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106 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Afikoman
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Greek word meaning dessert; matzah hidden & found during Passover seder; later eaten (device to keep kids' attention)
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Aliyah
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literally to "go up;" honor of being called to the Torah to recite a blessing
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B.C.E.
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Before the Common Era
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Bar/Bat Mitzvah
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at puberty, a boy (bar) or girl (bat) becomes responsible for keeping religious duties.
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B'rit
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the Hebrew word for covenant
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Berit (B'rit) Milah
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ritual of circumcision, marking the covenant between God and the Jewish people
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C.E.
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Common Era
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Challah
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braided loaf of bread, ritually baked and eaten on Shabbat and holidays
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Chametz
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leavened products; removed from home in preparation for Passover
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Chanukah
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dedication; refers to 8 day holiday celebrating victory of Maccabees & their rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem to God
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Chazzan
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The cantor or prayer leader of the synagogue or services
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Charoset
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mixture of apples, wine, and nuts; one of the ritual foods eaten during Passover seder symbolizing the mortar used in making bricks
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Cheder
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Jewish elementary school
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Chevra Kaddisha
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Jewish burial society; help clean & prepare the body for burial
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Chuppah
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bridal canopy
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Conserative Judaism
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modern Jewish religious movement, originating in U.S. in late 19th c. that emphasizes both tradition and change
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Conversos
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Spanish & Portuguese Jews who converted to Catholicism during the Middle Ages (many of them secretly remained Jewish)
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Covenant
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an agreement, or contract, between God and the Jewish people that binds each party to adhere to certain stipulations/promises
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Daaven
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the Yiddish term meaning to pray
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Diaspora
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Jews living outside the land of Israel, as citizens of the nations in which they dwell
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Erusin
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Betrothal. Originally separate from the wedding ceremony, but is incorporated since Middle Ages
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Eruv
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symbolic boundary around a neighborhood or town enclosing & transforming it into a private domain, thereby permitting one to carry objects w/in the circumference on Shabbat
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Essenes
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Jews who lived in communities near the Dead Sea around the time of Jesus
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Etrog
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citron, used in celebration of Sukkot
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Galut
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exile; term usedto describe Jewish existence outside the land of Israel
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Gemara
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commentary on the Mishnah
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Get
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Jewish bill of divorcement
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Haggadah
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he narrative of the exodus o the Israelites from Egypt, recited at the Passover seder
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Halakhah
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the rabbinic legal tradition; traditional Jewish law; rabbinic prescriptions for living a Jewish life
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Ha Shem
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"the name;" term used by traditionally religious Jews in referring to God (don't say god's name or even term like "King" or "Lord" out of respect for God's holiness)
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Hasidism
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Jewish religious movement that first arose in Eastern Europe in the 18th c. in reaction to what some perceied to be the elitism of medieval Jewish mysticism; sought to bring Judiasm to the (male) masses, by emphasizing religious feeling; Leaders of Hasidic groups called tzaddikim (holy men; rebbes) who were believed to have a special relationship w/ God
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Havdalah
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ceremony marking the end of Sabbath (sunset on Saturday night) & the beginning of the ordinary work week
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Hebrew
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holy language of the Jewish people & native language of the State of Israel today; also name given to Abraham & his descendants up until they settled in the land of Israel
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Hellenistic period
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300 BCE-300 CE; refers to period in which Jews influenced by fusion of Syrian & Greek culture (Hellenism)
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Israel
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"one who wrestles w/ God;" homeland of the Jewish people
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Israelite
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name given to the Jews after they settled in the land of Israel
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Jew
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term first used in the 6th c. BCE after fall of Southern Kingdom, & tribe of Judah went into exile in Babylonia.
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Kabbalah
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medieval Jewish mysticism
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Kaddish
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prayer of sanctification & praise of God recited at certain points in liturgy, including as a memorial prayer for the dead
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Kashrut
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Jewish dietary laws; kosher = suitable, treif = unsuitable
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Kedushah
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holiness
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Ketubah
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Jewish marriage contract; is a document providing support for a woman if her husband divorces her or dies
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Kiddush
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sanctification prayer proclaiming holiness of Sabbath or holidays; recited over cup of wine
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Kiddushin
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sanctification; refers to Jewish marriage ceremony; also name of tractate in Mishnah focusing on betrothal
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K'vod HaMet
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principle of honoring the dead (not desecrating the body; burial w/in 48 hrs after death)
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Kohen
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Jew of priestly descent; descendant of of house of Aaron
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Lashon Hara
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speaking evil of someone; gossip
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Lubovitch
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the largest Hasidic group in the world today. most live in the U.S. & Israel; place special emphasis on outreach to nonobservant Jews & on Jewish education
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Lulav
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palm branch, willows, and myrtle waved as part of celebration of Sukkot
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Maariv
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evening liturgical service
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Maccabees
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the Jewish family that fought against Syrian-Greek rule & in 167 BC restored the Jewish state in Jerusalem
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Maror
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biter herb; one of the ritual foods eaten at Passover seder
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Matzah
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unleavened bread eaten at Passover
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Mechitzah
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the divider set up between men and women in Orthodox synagogue
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Mezuzah
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ritual object placed on door posts of Jewish homes (contains parchment w/ lines from Deut.)
