paleotestamentary

Mostly from French paléotestamentaire; equivalent to paleo- + testamentary.

There was a time when biblical religion (paleotestamentary and neotestamentary alike) was studied almost exclusively in terms of individual faith.

1954 January, Samuel Lucien Terrien, “A Currently Neglected Aspect of Biblical Theology”, in Union Seminary Quarterly Review, page 7:

We have also consulted the sources themselves. For our purpose, these were the works of Josephus (the Jewish War, the Jewish Antiquities, and the Life), the New Testament, and certain sections of the palaeotestamentary literature—partly apocalyptic in nature—not included in the Canon.

1957, “The Futurists”, in Willard R[opes] Trask, transl., Man at the Crossroads, Boston, Mass.: Beacon Press, translation of El hombre en la encrucijada by José Ferrater Mora, →LCCN, part I (Philosophy, Anxiety, and Renewal), page 64:

PALAEO-TESTAMENTARY LITERATURE

1958, “The Transition from the Old Testament to the New”, in J. R. Foster, transl., edited by Henri Daniel-Rops, Biblical Criticism (The Twentieth Century Encyclopedia of Catholicism; volume 63 (8th by publication), section VI (The Word of God)), fifth printing, New York, N.Y.: Hawthorn Books, translation of La critique devant la Bible by Jean Steinmann, published 1963, →LCCN, part II (The Present State of Biblical Criticism), page 107:

In the floor, funeral slabs by Tommaso Pecci (XIV cent.) and broken fragments of the original floor of the Duomo (notably the Age of man by [Antonio] Federighi, 1475, and the Paleotestamentary episodes by [Domenico] Beccafumi).

1982, “Metropolitan Museum of Art”, in Studio Sandonà, transl., Siena: Its Art, Its Palio, Siena: Editions R.I.S., Italo Romboni, translation of Siena: son art, son palio by Sandro Chierichetti, section “Ground floor”, page 62, column 1:

Tomorrow, if I want to write this preface, I will set myself to running down all the paleo- and neo-testamentary courriers.

1987, “Envois”, in Alan Bass, transl., The Post Card: From Socrates to Freud and Beyond, Chicago, Ill., London: The University of Chicago Press, translation of La carte postale: De Socrate à Freud et au-delà by Jacques Derrida, →ISBN, section “7 September 1977”, page 75:

But I am headed rather toward the testament. Specifically, toward the stories of legacy or delegation on the inside, as en abyme, of what is called the neo- or the paleo-testamentary.

1993, Pascale-Anne Brault, Michael Naas, transl., Memoirs of the Blind: The Self-Portrait and Other Ruins (Parti-pris series from the Louvre), Chicago, Ill., London: The University of Chicago Press, translation of Mémoires d’aveugle: L’autoportrait et autres ruines by Jacques Derrida, →ISBN, page 21:

In each feature of this sovereign friendship (exception, improbable and random unicity, metapolitical transcendence, disproportion, infinite dissymmetry, denaturalization, etc.), it might be tempting to recognize a rupture with Greek philía – a testamentary rupture, as some would hasten to conclude, a palaeo- or neo-testamentary rupture.

1997, “He Who Accompanies Me”, in George Collins, transl., The Politics of Friendship, London, New York, N.Y.: Verso, translation of Politiques de l’amitié by Jacques Derrida, published 2005, →ISBN, page 185:

Probably because he had been born and raised in a Catholic country, though from a Protestant family, Eleazar felt less affinity for the Old than for the New Testament – its miracles, parables, and above all the presence of Jesus. The serpents of Paradise and of Moses took him back to the dawn of man, to the prophets, to Yahweh, a world that seemed brutal and archaic to him. But his Lutheran teachers in Downpatrick disapproved of this view. They taught a return to the paleotestamentary source.

2002, Jonathan F. Krell, transl., Eleazar, Exodus to the West, Lincoln, Neb., London: University of Nebraska Press, translation of Éléazar ou La Source et le Buisson by Michel Tournier, →ISBN, chapter II, page 8:

Persistence to cling to these texts, however valuable they may be, hence signifies to grasp only small parts of the truth, as only the embracing of Christianity can guarantee a return to the unspoiled and oldest sources of wisdom; an argumentation also to be found somewhat later in Tertullian (150-230), who, in his Apologeticum (197), refered^([sic]) to the old age of paleotestamentary revelation as evidence for their truthfulness by stating ‘Their high antiquity, first of all, claims authority for these writings’, but also included the Jews themselves into the list of the peoples in possession of parts of the divine revelation, but unable to grasp their complete meaning:[…]

2014, David Engels, “Historising Religion between Spiritual Continuity and Friendly Takeover. Salvation History and Religious Competition during the First Millenium^([sic]) AD.”, in David Engels, Peter Van Nuffelen, editors, Religion and Competition in Antiquity (Collection Latomus; volume 343), Brussels: Éditions Latomus, page 251:

We will decidedly have to resist the Christian or more generally testamentary (paleo- or neotestamentary) slant of this discourse.

2017, “The Ci-Devant God”, in Philippe Lynes, transl., Advances, Minneapolis, Minn.: Univocal, the University of Minnesota Press, translation of Avances by Jacques Derrida, →ISBN, →LCCN:

Hence the Catholic dogmas, in the end, are not essentially evangelical: they are primarily paleo-testamentary; they go back to Genesis.

2017, “Tenth Session: March 28, 2001”, in Elizabeth Rottenberg, transl., edited by Geoffrey Bennington and Marc Crépon, The Death Penalty, volume II, Chicago, Ill., London: The University of Chicago Press, translation of Séminaire: La peine de mort by Jacques Derrida, →DOI, →ISBN, section 346, page 259:


final reckoning

en-noun

final reckoning (countable and uncountable, plural final reckonings)

From final + reckoning (“act or occasion of accounting to God after death for one’s conduct in life”).

compound

judgement day

(Christianity, Islam, Judaism) Synonym of judgement day (“the final trial of all humankind, both the living and the dead, by God expected to take place at the end of the world, when each is rewarded or punished according to their merits”)


kallah

(Judaism) A meeting of yeshiva students for discussion and studying.


kallah

What if women make their own zimmun at a gathering during the week following a wedding. Can the kalla be part of the minyan?

2008 February 25, yaco...@aol.com, “New guide for halachic and egalitarian minyan”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated (Usenet):


tree of knowledge

en-noun

tree of knowledge (plural trees of knowledge)

Meronym: forbidden fruit

Coordinate term: tree of life

Sorrow is knowledge: they who know the most / Must mourn the deepest o'er the fatal truth, / The Tree of Knowledge is not that of Life.

She asked her wise rebbe how God came to be in His place, and where He found the stuff to make the world of[…]. Finding from his unsatisfying replies that the rebbe was but a barren branch on the tree of knowledge, the good little girl never betrayed to the world, by look or word, her discovery of his limitations, but continued to accord him, outwardly, all the courtesy due to his calling.

(biblical) One of the trees in the Garden of Eden. In Christian tradition, Adam and Eve eating its forbidden fruit was the original sin that led to the fall of man in Genesis 3.


bedikah

(Judaism) A ritual inspection or examination.


berakhah

berakhah (plural berakhahs or berakhoth)

berakhahs (plural)
berakhoth (plural)
beraka (alternative)
berakah (alternative)
bracha (alternative)

Borrowed from Hebrew בְּרָכָה (b'rakhá).

(Judaism) A formula of blessing or thanksgiving.


Ismahel

(biblical, Douay bible) Obsolete form of Ishmael.


Jewling

[…] while it is our frivolity, our rottenness and our vices, inculcated by us and copied from us, that these Hebraiculi, these degenerate Jewlings, are practising for the sake of our pleasure or their own profit.

1895, Anatole Leroy-Beaulieu, Israel Among the Nations: A Study of the Jews and Antisemitism, page 270:

Predominantly young Jewlings come from Russia and Eastern Europe, working to secure “professional” careers as teachers, social workers, lawyers, accountants […]

2011, Charley Rosen, The House of Moses All-Stars:


viddui

(Judaism) confession of one's sins before God


Harapha

Transliteration of Hebrew הָרָפָה (harafá).

translit

A Philistine woman who appears in the biblical story of Samson.


Jairus

From Latin Iaīrus, from Ancient Greek Ἰάϊρος (Iáïros), from Biblical Hebrew יָאִיר (yāʾîr, literally “he will light up”). Doublet of Jair.

der

(biblical) The father of a young girl resurrected by Jesus Christ.


kiddushin

From Jewish Babylonian Aramaic קידושין (literally “sanctifications”), plural of קידוש. Syntactically equivalent to, but differs in meaning from, Hebrew קִדּוּשִׁים.

cog

Hebrew קִדּוּשִׁים

Just as Kiddushin takes place when the groom puts a ring on his bride's finger, so we, too, wind a strap around our finger and are sanctified unto the Holy One, blessed be He.

