Judaism Terms

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apocalypse

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From the Greek for “unveiling”, the final battle between the forces of darkness and light expected at the end of time, Apocalyptic literature flourished in the Hellenistic-era

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Ashkenazim

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Jews of northern and eastern Europe, distinguished from the Mediterranean Sephardim

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Bar Mitzvah

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Ceremony is part of a congregation’s weekly worship, mark coming of age of 13 year olds, Aramaic for “son of the commandment”, first time reads publicly from the Torah (from the Pentateuch and The Prophets), chants with traditional melodies, community responds by reaffirming blessings, can be conducted in local languages, some substitute torah reading for essay writing or social action, same or alternative for girls, luncheon follows.

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berith

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Hebrew term for covenant, the special relationship between God and the Jewish people. Covenant given to Noah (not to flood earth again) and to Abraham (promising land of Canaan to descendents).

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cantor

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The liturgical specialist who leads the musical chants in a synagogue service.

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Diaspora

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The Jewish people outside of the ancient land of Israel, began with the Babylonian Exile from which not all Jews returned. From Greek ‘sowing of the seed’ meaning dispersal.

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documentary hypothesis

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The theory (1894) that the Pentateuch was not written by one person (Moses) but compiled over a long period of time from multiple sources.

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Exile

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The deportation of Jewish leaders from Jerusalem to Mesopotamia by the conquering Babylonians in 586 BCE, disrupting local Israelite political, ritual and agricultural institutions, it marked the transition from Israelite religion to Judaism.

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halakha

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Material in the Talmud of a legal nature.

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Hasidism

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‘Pious ones’, refers to two groups of pious Jews, those who resisted Hellenism militarily in the 2ndc. BCE Palestine, and the mystically inclined followers of the Baal Shem Tov in 8thc. Poland and their descendants today.

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hesed

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Hebrew term for the loyal conduct, sometimes translated as ‘mercy’ or ‘loving-kindness’, present in God and in humans as parties to the covenant relationship.

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Kabbalah

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The medieval Jewish mystical tradition; its central text is a commentary on scripture called the Zohar, compiled by Moses ben Shemtov of Leon (d.1305), but attributed to Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai, a famous 2ndc. rabbinic mystic and wonderworker.

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kippah

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‘Dome’ or ‘cap’, the Hebrew word for skullcap or yarmulke.

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Masada

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The fortress whose Jewish defenders are said to have committed suicide rather than surrender to Rome.

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midrash

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Commentary on scripture.

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minyan

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The quorum of ten men required for a prayer service in a synagogue.

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Mishnah

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The Hebrew summary of the oral law- inherited from Pharisaism and ascribed to Moses- arranged by topic, edited by Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi before 220 CE, it has an authority paralleling that of the written Torah.

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mitzvah

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A commandment; in the Roman era, the rabbinical movement identified exactly 613 specific commandments contained within the Torah.

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Patriarchs and matriarchs

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Ancestors of the Israelite nation in the Hebrew Bible’s narratives of origins; ‘patriarch’ was also given to the head of the Jewish community in early rabbinic times.

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phylacteries (tefillin)

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Small black leather boxes, also termed phylacteries, containing words of scripture, tied to the forehead and forearm by leather thongs.

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rabbi

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A teacher, in Roman times an expert on the interpretation of Torah, since priestly sacrifices stopped with the destruction of the temple, the rabbi has been the scholarly and spiritual leader of a Jewish congregation.

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Rosh Hashanah

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The new year festival, generally occurring in September.

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Sabbath

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The seventh day of the week, observed by Jews since ancient times as a day of rest from ordinary activity.

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seder

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‘Order’, the term used for the ritual Passover supper celebrated in the home, the six divisions of the Mishnah are also called orders or seders.

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Sephardim

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The Jews of the premodern Mediterranean and Middle Eastern world, as opposed to the Ashkenazim of northern and eastern Europe.

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Septuagint

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The Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures, made in Alexandria in Hellenistic times. Regarded for the new Hellenistic community (in the Diaspora) as more of an object of meditation or literary study than of a covenant charter.

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shekinah

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The divine presence or ‘dwelling’, often described in visionary terms by ancient commentators on Ezekiel and by medieval mystics.

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sukkah

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A temporary booth or shelter, originally constructed in autumn to protect ripening crops and given a historical interpretation recalling the migration experience of the Exodus.

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synagogue

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The local place of assembly for congregational worship, which became central to the tradition after the destruction of the Jerusalem temple.

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tallith

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A shawl worn for prayer, usually white with blue stripes and with fringes at both corners.

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Tanakh

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The entire Hebrew Bible, consisting of Torah or law, Nebi’im or prophits, and Ketuvim or sacred writings, and named as an acronym of these three terms.

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Torah

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The scripture that Jews are expected to read and study throughout their lives, read for the first time during a boy’s barmitzvah, religious law, consists of the Hebrew Bible itself and all the commentaries on it, also refers to the 5 books of Moses which are handwritten on parchment scroll.

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yarmulke

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The Yiddish word for the kippah or skullcap worn by Orthodox Jewish males.

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yeshiva

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A traditional school for the study of the scriptures and Jewish law.

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Yiddish

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The language spoke by many central and eastern European Jews in recent centuries; though it is written in Hebrew characters and contains some words derived from Hebrew, it is essentially German in its basic structure and vocabulary.

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Yom Kippur

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The day of atonement, ten days after Rosh Hashanah, the day for the most solemn reflection and examination of one’s conduct.

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Zaddik

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‘Righteous person’, a title conveying the Hasidic ideal for a teacher or spiritual leader.

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Zion

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In biblical times, the hill in Jerusalem where the temple stood as God’s dwelling place, by extension, the land of the Israelites as the place of God’s favour, in modern times the goal of the Jewish migration and nation-state settlement.