Torahly Prepared
Vocabulary

Every Hebrew word, sorted by topic

141 terms from your curriculum. Filter by topic or search a word to see what it means.

Showing 141 of 141 terms

Rosh Hashanah

Rosh HaShanah

Study guide
Yamim Noraim
Days of Awe — the ten days from Rosh Hashanah through Yom Kippur.
Teshuvah
Repentance; literally turning or returning.
Chet
Sin; missing the mark.
Tekiah / Shevarim / Teruah
The shofar blasts: one long blast, three broken blasts, nine short staccato blasts.
Selichot
Penitential prayers of the High Holiday season.
Tashlich
Casting sins into flowing water.
Machzor
Prayer book used for the festivals and High Holidays.
Yom Tov
A festival day.
L'shanah Tovah Tikateivu
'May you be inscribed for a good year' — the season's greeting.
Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur

Study guide
Kol Nidrei
The declaration that opens Yom Kippur evening.
Viddui
Confession.
Al Chet
The alphabetical litany of sins recited in the plural.
Unetaneh Tokef
Liturgical poem describing the day's judgment.
Neilah
The closing service of Yom Kippur.
Yizkor
Memorial service for the dead.
Shabbat Shuvah
The Shabbat of Return, between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
Sukkot

Sukkot

Study guide
Sukkah
The booth or hut built for the festival.
S'chach
Natural material used to roof the sukkah.
Four Species
Etrog (citrus), lulav (palm branch), hadas (myrtle) and aravah (willow), waved together.
Chol HaMoed
The intermediate days of the festival.
Hoshanah Rabbah
The seventh day of Sukkot.
Shemini Atzeret

Shemini Atzeret

Study guide
Shemini Atzeret
Eighth Day of Assembly; a distinct festival after Sukkot.
Yizkor
Memorial prayers for those who have died, said four times a year.
Simchat Torah

Simchat Torah

Study guide
Hakafot
The seven circuits with the Torah scrolls.
Chatan Torah
The honoree who completes the Torah reading.
Chatan B'reishit
The honoree who begins Genesis again.
Chanukkah

Chanukkah

Study guide
Pirsum ha-Nes
Publicizing the miracle.
Chanukkiyah
The eight-branch Chanukkah lamp with a shamash.
Shamash
The helper candle used to light the others.
Kislev
The Hebrew month in which Chanukkah begins.
Hellenization
The spread of Greek culture and its pressure on Jewish life.
Maccabees
Mattathias, Judah and their followers who led the revolt.
Purim

Purim

Study guide
Megillah
The scroll of Esther.
Grogger
Noisemaker used during the Megillah reading.
Mishloach manot
Gifts of food sent to friends on Purim.
Shushan
The Persian capital where the story takes place.
Pesach / Passover

Pesach

Study guide
Seder
Order — the structured Passover meal.
Haggadah
The book that tells the Exodus story at the Seder.
Chametz
Leaven, removed before Pesach.
Bedikat Chametz
The search for leaven before the festival.
Afikomen
The hidden matzah eaten at the end of the meal.
Nisan
The Hebrew month of Pesach.
Maot Chittim
Funds so that the needy can observe Pesach.
Shabbat HaGadol
The Great Shabbat, before Pesach.
Midah k'neged midah
Measure for measure.
Mah Nishtanah
'Why is this night different?' — the Four Questions.
Eser HaMakot
The Ten Plagues.
Arba'ah Banim
The Four Children of the Haggadah.
Zeroa
Shank bone on the Seder plate; the Passover offering.
Beitzah
Roasted egg; the festival offering and the cycle of life.
Maror
Bitter herb; the bitterness of slavery.
Chazeret
Second bitter vegetable, usually romaine, used for the Hillel sandwich.
Charoset
Apple, nut and wine paste; the mortar of slave labor.
Karpas
Green vegetable dipped in salt water for spring and for tears.
Yachatz
Breaking the middle matzah; the larger half becomes the afikomen.
Maggid
The telling of the Exodus story at the Seder.
Korech
The Hillel sandwich of matzah, maror and charoset.
Tzafun
Eating the hidden afikomen.
Dayenu
'It would have been enough' — a song of step-by-step gratitude.
Nirtzah
The closing of the Seder: 'Next year in Jerusalem.'
B'chol dor vador
In every generation — each person sees themselves as leaving Egypt.
Shavuot

Shavuot

Study guide
Omer
The counted period between Pesach and Shavuot.
Lag B'Omer
The 33rd day of the Omer count.
Sivan
The Hebrew month of Shavuot.
Tikkun Leil Shavuot
All-night study on Shavuot.
Tanakh
The Hebrew Bible: Torah, Prophets, Writings.
Tisha B'Av