1996, Macy Nulman, The Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer, page 218:

(Judaism) An engagement (promise to marry) between a man and a woman, made by themselves or by relatives.


Jewism

[…] in asserting the unfitness of the four great beasts of Jewism, Catholicism, Protestantism, and Infidelity to reign over us, […]

1840, James Elishama Smith, The Little Book; Or, Momentous Crisis of 1840, page 35:

And, moreover, in whatever manner the Jews may have sought to establish their doctrines, so, likewise, were all religions, long prior and subsequent to the existence of Jewism, spread abroad.

1864, James Boully, The Oxford Declaration and the Eleven Thousand, page 10:


Belteshazzar

From Hebrew בֵּלְטְשַׁאצַּר (bēletešaṣṣar), from Akkadian 𒊩𒆪𒈗𒋀 (beltu-šar-uṣur).

der

בֵּלְטְשַׁאצַּר

Hebrew בֵּלְטְשַׁאצַּר (bēletešaṣṣar)

(biblical) Babylonian name of the biblical prophet Daniel (cf. Daniel 1:7)


Catholic Epistle

en-noun

Catholic Epistle (plural Catholic Epistles)

Catholic Epistles (plural)
Catholic epistle (alternative)
catholic epistle (alternative)

(biblical) Any one of the New Testament Epistles of James, 1 and 2 Peter, 1 John, Jude, and sometimes 2 and 3 John, which are not addressed to specific individuals or Churches.


Pastoral Epistle

Pastoral Epistle (plural Pastoral Epistles)

Pastoral Epistles (plural)
pastoral epistle (alternative)

(biblical) One of three Epistles of the New Testament including 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy and Titus which contain instructions for church officers and organization.


Asmodeus

From Ancient Greek Ἀσμοδαῖος (Asmodaîos). Believed to ultimately come from an unattested Avestan *𐬀𐬉𐬴𐬨𐬀𐬛𐬀𐬉𐬎𐬎𐬀 (*aēṣ̌madaēuua, from a compound of 𐬀𐬉𐬱𐬆𐬨𐬀 (aēšəma, “wrath”) + 𐬛𐬀𐬉𐬎𐬎𐬀 (daēuua, “demon”)). Doublet of Ashmedai: a borrowing from Hebrew.

der

*𐬀𐬉𐬴𐬨𐬀𐬛𐬀𐬉𐬎𐬎𐬀

Asmodaeus (alternative)
Asmodevs (alternative)
Osmodeus (alternative)

The king of demons in Jewish tradition, and thought to represent lust in Christian demonology.


NLT

New Living Translation
w:New Living Translation

(biblical) Initialism of New Living Translation.


chelev

From Yiddish חלבֿ (kheylev), from Hebrew חֵלֶב (khélev).

(Judaism) Certain animal fats that the Torah prohibits Jews and Israelites from eating.


Horeb

(biblical) The mountain where the Ten Commandments were given to Moses by Yahweh, according to the Book of Deuteronomy in the Hebrew Bible.


Auphanim

In Chochmah the angels are Auphanims, called wheels, by the prophet Ezekiel who wrongly placed them in the order of Cherubims.

2001, Adewale Thompson, The Invisible World, page 58:

The order of angels in the sphere of Chokmah are the Auphanim, or “Wheels,” a word derived from the root AVPh which means “to encircle.”

2002, John Bonner, Qabalah: A Magical Primer:

Nevertheless the Angel Order of the Auphanim operate well within our reach and affect every life or energy cycle on earth—or elsewhere.

2007, William G. Gray, The Ladder of Lights, page 190:

A biblical angel made from bright wheels covered in eyes.


Jewnited Snakes

Blend of Jew + United States + snakes, implying that the United States is malicious, untrustworthy and controlled by Jews. First use appears c. 1982. See cite below.

What makes Mark [Margoian] unique is the fact he is literate. That, for a wacko, is very unusual. Out of two legal-sized pages of single-spaced harangue he misspells only a handful of words. And most of these, such as “Jewnited Snakes government” and “niggar,” are apparently misspelled for effect.

1982 September 9, Frank Boyett, “Yes, there are a few wackos out there”, in Clare Nichols, editor, Sandpoint Daily Bee, volume XVII, number 58, Sandpoint, Ida.: Pend Oreille Printers, Inc., →OCLC, page 2, column 4:

The current German Regime, which does not represent German popular opinion, is currently arresting and jailing American citizens for acts committed within the sovereign borders of the United States. These acts are not illegal in the U.S. German law is not in effect in the U.S. The crime? Belonging to a "politically incorrect" organization. The victims? Gerhard Lauck, American hero; Hans Schmidt, American hero, and others. WHY is the Zionist Occupied Government of the Jewnited Snakes permitted to surrender its sovereignty to the traitors occupying Bonn?

1996 January 25, JohnOttoNY, “German Gov't attack on US Citizens”, in alt.society.sovereign (Usenet):

YOUNG ARABS, IRANIANS, SIKHS,
AFGHANS AND PAKISTANIS ARE FORMING SKINHEAD GANGS TO STOMP JEW$ INTO
BLOODY RED MESS! EVEN THE PEOPLE OF THE JEWNITED SNAKES OF AMERIKA ARE
GETTING SICK OF YOU HEBES!

2002 May 5, Habib Al-Hazra, “Are Zionist Jews Satanic Creatures?”, in soc.culture.jewish (Usenet):

No, the countries of the human shields aren't under threat of
terrorism since neither faction in the Congo conflict is getting
billions of dollars anually from the Jewnited Snakes, nor do any of
those niggers drive us into wars for their own benefit.

2003 April 9, Mark, “White House Hawks View Iraq War as Lesson to the World”, in soc.culture.jewish (Usenet):

::When you've made a few posts attacking Israel or the Jewnited Snakes of Scamerica we may take you seriously
::Bring the lads home to a heroes welcome

2003 July 13, tucobeneditopacificojuanmariaramirez, “Should the 'UK' Guantanamo Two come 'home'?”, in alt.religion.islam (Usenet):

Where's the Furher^([sic]) when we need
him? These "jewnited snakes" are in dire need. The Fe(de)ral
government MUST be dissolved.

2007 June 24, AnArky, “Why I admire Hitler”, in soc.culture.israel (Usenet):

Maybe you don't remember or know about Jonathan Pollard and what he did and
whom he worked for and you clearly certainly didn't lose any family members
murdered by jews who the traitorous former President Johnson and his other
jew pals in the jewnited snakes tried to sink the U.S. Liberty by conducting
a false flag operation they intended to use to blame on Egypt (Muslims) so
Israel could use the jewnited snakes military machine to destroy the Arab
states and steal their resources.

2007 August 6, 12 String, “The Misinformed Person's Guide To Copyright or...”, in alt.guitar (Usenet):

They don’t want the pornographic filth that the Jewnited Snakes of America is disseminating around the globe. They don’t want to live under a usurious credit system run by the greedy Self-Chosen and they sure don’t want their daughters to be inundated with the sexual libertinism and permissiveness that Hollywood outre-peddlers count as normalcy.

2009 December 30, muto2100, “JEWS 15 MORE Ways To Destroy Your Country: How the Jewish Supremacists Are STILL Wrecking America”, in soc.culture.israel (Usenet):

He has defended Iran against Israel and the Jewnited Snakes for nine years now. Here is Putin with Ahmadinejad of Iran, who overtly denounces the Holocaust fraud.

2014 March 3, dc, “JDN: ENGLISH Obama, Putin and Ukraine”, in Money Morning Refugees (Google Groups):

(slang, derogatory, offensive) The United States.


kedushah

en-noun

kedushah (countable and uncountable, plural kedushahs)

kedushahs (plural)
kedushshah (alternative)

Borrowed from Hebrew קדושה (k'dushá, “holiness”).

bor+

(Judaism) Any of several prayers involving the recitation of the biblical verses Isaiah 6:3 and Ezekiel 3:12.

When we sing this melody [Napoleon's March], are we singing a non-Jewish melody? Of course not! We have accepted it and even given it a degree of k'dusha (holiness) by attaching it to a liturgical text.

2017, Velvel Pasternak, Behind the Music, Stories, Anecdotes, Articles and Reflections, page 208:

According to the Torah, all people are required to be morally good, but Jews are additionally required to protect the border that kedushah creates around us.