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Midrash
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interpretation of a biblical text
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Mikveh
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ritual bath of running water; one of women's 3 special mitzvot (other 2 are baking challah and lighting Sabbath candles)
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Mehorah
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candelabra; the special candelabra used on Chanukah is called a Chanukiyah
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Minchah
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2nd of 3 daily prayer services, recited in later afternoon twilight
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Minyan
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Quorum of 10 adult Jews necessary for public worship
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Mishnah
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earliest corpus of Jewish law; forms the basis of the Talmud
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Mitzvah
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commandment; obligation; can also be understood as a blessing
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Modern Orthodoxy
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19th c. Jewish religious movement founded in Germany by Samson Hirsch; rejects view that cannot be a traditionally religious Jew & participate in modern world
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Mohel
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someone qualified to perform ritual circumcisions
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Niddah
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menstruating woman
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Othodox Judaism
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term coined by Reform opponents of traditionalism in 19th c. as one of derision, but adopted by various groups of observant Jews, indicates authenticity of their belief that to be a Jew is to strictly adhere to he law of the Torah
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Passover
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The spring festival commemorating & reenacting the exodus of the Israelites from Eygpt ca. 1200 BCE
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Pharisees
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separatists; Jewish religious/political party that came into being after the Maccabeean revold in the 2nd c/ BCE; emphasized importance of the Oral Law; became the dominant group and their descendants = rabbis
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Piyyutim
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prayers used in synagogue liturgy
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Purim
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joyous celebration of victory of biblical Esther and Mordecai over Haman, who tried to destroy the Jews
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Rabbinic Judaism
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the Judaism, formed in the 1st 6 c. CE that believed that Moses revealed the Torah 2 ways- written & oral- & that the sages at any given time are those who are masters of that dual Torah and are therefore here to define the holy life of Israel
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Rabbi
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teacher/interpreter of Jewish law; today is also socio-spiritual head of a Jewish community or congregation
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Reconstructionist Judaism
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20th c. American Jewish movement founded by rabbi Mordecai Kaplan that views God as a transnatural power or process; rejects belief in Jews as chosen people; sees Judaism as evolving religious civilization
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Reform Judaism
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19th c. religious movement founded in Germany that attempted to adapt Judaism to perceived spirit of the modern age; places greatest emphasis on teachings of prophets & social justice
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Responsa
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formal rabbinic responses or answers to legal questions posed to them
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Rosh Hashanah
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the Jewish New Year; literally, the head of the year
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Rosh Hodesh
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new moon; 1st day of the month, special holiday for Jewish women
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Sadducees
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a Jewish group of the 2nd temple Period, the opponents of the Pharisees. Denied validity of the Oral Law & insisted on a highly literal interpretation of Scripture; didn't survive destruction of hte 2nd Temple in 70 CE
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seder
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order. refers to the Passover ritual meal
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Sephardic Jews
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Jews whose ancestors came from Spain, Portugal, or European Mediterranean countries
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Shabbat
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the 7th day, Sabbath; holy day of rest
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Shacharit
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1st of 3 daily services; morning liturgy
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Shavuot
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Pentacost; Jewish holiday commemorating the giving of the Torah at Sinai
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Shema
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cental prayer of Jusaism (from book of Deut.)
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Shemoneh esre
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18 benedictions; the silent prayer, recited while standing, morning, noon, & night, in traditional Jewish liturgy which consists of 19 paragraphs ending in blessings
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Sheva berakhot
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7 blessings recited under the marriage canopy in celebration of a wedding
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Shofar
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ram's horn, sounded on New Year & celebration of New Moon
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Shulkhan Arukh
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16th c. compendium of Jewish law
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Siddur
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the term for the Hebrew prayer book, derived from the Hebrew word for "order"
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Simchat B'rit Bat
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contemporary Jewish ceremony celebrating birth of daughter & her entrance in God's covenant w/ Jewish people
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Simchat Torah
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rejoicing in the Torah; festival in which yearly cycle of Torah reading ends & begins; dance w/ Torah
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Sukkah
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booth erected in celebration of fall week-long festival of Sukkot
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Synagogue
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Jewish house of assembly, study, and prayer
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Talmud
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Mishnah & Gemara; 2 Talmuds: 1st completed in 400 CE (Jerusalem), 2nd completed in 500 CE (Babylonia)
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Tanach
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the Hebrew Bible; T = toarh, N = Prophets, K = Ketuvim
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Tashlich
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ritual on afternoon of 1st day of Rosh Hashanah; symbolically cast your sins into water
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Teshuvah
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to return to God; repentance
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Tikkum Olam
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repair of the world; working w/ God to make the world a better place where we all can live
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Torah
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God's revelation to Moses at Sinai; 1st 5 books of Hebrew Bible
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Torah Im Derekh Eretz
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a phrase in Mishnah to refer to goodness of studying Torah & earning a living; taken by Samson Hirsch to mean that it is good to study & live a life of Torah while also participating in the modern world
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Torah I'ishmah
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studying Torah for its own sake
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Tzedakah
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approximates concept of charity, more than giving money, relate to concept of justice or making the world right; obligation of all Jews
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Tzelem Elohim
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image of God. All juman beings are created in God's image
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Yeshiva
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academy of higher Jewish learning
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Yom Kippur
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Day of Atonement; 10 days after Rosh Hashanah; holiest day of the Jewish year
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Zionism
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modern Jewish nationalism; movement founded at the end of the 19th c. by Theodor Herzl to create Jewish state in the land of Israel
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