Tisha B'Av

Study guide
Eichah
The Book of Lamentations.
Sinat chinam
Baseless hatred.
Beit Mikdash
The Temple in Jerusalem.
Yavneh
The academy established by Yochanan ben Zakkai.
Yom HaShoah

Yom HaShoah

Study guide
Shoah
The Holocaust.
Religious antisemitism
Hatred of Jews on religious grounds.
Nationalistic antisemitism
Hatred of Jews framed as national disloyalty.
Economic antisemitism
Hatred of Jews expressed through economic stereotypes.
Folk antisemitism
Popular, folkloric forms of anti-Jewish hatred.
Racial antisemitism
Hatred of Jews defined as a race.
Yom HaAtzmaut / Israel

Yom HaAtzmaut

Study guide
Zionism
The movement for Jewish national return to Eretz Yisrael.
Diaspora
Jewish communities living outside the Land of Israel.
Galut
Exile.
Eretz Yisrael
The Land of Israel.
Hatikvah
'The Hope' — Israel's national anthem.
Shabbat

Shabbat

Study guide
Ma'aseh B'reishit
The work of Creation — one foundation of Shabbat.
Zecher L'Tziat Mitzrayim
Remembrance of the Exodus from Egypt.
Kadosh
Holy; to sanctify and to separate.
Parashah
The weekly Torah portion.
Havdalah
The ceremony separating Shabbat from the week.
Challah
The braided Shabbat loaf; two are used.
Jewish Lifecycle

Chayei Yehudi

Study guide
Brit Milah
Covenant of circumcision, on the eighth day when medically safe.
Mohel
The one who performs the circumcision.
Sandek
The one who holds the baby at the brit.
P'ru U'rvu
Be fruitful and multiply.
Pidyon HaBen
Redemption of the firstborn son, traditionally on the 31st day.
Aufruf
Being called to the Torah before the wedding.
Ketubah
The Jewish marriage document.
Bedeken
The veiling of the bride.
Chuppah
The wedding canopy; the new Jewish home.
Kiddushin
The betrothal/sanctification portion of the wedding.
Sheva Brachot
The seven wedding blessings, recited over the cup of wine.
Hakafot (seven circles)
The bride circling the groom seven times, for the seven days of creation.
Yichud
The couple's private time after the ceremony.
Chatan / Kallah
Groom and bride.
Mikveh
Ritual bath.
Get
The Jewish divorce document.
Bikkur Cholim
Visiting the sick.
Ayn Somchim al ha-Nes
We do not rely on miracles.
Taharah
Ritual washing and purification of the body.
Tachrichim
Plain burial shrouds.
Chevra Kadisha
The burial society.
Keriah
The tearing of a garment by mourners.
Shiva
The first seven days of mourning.
Sheloshim
The first thirty days of mourning.
Kaddish
The mourner's prayer.
Yahrzeit
The annual anniversary of a death.
Unveiling
The dedication of the grave marker.
T'chiat HaMetim
Resurrection of the dead.
Kashrut

Kashrut

Study guide
Kosher / Kasher
Fit; permitted according to Jewish dietary law.
Treif
Not kosher.
Fleishig
Meat.
Milchig
Dairy.
Pareve
Neutral — neither meat nor dairy.
Mashgiach
Kashrut supervisor.
Shechitah
Ritual slaughter.
Tza'ar Ba'alei Chayim
The prohibition against causing suffering to animals.
Hechsher Tzedek
Ethical certification extending kashrut concern to how workers and animals are treated.
Jewish Ethics

Musar / Middot

Study guide
B'tzelem Elohim
In the image of God.
Tzedakah
Righteous giving; justice.
Mitzvah
Commandment; obligation.
Halakhah
Jewish law; the way one walks.
Gemilut chasadim
Acts of loving-kindness.
Tikkun olam
Repair of the world.
Talmud Torah
The study of Torah.
Pikuach nefesh
Saving a life, which overrides almost all other commandments.
Lashon hara
Evil speech; harmful talk about others.
Kavod habriyot
Human dignity.
Hakarat hatov
Recognizing the good; gratitude.
Dina d'malchuta dina
The law of the land is the law.
Chesed / Rachamim
Loving-kindness and compassion.
Ritual Objects

Tashmishei Kedushah

Study guide
Tallit
Prayer shawl.
Tefillin
Worn on the arm and head for weekday prayer.
Kippah
Head covering.
Mezuzah
Affixed to the doorpost of a Jewish home.