2021 06, Eli L. Garfinkel, The JPS Jewish Heritage Torah Commentary, U of Nebraska Press, →ISBN, page 210:


Eye of Providence

en-proper noun

Eye of Providence (plural Eyes of Providence)

A symbol of an eye usually enclosed in a triangle, representing the eye of God.

Olho da Providência

a symbol of an eye usually enclosed in a triangle


philactory

"Know thy own worth, and reverence the lyre," is a line that should be as a fillet bound round the brow—a philactory embroidered on the garments of every son and daughter of Adam distinguished by the possession of that sacred gift, which, whether used or abused, applauded in itself or derided in its possessor, is the highest and the most inalienable distinction humanity ever has or ever can be gifted with, whether bestowed on the highest or the humblest being, in the great mass to which we all belong.

1838 (date written), L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XX, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], published 1842, →OCLC, page 252:


upsherin

In some Jewish cultures, a ceremony for a three-year-old boy's first haircut, or the haircut itself.


derech

You see, I had gone off the derech--off the path. To complete my self-determination, to live an authentic life, I would have to leave the community, the most egregious offense imaginable.

2019, Abby Chava Stein, Becoming Eve, Seal Press, page 8:

(Judaism) The path of propriety or righteousness, or especially of Hasidism or Judaism.


prozbul

bor

Hebrew פרוזבול

(Judaism) A document assigning one's promissory notes to a court for collection, used to evade the sabbatical year's nullification of debts.


JewBu

Meditation, the JewBus argued, did not detract from their Jewishness; rather, their identity was enhanced by the practice, by silent reflection and a mental reaching out toward God.

(informal) A Jewish person who practises Buddhism.


kenesa

Borrowed from Karaim כְּנִיסָא (kǝnîsāʾ), from Aramaic כְּנִישָׁא (kənīšā, “gathering”), likely via Arabic كَنِيسَة (kanīsa, “church, synagogue”).

der

An Eastern European or Persian Karaite synagogue.


Orpah

And they tooke them wiues of the women of Moab: the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelled there about ten yeeres.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Ruth 1:4:

(biblical) A Biblical figure, daughter-in-law of Naomi, wife of Chilion.


tna'im

tanaim (alternative)
tenaim (alternative)
tnaim (alternative)
tnoyim (alternative)

Borrowed from Hebrew תְּנָאִים, plural of תְּנַאי (“condition, term”).

The tna'im contained guarantees of sufficient substance that the couple's future might now be seen as entirely settled.

2000 February 1, Jacob Katz, Tradition and Crisis: Jewish Society at the End of the Middle Ages, Syracuse University Press, →ISBN, page 115:

Small-town rabbis, therefore, sometimes lived in conditions of poverty, despite their right to supplement their income with payments for drawing up tnaim (for engaged couples) and marriage contracts...

2000, Dov Levin, The Litvaks: A Short History of the Jews in Lithuania, Berghahn Books, →ISBN, page 59:

After the tna'im (nuptial agreement) is witnessed, the mothers of the bride and groom hold and break a plate, and the bridegroom shatters a glass at the end of the wedding ceremony.

2017, Velvel Pasternak, Behind the Music, Stories, Anecdotes, Articles and Reflections, page 197:

(Judaism) An informal document containing the terms and expectations for a betrothed couple.


gartel

From Yiddish גאַרטל (gartl). Doublet of girdle.

The bride stands perfectly still at one end of the room and holds a long gartel while the male dancing before her holds the other end.

2017, Velvel Pasternak, Behind the Music, Stories, Anecdotes, Articles and Reflections, page 140:

(Judaism) A belt or sash used in prayer.


dveykut

From Hebrew דְּבֵקוּת (literally “attachment, devotion”).

The Rebbe approached the bima and before responding, sang a nigun that was filled with intense dveykut.

2017, Velvel Pasternak, Behind the Music, Stories, Anecdotes, Articles and Reflections, page 95:

(Judaism, uncountable) Intense devotion or piety.


Bratslaver

The Bratslaver Hasidim, therefore, requested my advice regarding nigunim they hoped to sing in a forthcoming recording project.

2017, Velvel Pasternak, Behind the Music, Stories, Anecdotes, Articles and Reflections, page 109:

Of or relating to the Bratslav Hasidic sect.


shabbaton

At a Shabbaton dedicated to Jewish music, each participant was asked to introduce himself or herself in a few sentences.

2017, Velvel Pasternak, Behind the Music, Stories, Anecdotes, Articles and Reflections, page 74:

(Judaism) A shabbat-long or weekend-long educational gathering.


hakafot

hakafoth (alternative)
hakkafot (alternative)
hakkafoth (alternative)

I told him that he was right and that his request was timely, as Simchat Torah, one of the most joyous festivals of the year featuring the hakafot (procession of Torah scrolls), would take place in three weeks.

2017, Velvel Pasternak, Behind the Music, Stories, Anecdotes, Articles and Reflections, page 37:

(Judaism) A procession of people making circuit around something.


Resh Galuta

Yekum purkan is said every Sabbath but not on festivals occurring on weekdays because the ceremony of honoring the Raysh Galuta ("the Prince of the Exile") took place only on the Sabbath.

1996, Macy Nulman, The Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer, page 374:


Sefer Torah

bor+

סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה

(Judaism) A scroll of the Torah, a handwritten parchment containing the Pentateuch


tetraples

From French tétraples, from Ancient Greek τετραπλᾶ (tetraplâ), neuter plural of τετραπλοῦς (tetraploûs, “fourfold”), from τετρα- (tetra-, “tetra-: four”) + -πλόος (-plóos, “-fold”).


hexapla

From Ancient Greek ἑξαπλᾶ (hexaplâ), neuter plural of ἑξαπλοῦς (hexaploûs, “sixfold”), from ἑξα- (hexa-, “hexa-: six”) + -πλόος (-plóos, “-fold”).

A text presented in six parallel versions, especially (historical) the version of the Old Testament presented in such a fashion by Origen.


octapla

From Late Latin octapla, from Ancient Greek ὀκταπλά (oktaplá), neuter plural of ὀκταπλοῦς (oktaploûs, “eightfold”), from ὀκτα- (okta-, “octa-: eight”) + -πλόος (-plóos, “-fold”), used as the title of such an edition by Origen.

A text presented in eight parallel versions, especially (historical) the version of the Bible presented in such a fashion by Origen.


octaples

From French octaples, from Ancient Greek ὀκταπλά (oktaplá), neuter plural of ὀκταπλοῦς (oktaploûs, “eightfold”), from ὀκτα- (okta-, “octa-: eight”) + -πλόος (-plóos, “-fold”), used as the title of such an edition by Origen.


Gabbatha

From Ancient Greek Γαββαθᾶ (Gabbathâ), from Aramaic [Term?].

When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, John 19:13:

(biblical) The Aramaic name of a place in Jerusalem, thought to be the place of the trial of Jesus before his crucifixion


Kisei Eliyahu

Borrowed from Hebrew כיסא אליהו / כִּסֵּא אֵלִיָּהוּ (literally “chair of Elijah”).

he-l

כִּסֵּא אֵלִיָּהוּ

The head of the household instructs his children not to use this chair, similar to the 'Kisay Eliyahu ("Elijah's Chair"), which is used for the Brit Milah only.

1996, Macy Nulman, The Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer, page 333:

The chair in which the sandek sits during brit milah, dedicated to the prophet Elijah.


seudah shlishit

Borrowed from Hebrew סְעוּדָה שְׁלִישִׁית (literally “third meal”).

bor+

סְעוּדָה שְׁלִישִׁית

Some explain that including Tzidkatekha after Minhah is because it is customary to eat Se'udah Shelishit ("the third meal"), and the Talmud states, "He who observes the three meals on the Sabbath is saved from three evils: the travails of the Massiah, the retribution of Gehinnom, and the wars of Gog and Magog."

1996, Macy Nulman, The Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer, page 327:

(Judaism) The third meal eaten on the Sabbath.


Ushpizin

bor

Hebrew אושפיזין

In the Syrian tradition the eight stanzas, honoring the seven Ushpizin plus Elisha and Melekh hamashi'ah, are assigned to different worshipers to recite.

1996, Macy Nulman, The Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer, page 322:

the seven guests who spiritually visit the sukkah during Sukkot.


Kohen Gadol

Hebrew כהן גדול

This utterance was originally a response by the people when they heard the Tetragrammaton from the Kohen Gadol (High Priest) on Yom Kippur and every day on Birkat Kohanim.

1996, Macy Nulman, The Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer:


Kriat Shema

From Hebrew קְרִיאַת שְׁמַע.

der

קְרִיאַת שְׁמַע

Hebrew קְרִיאַת שְׁמַע

Another reason for Keri'at Shema is that it alludes to the Ten Commandments.

