews, this language is based on German using Hebrew letters.
Yom Kippur – Day of Atonement, holy day occuring ten days after Rosh Hoshana (Blowing of Trumpets). “It shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto YHVH.” Leviticus 23:27 “Soul affliction” is interpreted by many to mean fasting.
Zealots – Revolutionary Judaism sect existing during time of Roman occupation in Israel around 1st and 2nd century BCE, sect still popular at time of Yeshua.