1996, Macy Nulman, The Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer, page 294:


bekhor

The father is required to give the Kohen "five shekels of silver" for redeeming the bekhor ("firstborn").

1996, Macy Nulman, The Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer, page 287:


Olam Haba

bor

Hebrew העולם הבא

Olam HaBa (alternative)
Olom Haba (alternative)

Maybe the idea is that such a person will have it "made up" to them in Olam HaBa.

1997 January 11, li...@interport.net, “Lesbianism in Halakha”, in soc.culture.jewish (Usenet):

(Judaism) The Jewish afterlife or mythic future, usually thought to occur after the coming of the Messiah, in which the righteous are rewarded for their good deeds and the wicked punished for their evil deeds


shirah

It is a day similar in solemnity to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur when shirah ("praise") is not offered, as the Musaf service on Rosh Hodesh reads, Zeman kapparah lekhol toldotam ("a time for forgiveness throughout their generations").

1996, Macy Nulman, The Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer, page 229:

Israel will imitate the angels by saying the shirah of the angels.

2001, Max Kadushin, Worship and Ethics: A Study in Rabbinic Judaism, Global Academic Publishing, →ISBN, page 149:

(Judaism) Praise to god in the form of song


kavanah

kavana (alternative)
kavvanah (alternative)
kawwana (alternative)

The Gaon of Vilna (Ha-Gra) also opposed saying the formula Leshaym Yihud as well as Hineni mukhan umezuman ("Behold I am prepared and ready") since precepts do not require kavanah.

(Judaism) Heartfelt intent during prayer, as opposed to roteness.


tefillah shel yad

en-noun

tefillah shel yad (plural tefillin shel yad)

If a person is left-handed, however, then the right hand is weaker and the Tefillah shel yad is placed on that hand.

1996, Macy Nulman, The Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer, page 217:

A leather strap wrapped around the hand as part of tefillin.


Sefirat Ha'Omer

Transliteration of Hebrew סְפִירַת הָעוֹמֶר

translit

סְפִירַת הָעוֹמֶר

The forty-nine words in the psalm also correspond to the seven days of Sefirat Ha'omer and the seven verses in the psalm correspond to the seven weeks one counts the Omer.

1996, Macy Nulman, The Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer, page 208:

counting of the Omer
counting of the Omer

(Judaism, Samaritanism) The counting of the Omer; the ritual of stating the specific day of the Omer.


bedikat chametz

bor+

בְּדִיקַת חָמֵץ

(Judaism) The search for chametz throughout the household prior to Passover.


Keter

(Judaism) The topmost of the sefiroth of the tree of life in Kabballah.


yom tov

From Hebrew יוֹם טוֹב (yom tov). Pronunciation from Yiddish יום־טובֿ (yontev).

yontif (alternative)
yontiff (alternative)
yontiv (alternative)
yuntif (alternative)
yuntiff (alternative)
yuntiv (alternative)

(Judaism) A major religious holiday, on which a certain set of rules and prohibitions applies.


siyum

From Hebrew סִיּוּם (siyúm, “completion”).

Kaddish Le'ithadeta (the Kaddish of Renewal), recited after the burial and also at a Siyum when a tractate of the Talmud is completed.

1996, Macy Nulman, The Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer, page 184:

(Judaism) A celebration held upon completing the reading of a unit of Judaic scripture; a graduation.


Four Species

The four plant-parts shaken as a unit on Sukkot


besamim

From Hebrew בְּשָׂמִים (b'samím), plural of בושם / בֹּשֶׂם (bósem).

he-m

בושם / בֹּשֶׂם (bósem)

Ashkenazim use a combination of cloves and bay leaves for besamim, as well as other pickling spices.

1996, Macy Nulman, The Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer, page 170:

A spice mixture used for its scent on Havdalah.


tefillah shel rosh

en-noun

tefillah shel rosh (plural tefillin shel rosh)

(Judaism) The portion of the tefillin that is worn on the head.


chovah

bor

Hebrew חוֹבָה

That the evening prayer and Hanuka prayer in the Grace after the meal, can change from a "Rshut" to a "Chovah".

1983, Jewish Theological Seminary of America, On the Ordination of Women as Rabbis: Position Papers of the Faculty of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America:

(Judaism) A ritual that is not commanded in the Torah but that is still considered mandatory.


milchemet chovah

The war in Southeast Asia, far from being a milchemet chovah in the defense of South Vietnam, is a milchemet reshut against the entire civilian population of all Vietnam.

1995, Jeffrey S. Gurock, Marc Lee Raphael, An Inventory of Promises: Essays on American Jewish History : in Honor of Moses Rischin, Carlson Pub, →ISBN:

(Judaism) A war fought out of necessity.


milchemet reshut

bor+

מִלְחֶמֶת רְשׁוּת

(Judaism) A war commanded by a ruler rather than God.

(Judaism) A war not fought out of necessity.


tashlikh

From Hebrew תַּשְׁלִיךְ.

bor

Hebrew תַּשְׁלִיךְ

tashlich (alternative)
Tashlich (alternative)
Tashlikh (alternative)

(Judaism) A ritual practiced on Rosh Hashanah of throwing pieces of bread into a body of water, symbolically disposing of one's sins.


Matan Torah

From Hebrew מַתַּן תּוֹרָה.

מַתַּן תּוֹרָה

Hebrew מַתַּן תּוֹרָה

(Judaism) The giving of the Torah to the Israelites at Mount Sinai


amud

Hebrew עַמּוּד

In many congregations it is customary for the Reader to chant Hamelekh while standing in his place or near the amud (prayer desk) and then to walk to it with a bowed head and to conclude, "Who is sitting on a high and lofty throne."

1996, Macy Nulman, The Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer, page 145:


hagalah

Hebrew הַגְעָלָה

(Judaism) The process of putting eating utensils into boiling water to kasher them.


table song

Of unknown authorship, it seems that it was sung as a Sabbath table-song and a festival table-song for holidays in general.

1996, Macy Nulman, The Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer, page 122:

A hymn sung communally by Ashkenazi Jews at the dinner-table.


zimrah

Hebrew זִמְרָה

A table song sung at the Shabbat dinner table on Friday night.


biur chametz

The process of destroying (as by burning) the chametz in one's possession before Passover.


mishloach manot

From Hebrew מִשְׁלֹחַ מָנוֹת (mishlóach manót).

מִשְׁלֹחַ מָנוֹת

In the morning when saying Sheheheyanu, the Sheli'ah Tzibbur and worshipers should keep in mind the special mitzvot, such as Mishlo'ah manot (sending foodstuff to friends) and the festive Purim se'udah (feast) that are performed during the day without any designated blessing.

1996, Macy Nulman, The Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer, page 115:

(Judaism) The sending of gifts of food for Purim, or the food given.


Asherite

/ˈæ.ʃəˌɹaɪt/

[ˈæʃɚ.ʌɪ̯t̚]

A descendant of Asher, eighth son of Jacob.

A descendant or member of the tribe of Asher.


Asherite

/ˈæ.ʃəˌɹaɪt/

[ˈæʃɚ.ʌɪ̯t̚]

Of or pertaining to Asher, or to the tribe of Asher.

Joseph

Josephite: Ephraim (Ephraimite); Manasseh (Manassite)

Asher

descendants of the patriarch Jacob, later renamed Israel


korban todah

From Hebrew קָרְבָּן תּוֹדָה.

קָרְבָּן תּוֹדָה

Hebrew קָרְבָּן תּוֹדָה

When reciting the Gomayl blessing, one should stand because this benediction is offered instead of the Korban Todah (thank-offering), which was performed while standing.

1996, Macy Nulman, The Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer, page 100:


Shinar

And it came to passe as they iourneyed from the East, that they found a plaine in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 11:2:

In the Book of Genesis, we are told that the descendants of Noah built a great city in the land of Shinar.

2022 April 11, Jonathan Haidt, “Why the Past 10 Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid”, in The Atlantic:

(biblical) The southern region of Mesopotamia.


Chamisha Chumshei Torah

From Hebrew חמשה חומשי תורה (literally “five-fifths of the Torah”).

der

חמשה חומשי תורה


halukka

chaluka (alternative)
chalukah (alternative)
haluka (alternative)
halukkah (alternative)

From Hebrew חלוקה (literally “division, distribution”).

bor

(Judaism, historical) An organized collection and distribution of charity funds for Jewish residents of the Land of Israel.


halitzah

halitzot (plural)
chalitza (alternative)
chalitzah (alternative)
chalizah (alternative)
halizah (alternative)
khalitzah (alternative)

Hebrew חֲלִיצָה

Halitzah carries with it the implication of shame on the male who by refusing to marry his sister-in-law is guilty of not fulfilling his obligation to his dead brother and his dead brother's estate.

1995 January 15, AB...@aol.com, “Levirate Marriage”, in soc.genealogy.jewish (Usenet):

To discourage sexual attraction between brothers and sisters-in-law, later Jewish law expressed a clear preference for ḥalitzah (the ritual of the sandal) rather than levirate marriage.

2001, David L. Lieber, Jules Harlow, Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, page 1134:

(Judaism) A rite by which a widow absolves herself of the duty of levirate marriage.


tamid

Borrowed from Hebrew תָמִיד (“always, regularly”).

bor+

The tamid offering is to be financed by all the people, not merely by the leaders or by the rich.

2001, David L. Lieber, Jules Harlow, Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, page 930:

(biblical) The twice-daily sacrifice of two male lambs by the priesthood.


takkanah

takkanot (plural)
takanah (alternative)
takannah (alternative)
taqqanah (alternative)
takkannah (alternative)

According to a takkanah (enactment) of the chief rabbinate of Palestine in 1943, in Israel daughters inherit on an equal footing with sons.

2001, David L. Lieber, Jules Harlow, Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, page 926:

A law created by the rabbis not derived from Biblical commandments.


peot

Borrowed from Hebrew פֵּאוֹת (pe'ót) or Yiddish פּאות (peyes).

payess (alternative)
payis (alternative)
payiss (alternative)
payos (alternative)
payot (alternative)
payoth (alternative)
peos (alternative)
peyiss (alternative)

With box or beads or peyiss, / Let each do his own thing.

1968, Jewish Currents, volume 22, page 18:

'Manny? Sweet? Manny doesn't do sweet.'
'Every man does sweet, Max. Even weird ones with payess.'

He showed me the items in his den, or “trophy room” — the cardboard cutout of Sinatra wearing Jewish payos, the portrait of King made entirely of jelly beans, his Emmy for Lifetime Achievement.

2015 August 29, Mark Leibovich, The New York Times:

Sidelocks worn by Hasidic and Orthodox male Jews.

pejzy

sidelocks worn by Hasidic and Orthodox male Jews


sotah

Borrowed from Hebrew סוֹטָה (“adulteress”).

The ordeal of the sotah worked only in an age when people believed in its power to expose the guilty and exonerate the innocent.

2001, David L. Lieber, Jules Harlow, Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, page 796:

(Judaism) An ordeal of a woman drinking priest-cursed bitter liquid to determine if she has committed adultery.


sit shiva

en-verb

sit shiva (third-person singular simple present sits shiva, present participle sitting shiva, simple past and past participle sat shiva)

sits shiva (present singular third-person)
sitting shiva (participle present)
sat shiva (participle past)
sat shiva (past)

Did you know that some parents sit shiva […] for 30 days if their child is discovered to be gay?

1974 February 2, “Jewish Gay Group”, in Gay Community News, volume 1, number 32, page 2:

(Judaism) To take part in the shiva mourning ritual.


Sabbath Queen

A character, usually portrayed as a beautiful woman, who represents the shechinah and the Jewish Sabbath.


starlight problem

Young Earth creationism
Young Earth creationism

(creationism, pseudoscience) The conflict between Young Earth creationism (asserting that the universe is thousands of years old) and the starlight-related measurements that show the universe to be billions of years old.


doikeyt

doikayt (alternative)
doikeit (alternative)

Der veg tsu undzer yugnt embodied the diaspora nationalist ideology of doikeyt, or “hereness," an East European Jewish political principle that championed the legitimacy of Jewish communities wherever they found themselves.

1996 08, Deborah Dash Moore, Yivo Annual Volume 23, →ISBN:

By proclaiming a speaker's location as a site where Yiddish can flourish, doikeyt renders any place, however provisionally, as part of yidishland.

2020, Jeffrey Shandler, Yiddish: Biography of a Language, Oxford University Press, USA, →ISBN, page 36:

The focus on strengthening Jewish communities wherever they live (instead of focusing on making a separate Jewish nation-state), usually associated with Bundism.


Old Earth creationist

en-noun

Old Earth creationist (plural Old Earth creationists)

Old Earth creationism
Old Earth creationism


shemira

(Judaism) The Jewish religious ritual of watching over the body of a deceased person from the time of death until burial.


shomer

Coordinate term: shomeret

(Judaism) A male who watches over the body of a deceased person in the ritual of shemira.


shomer

en-adj

shomer (comparative more shomer, superlative most shomer)

more shomer (comparative)
most shomer (superlative)

He's shomer shabbos, so he won't cook on Saturdays.

(Judaism, of a person) observant, often with regards to a specific set of Jewish laws.


shomeret

Coordinate term: shomer

(Judaism) A female who watches over the body of a deceased person in the ritual of shemira.


shmita

shmitas (plural)
shemittah (alternative)
shmitah (alternative)
shmittah (alternative)

bor

Hebrew שְׁמִיטָה

The Va·ad recommends that kibbutzim observe some of the sh'mittah laws by letting one field lie fallow as the sh'mittah field, and that they give a percentage of their income to the poor, because that was the original purpose of the law.

2001, David L. Lieber, Jules Harlow, Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, page 739:


melakhah

en-noun

melakhah (countable and uncountable, plural melakhot)

melakhot (plural)
m'lakhah (alternative)
melacha (alternative)
melachah (alternative)
melakha (alternative)

Borrowed from Hebrew מְלָאכָה (mal'achá, “work; labor; activities forbidden on Sabbath”).

bor+

Thus, carrying an overcoat over one's shoulder is a melakhah, but wearing one is not.

1981, Isidor Grunfeld, The Sabbath: A Guide to Its Understanding and Observance, page 59:

Most categories of m'lakhah (activities prohibited on Shabbat and Yom Kippur) are also prohibited on the three pilgrimage festivals and Rosh ha-Shanah.

2001, David L. Lieber, Jules Harlow, Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, page 725:

I originally learned that it's a problem to use the head of a match here because of the chemical reaction involved, but I'm having trouble figuring out what the melacha would be.

2004 October 11, Ja...@fas.harvard.edu, “Simple questions (yah, right)”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated (Usenet):

(Judaism) Any of the types of work forbidden on Shabbat.


Tosafot

Tosafos (alternative)
Tosefos (alternative)
Tosfot (alternative)

(historical) Medieval commentaries on the Talmud, in the form of critical and explanatory glosses.


Rishonic

(Judaism) Of or relating to the Rishonim.


peshat

bor

Hebrew פְּשָׁט

We use the tools of modern-day p'shat to recover ancient Scripture.

2001, David L. Lieber, Jules Harlow, Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, page xx:

(Judaism) A method of interpretation of a text using the face-value, literal meaning.


yetzer hara

Hebrew יֵצֶר הַרַע

According to the Midrash, this [that which God said was "very good" in Gen. 1] includes the egocentric drive, the yeitzer ha-ra, sometimes described as the "evil impulse". Without it, no one would build a house, establish a business, marry, or raise a family.

2001, David L. Lieber, Jules Harlow, Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, page 11:

(Judaism) The human inclination toward evil.


Nebaioth

Hebrew נְבָיוֹת

(biblical) The first son of Ishmael, according to the Hebrew Bible.


Elkoshite

(biblical) A member of a minor biblical tribe mentioned in Nahum 1:1.


Issacharite

Of or pertaining to Issachar, or to the tribe of Issachar.


Neolog

Borrowed from Hungarian neológ, a 19th-century coinage from Ancient Greek νεός (neós, “new”) + λόγος (lógos, “word; teaching, doctrine”), equivalent to English neologist.

(Judaism) Pertaining to a liberal and reformist current of Hungarian Judaism.


Neolog

The Neologs were known for their deep sense of patriotism to Hungary.

1988, Arieh Ben-Tov, Facing the Holocaust in Budapest: The International Committee of the Red Cross and the Jews in Hungary, 1943–1945, →ISBN, page 67:


Zionist entity

Calque of Arabic الكِيَان الصِّهْيُونِيّ (al-kiyān aṣ-ṣihyūniyy). First use appears c. 1956. See citations page.

calque

الكِيَان الصِّهْيُونِيّ

Coordinate term: Isn'treal

(Middle East, derogatory, dysphemistic) Israel, viewed by Palestinians and their supporters as an illegitimate regime ruled by Zionists.

الكِيَان الصِّهْيُونِيّ

a pejorative term for the State of Israel


Bethzatha

From Ancient Greek Βηθζαθά (Bēthzathá), a variation appearing in some manuscripts of the Gospel of John.

This article undertakes a study of two Johannine stories – John 5:1-47 (of the healing of the man at the pool of Bethzatha) and John 9:1-41 (the healing of the man born blind) – to discover the meaning and purpose of the evangelist's use of these narratives, and their implications for understanding sickness and healing from faith perspective.

2012, G. N. Uzukwu, “The Disabled in the Gospel of John”, in Sapientia Logos, volume 5, number 1, Jos: Hokma House, →ISSN, page 39:

Bethzatha (v. 2) is where people with illnesses and/or disabilities lie and wait in hope of obtaining healing and relief, which is evidently thought to be obtained by the first person who enters the pool when its waters are mysteriously "troubled."

2021, M. E. Sousa, Sin, the Human Predicament, and Salvation in the Gospel of John, London: T&T Clark, →ISBN, page 54:

(biblical) Alternative form of Bethesda.


Messianic

One who follows the religion of Messianic Judaism.


keriah

In Keriah for one’s father or mother, the garment is rent on the left side, where the heart is.

1976, Isaac Klein, A Time To Be Born, A Time To Die, page 29:

The ritual of keriah sublimates the self-destruction impulse by taking the sense of guilt into account and giving vent to it, but the act of cutting is limited to a garment worn close to the flesh.

1980, Abraham P. Bloch, The Biblical and Historical Background of Jewish Customs and Ceremonies, →ISBN, page 52:

Just before the funeral all the mourners repeat the act of keriah and recite a blessing to God that reminds the mourners that even at a time of grief they should praise God who created death as part of life.

2017, Victoria Williams, “Jewish Death Customs, Judaism”, in Celebrating Life Customs around the World: From Baby Showers to Funerals, volume 3, →ISBN, page 131:

(Judaism) The ritual tearing of one’s clothes while in mourning, now typically the wearing of a torn black tie or ribbon.


shammos

Alternative form of shamash (“candle used to light other candles of a Hanukkah menorah”)


Palluite

(biblical) A member of the tribe descended from Pallu, a son of Reuben.


Gamaliel

/ɡæməˈliːəl/

From Late Latin Gamaliēl from Koine Greek Γαμαλιήλ (Gamaliḗl) from Aramaic גַמַלִיאיֵל (Ḡamalīʾēl) from Biblical Hebrew גַּמְלִיאֵל (Gamlīʾēl). Compare Classical Syriac ܓ݂ܰܡܰܠܺܝܐܝܶܠ (Ḡamalīʾēl).

bor

Aramaic גַמַלִיאיֵל (Ḡamalīʾēl)

cog

ܓ݂ܰܡܰܠܺܝܐܝܶܠ

I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Acts 22:3:

(biblical, Judaism, Christianity) Gamaliel the Elder, a leading authority in the Sanhedrin in the early first century CE.


yasher koach

/ˌjɑːʃəɹ ˈkoʊəx/

Borrowed from Yiddish יישר כּוח (yasher koyekh)


Synagogue of Satan

the Synagogue of Satan (canonical)
Synagog of Satan (alternative)

From Revelation 2:9: "I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan."

For quotations using this term, see Citations:Synagogue of Satan.

(ethnic slur, religious slur) The Jews, regarded collectively.


Beloved Disciple

Calque of Ecclesiastical Latin discipulus dīlēctus, applied as an epithet of John the Evangelist. The term is a summary of the expressions found in the Gospel itself, such as ὁ μαθητὴς ὃν ἠγάπα ὁ Ἰησοῦς (ho mathētḕs hòn ēgápa ho Iēsoûs, “the disciple whom Jesus loved”).

calque

And the beloved''' Disciple fell down as dead at the appearance of Christ in his Glory.

1674, William Bates, The Harmony of the Divine Attributes […], page 90:

The idea of the almost immediate return of Christ to judgment still so far retains its force that the Beloved Disciple is represented as probably living to see it […]

1872, Thomas Scott, The English Life of Jesus, page 328:

The question of the identification of the Beloved Disciple and that of the discovery of the author of the Gospel are not necessarily identical, for it is quite possible to argue, as we found Schmiedel doing just now, that the two were separate and distinct persons.

1949, Harold Holloway, The Twilight of the Critics: Being Studies and Reflections on the Fourth Gospel, page 76:

(biblical) A figure in the Gospel of John whose identity is left implicit within the text; traditionally, John the Evangelist himself.


Cainian

(Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism) Synonym of Cainite.


selichot

selichoth (alternative)
selihoth (alternative)

(Judaism) Jewish penitential poems and prayers, especially those said in the period leading up to the High Holidays, and on fast days.


shatnez

Borrowed from Hebrew שַׁעַטְנֵז (shatnéz), of obscure further origin.

bor+

(Judaism) Cloth containing both wool and linen (linsey-woolsey), which Jewish law prohibits wearing.


Shushan

13 Then said Esther, If it please the king, Let it bee granted to the Iewes which are in Shushan, to doe to morow also, according vnto this dayes decree, and let Hamans ten sonnes be hanged vpon the gallous.
14 And the king commanded it so to be done; and the decree was giuen at Shushan, and they hanged Hamans ten sonnes.
15 For the Iewes that were in Shushan, gathered themselues together on the fourteenth day also of the moneth Adar, and slewe three hundred men at Shushan: but on the pray they laid not their hand.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Esther 9:13–15:

(biblical) Susa, Shush (the ancient capital of Elam, in modern Iran).


ashamnu

(Judaism) A Jewish confession in the form of an acrostic, customarily recited aloud.


masekhet

bor

Hebrew מַסֶּכֶת


oven dodger

oven dodgers (plural)
oven-dodger (alternative)

In reference to the cremation of Jews during the Holocaust, suggesting that the Jews alive today are those who avoided being killed in the Holocaust, or their descendants.

For quotations using this term, see Citations:oven dodger.

(slang, ethnic slur, derogatory, offensive) A Jewish person.


targumize

en-verb

targumize (third-person singular simple present targumizes, present participle targumizing, simple past and past participle targumized)

targumizes (present singular third-person)
targumizing (participle present)
targumized (participle past)
targumized (past)

(Judaism) To translate the Tanakh into Aramaic.


Archontic

Borrowed from Koine Greek Ἀρχοντικοί (Arkhontikoí), from ἄρχων (árkhōn, “archon”).

bor+

(historical) Pertaining to a Gnostic group or sect prominent in late antique Egypt.


Happy Merchant

Originated in a cartoon by A. Wyatt Mann (Nick Bougas) in 2001.

An anti-Semitic caricature of a Jew, often featuring in far-right memes and propaganda.


yizkor

From Hebrew יִזְכּוֹר (literally “may [God] remember”), from the opening word of the service.

bor

a yizkor book; a yizkor sermon

(Judaism, often attributive) An Ashkenazi memorial prayer service for the dead.


Kol Nidre

Kol Nidres (plural)
Kol Nidrei (alternative)
Kol Nidrey (alternative)

(Judaism) A Hebrew and Aramaic declaration recited in the synagogue before the beginning of the evening service on every Yom Kippur.


Yahoel

Transliteration of Old Church Slavonic иаоиль (iaoilĭ), from reconstructed Greek Ιαοὴλ (Iaoḕl), from reconstructed Hebrew יהואל or יואל; thought to be a compound of the Tetragrammaton, יהוה (Yahweh or Yahoh), and אֵל (ʾēl), both used as names of God and the latter a common ending of personal names.

translit

(Judaism) angel name used in different texts, e.g. one of Metatron's names


miktam

From Hebrew מִכְתָּם, of unknown meaning, occurring in the headings of these psalms.

bor

Hebrew מִכְתָּם

(Judaism) Any of the Psalms 16 and 56–60 in the Hebrew Bible.


Isaianic

en-adj

Isaianic (comparative more Isaianic, superlative most Isaianic)

more Isaianic (comparative)
most Isaianic (superlative)

From Isaiah + -n- + -ic or Isaian + -ic.

Synonym of Isaian (“of or relating to the Biblical Isaiah”)


gappist

Let us assume, for the moment, that Adam was really the grandfather of Seth, as claimed by “gappists.”

1981, Creation Research Society Quarterly, page 63:

Thus, the “gappists” claim the verbs “create” and “make” have different functions and cannot be used interchangeably!

2004, Marc Millan, Destroying Diabolical Opposition: A Training Manual for Winning the Battle, Dunamis Publishing, →ISBN, page 33:

Many gappists have used the word “replenish” in the KJV translation of Genesis 1:28 to justify the gap theory on the basis that this word means “refill.”

2006, Ken Ham, “What About the Gap & Ruin-Reconstruction Theories?”, in Ken Ham, Bodie Hodge, editors, The New Answers, Book 1: Over 25 Questions on Creation/Evolution and the Bible, Answers in Genesis, published 2022, →ISBN, page 61:


Omer beard

(Judaism) a beard grown during the time in Omer, when the beard must not be cut


Blessed Virgin Mary

“Rust” has elements of Tara Westover’s “Educated,” but Goldbach’s background is not as extreme. She went to Catholic schools and asked the Blessed Virgin Mary for a sign that she should become a nun.

2020 March 3, Mary Norris, “Utility Worker No. 6691 on Life Inside a Steel Mill”, in The New York Times:

(Christianity) Synonym of Virgin Mary (“Mary, mother of Jesus”).


parochet

parocheth (alternative)
paroket (alternative)

(biblical) The curtain that covered the Ark of the Covenant.

(Judaism) The curtain that covers the ark containing the Torah scrolls in a synagogue.


shovavim

(Judaism) A period of six to eight weeks every year in which, according to some kabbalists, one should focus on repentance for sins, particularly sexual sins.


Revised Version

(biblical) A late 19th-century British revision of the King James Version of the Bible.


Amaziah

From Hebrew אֲמַצְיָהוּ.

der

Hebrew אֲמַצְיָהוּ

(biblical) A male given name from Hebrew.


Shabbat goy

en-noun

Shabbat goy (plural Shabbat goys or Shabbat goyim)

Shabbat goys (plural)
Shabbat goyim (plural)

(Judaism) A non-Jewish person who assists Jews on the Sabbath by performing tasks that Jews are not permitted to do, such as operating machinery.


zimun

Borrowed from Hebrew זימון (“invitation, summons”).

bor+

(Judaism) A blessing made before Birkat Hamazon, calling together those who have eaten.


machmir

en-adj

machmir (comparative more machmir, superlative most machmir)

more machmir (comparative)
most machmir (superlative)

Borrowed from Hebrew מַחְמִיר (“makhmir”).

bor+

If I'd let people in my shul know I was gay prior to getting involved with my partner, they would have distanced themselves from me as if I was some kind of pariah. No violation of sex laws even according to the most machmir views; merely the fact of *being* gay.

2000 September 19, Lisa Beth, “Rabi Shmuli Boteach refuted”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated (Usenet):

Is it serving Hashem to be machmir and resentful, rather than adhere to the letter of the law and be relaxed and happy?

2008 July 16, Jessie Fischbein, “Being Machmir”, in The Jewish Star:

(Judaism) Being the strictest interpretation of the law; following this interpretation.


chumra

Put mezuzas on the doors of your minivan and tell everyone "It's the latest chumrah, but most people don't follow it".

2002 May 15, Harry Weiss, “60 ways to be a frummie”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated (Usenet):

[Pesach] should be a time of feeling closeness to G-d and thankfulness for his deliverance. Getting hung up on "chumros" could end up being an ego-trip all of it's^([sic]) own.

2003 September 19, mos...@mm.huji.ac.il, “Rabbi Shmuli Boteach Refuted”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated (Usenet):

(Judaism) Observance of a law to an extent beyond that required by the laxest interpretation.


chatzot

A wind would blow every night at chatzos and cause King David's harp to play, and this would wake him up and he would study torah.

2004 June 10, cindys, “God studies Torah and wears Tefillin?”, in alt.messianic (Usenet):

(Judaism) The time exactly halfway between sunset and sunrise; midnight.


mezuman

It is the custom of some, when traveling and eating at the house of a Gentile, not to recite Birkas Hamazon with a mezuman.

2019 August 5, Netzari Emunah, Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 236:

A quorum of three men (in some traditions, three men or three women) to recite Birkat Hamazon after a meal.


Meshichism

(Judaism) The belief that that Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson is the Messiah.


psak

piskei (plural)
p'sak (alternative)
pesak (alternative)

By the end of the meal one of them remembered a psak that said that women eating together should make a mezumen. They debated it while I looked in the Shulchan Aruch for anything that says so or otherwise.

1999 November 2, Yisroel Markov, “Personal Kiddush”, in soc.culture.jewish (Usenet):

Words like "reasonable to say" and "arguably" betoken a "gut feeling" rather than a clear psak.

2004 October 18, mos...@mm.huji.ac.il, “Simple questions (yah, right)”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated (Usenet):

A decisive rabbinic ruling on halachic law.


safek

The safek inherent in whether the dead brother had a child or not.

1996 May 6, Art Kamlet, “***Israeli Citizenship***”, in soc.culture.jewish (Usenet):

What's "ethnically" Hungarian about them? Perhaps, and I have some sfekot, [they are] ethnically Jewish.

2000 November 19, Abe Cohen, “Naomi's outburst”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated (Usenet):

Even in cases where there is some doubt if the intent of marriage existed in both parties, the rabbis might demand that they get divorced with a get, since there is a safek that they may be married according to Torah law and therefore it is best to issue a get to remove all doubt and therefore remove any chance that the woman's future children might be mamzerim.

1996 April 29, Jonathan Kamens, “Question on love affairs and illegitimate children”, in soc.culture.jewish (Usenet):

However, we rule that it is a safek and accordingly the blessing should not be recited.

2003, J. H. Henkin, Responsa on Contemporary Jewish Women's Issues, KTAV Publishing House, Inc., →ISBN, page 58:

(Judaism) A doubtful case; something that is up for debate


mamzerut

(Judaism) The state of being a mamzer (child born of an impermissible union).


LOR

en-noun

LOR (countable and uncountable, plural LORs)

When I repeated this idea to my LOR, he mentioned that he saw it in "Da'as Torah", written by R' Yerucham Levovitz, the mashgiach of Mir.

2000 April 24, Micha Berger, “Moshe's Song”, in soc.culture.jewish (Usenet):

(Judaism) Abbreviation of local Orthodox rabbi.


lamdan

Borrowed from Hebrew למדן (lamdan), partially via Yiddish למדן (lamdn).

I'm not such a lamdan that I can learn halacha from the Gemara.

1996 May 2, Warren Burstein, “Question on love affairs and illegitimate children”, in soc.culture.jewish (Usenet):


kinyan

An abstract kinyan has absolutely no validity in halacha. A kinyan has to stipulate how much, what and where. Thus, the Lieberman clause requiring the couple to "accept the authority of the Conservative bet din" is meaningless in halacha and invalid.

2001 July 23, BAC...@vms.huji.ac.il, “Need the strictest rabbi I can find.”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated (Usenet):


averah

averot (plural)
averos (plural)
aveyrah (alternative)

It's an averah to tell a lie, even if it would benefit us.

2009 June 18, Lizz Holmans, “Is Christianity, jealous and proud of it, petty, vindictive, unjust, unforgiving, racist, an ethnic cleanser urging His people on to acts of genocide & child abuse…”, in sci.skeptic (Usenet):


possul

passul (alternative)
pasul (alternative)
posul (alternative)

You should not use your best friends as witnesses as they may be considered prejudiced and may possibly be considered posul as witnesses.

1990 December 13, David Suna, “MARRIAGE VIA INTERCOURSE”, in soc.culture.jewish (Usenet):

Perhaps you should avoid this Chabad house--by your standards their sefer torah is probably possul, since it's only been checked and fixed by a chalav stam drinker.

1994 July 25, Matthew P Wiener, “Why are Hasidim speaking for all Orthodox”, in soc.culture.jewish (Usenet):

I’ve seen many taleisim before, dose of Chayim and Yossel.
But as for your tallis, I must say, dis iz definitely possul.
I could vork on your tallis some more, but it really doesn’t pay.
If I vere you, I vould buy a new tallis, and throw dis old von avay.

1998 March 9, Gabriel Z. Wasserman, “Purim stuff”, in soc.culture.jewish (Usenet):

(Judaism) Invalid for ceremonial or official purposes.


hekesh

One SCJ commentator said how he felt that the custom of kissing the mezzuzah was something that should be banned as being too close to avodah zarah. (and he made a hekesh to the nachash nechoshet)

1992 September 8, Yechezkal Shimon Gutfreund, “Not a Charm?”, in soc.culture.jewish (Usenet):

He regarded the hekesh as the equivalent of an explicitly written teaching.

1995 June 6, Avi Sion, Judaic Logic: A Formal Analysis of Biblical, Talmudic and Rabbinic Logic, Avi Sion, →ISBN, page 150:

Talmudic tradition (Shabbat 92a) connects them with a hekesh, teaching that both reached full stature: “Just as the mishkan was ten cubits tall, so too the altar was ten cubits tall.”

2006, Abraham Isaac Kook, Gold from the Land of Israel, Chanan Morrison, →ISBN, page 150:

(Jewish law) Application of a stated law to an unstated but analogous case.


drasha

drashos (plural)
drashot (plural)
derasha (alternative)
derashah (alternative)

My shul's Rabbi devoted his Shabbat morning drasha a couple of weeks ago to the idea that the mezuza provides protection.

1992 September 3, Robert B. Israel, “Not a Charm?”, in soc.culture.jewish (Usenet):


avodah zarah

Borrowed from Hebrew עבודה זרה (“foreign worship”).

bor+

One SCJ commentator said how he felt that the custom of kissing the mezzuzah was something that should be banned as being too close to avodah zarah.

The eradication of the mindset of avodah zarah is a lifelong quest.

2022 September 1, Rabbi Elie Feder, Gematria Refigured, Mosaica Press, →ISBN, page 44:


misnaged

misnagdim (plural)
misnagid (alternative)
mitnaged (alternative)
mitnagged (alternative)

Borrowed from Yiddish מתנגד (misnaged), from Hebrew מִתְנַגֵּד (mitnagéd, “opponent”).


chazzanut

chazanut (alternative)
chazanuth (alternative)
chazzanuth (alternative)

Why is having a chazan equated with a solo performance? My husband and I do the chazanut for our congregation because the rabbi cannot sing well enough to lead the congregation.

1996 August 30, Shirah Winicur, “Boring Reform services”, in soc.culture.jewish (Usenet):

Jewish liturgical music, as performed by a cantor.


chalav stam

Borrowed from Hebrew חלב סתם (literally, “plain milk”).

There are certainly those that maintain that for a doctor to drive home from the hospital on Shabbos or for a God-fearing Jew to eat chalav stam is perfectly lawful and legitimate and should not be viewed as concessionary practices.

2022 January 1, Rabbi Daniel Friedman, The Transformative Daf - Moed Katan, Mosaica Press, →ISBN, page 23:

(Judaism) Milk or other dairy product that is assumed to be kosher despite not being supervised by a mashgiach.


semikhah

en-noun

semikhah (countable and uncountable, plural semikhot)

semikhot (plural)
semicha (alternative)
semikah (alternative)
smicha (alternative)

Borrowed from Hebrew סְמִיכָה (s'mikha).

One black hat shul in my neighborhood, when looking for a new pulpit rabbi, listed as one of their requirements that the rabbi needed to hold a four-year secular university degree in addition to his semicha.

2010 March 8, cindys, “How Nazism Shaped Islamist Views”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated (Usenet):


chalav yisrael

Borrowed from Hebrew חלב ישראל (“Jewish milk”).

bor+

I am denouncing the unfortunate fact that people who are learned will use the Heter of R. Moshe to eat Ice Cream that is not Chalav Yisrael.

1994 July 23, YOSEF_KAZEN, “Why are Hasidim speaking for all Orthodox?”, in soc.culture.jewish (Usenet):

(Judaism) milk or dairy product produced under rabbinic supervision.


mara d'atra

mara d'athra (alternative)
mara d'asra (alternative)
mara deatra (alternative)

Can't answer for other rabbis, but my mara d'atra only allows hechshered wines. I haven't asked him for a justification.

1998 July 21, Hadass Eviatar, “Kabbalah - basic intro & info”, in soc.culture.jewish (Usenet):

A rabbi with halachic authority over a certain jurisdiction or population.


sichah

sichot (plural)
sichos (plural)
sicha (alternative)

Borrowed from Hebrew שִׂיחָה (sikha, “discussion”).

As for 770 being a "holy number," it is not "Lubies" who regard it thus, but the Lubavitche Rebbe himself who regards it thus, and spoke about it in innumerable sichos, many of them available in print.

2003 December 6, R, “More Chabad Mishegas”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated (Usenet):


Lubie

Pardon us foolish Lubies for considerings ^([sic]) holy what our Rebbe considers as holy.


admor

The movement reunited under the third Rebbe, Menachem Mendel (Zemah Zedeq) -- only to experience another schism after his passing and the creation of multiple courts of Chabad admorim.

1994 July 26, A. Engler Anderson, “Why are Hasidim speaking for all Orthodox”, in soc.culture.jewish (Usenet):


talmid

'Chassidus' means the whole body of teachings of the talmidim of the Baal Shem Tov and further.

1998 June 24, Moshe Shulman, “The Only True Chasidus?”, in soc.culture.jewish (Usenet):


Klal Yisrael

Borrowed from Hebrew כְּלָל יִשְׂרָאֵל (“the whole of Israel”).

כְּלָל יִשְׂרָאֵל

They claim that their Rebbe is the Moshiach of Klal Yisroel.

1995 February 2, Moshe Shulman, “Petitions, Acceptance and Moshiach”, in soc.culture.jewish (Usenet):


pasken

en-verb

pasken (third-person singular simple present paskens, present participle paskening, simple past and past participle paskened)

paskens (present singular third-person)
paskening (participle present)
paskened (participle past)
paskened (past)
paskin (alternative)

Borrowed from Yiddish פּסקענען (paskenen).

bor+

When the Rambam paskins one way and the majority paskins another way, the dispute is over practice and customs.

1997 May 12, Jay Lapidus, “Unique Medieval Jewish Philosophers”, in soc.culture.jewish (Usenet):


Chokmah

bor

Hebrew חָכְמָה

Chokhmah (alternative)
Hokhmah (alternative)


D'var Torah

Divrei Torah (plural)
d'var Torah (alternative)
devar Torah (alternative)

The title word of parashas Beha'alosekha (when you raise) is problematic. I'm sure Moshe has also heard a number of divrei Torah about it.

2004 October 13, Micha Berger, “Simple questions (yah, right)”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated (Usenet):

(Judaism) A sermon upon the weekly parashah.


niddui

One who is under a ban of nidui or cherem (G-d forbid) cannot be counted towards a minyan.

2003 April 30, R, “Who counts toward a Minyan?”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated (Usenet):

(Judaism) Brief excommunication, lasting either seven or thirty days.


baal-ha-bos

(Judaism) Alternative spelling of balebos


badchen

badchens (plural)
badchan (alternative)
badhan (alternative)
badkhan (alternative)
badkhen (alternative)
badkhn (alternative)
badkhon (alternative)

master of ceremonies
master of ceremonies

(Judaism) A kind of Ashkenazic professional wedding entertainer, poet, and master of ceremonies originating in Eastern Europe.


eidut

The reasons for women's exclusion from eidut have expired now that women occupy secular positions of great responsibility and are no longer influenced by their husbands in public matters in the way they once were.

1999 October 22, j e rosenbaum, “Orthodox Institute Holds Graduation Ceremony for Female Rabbis”, in soc.culture.jewish (Usenet):

A person may not give eidut against themselves in a beit din.

2000 October 3, Lisa Beth, “Lieberman and Chillul Hashem”, in soc.culture.jewish (Usenet):

(Jewish law) testimony attesting to having witnessed the commission of the offense.


gadol

Borrowed from Hebrew גָּדוֹל (“big, great”).

bor+

There were many gedolim who said that it is infinitely preferable that the mosque be there than not, when there is no Beis Hamikdash.

2001 January 11, David Goldman, “JEWS FORBIDDEN ON TEMPLE MOUNT”, in soc.culture.jewish (Usenet):

An eminent, highly respected rabbi, esp. of the past.


Beit Hamikdash

Borrowed from Hebrew בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ (“holy house”).

בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ

Beit HaMikdash (alternative)
Beis Hamikdash (alternative)


chillul Hashem

You don't hate Zionism. You hate Jews. It is a chillul HaShem every time you quote the holy Satmar Rov ZT'L.

2001 January 14, Moshe Shulman, “JEWS FORBIDDEN ON TEMPLE MOUNT”, in soc.culture.jewish (Usenet):

A disgrace before God; especially, shameful behavior by a Jew seen as 'giving God a bad name'.


Tisha B'Av

From Hebrew תִּשְׁעָה בְּאָב (Tish'a B'Áv, “the ninth day of Av”), from תִּשְׁעָה (tish'á, “nine”) + בְּ (b'-, “in”) + אָב ('Áv, “Av, fifth month of the Jewish Calendar”).

bor

תִּשְׁעָה בְּאָב

Tisha B'Ab (alternative)
tishe-bov (alternative)

(Judaism) An annual day of fasting, associated with a number of disasters in Jewish history.


kapparot

/ˈkæpəˌɹɑːt/

/ˌkæpəˈɹoʊt/

(Judaism) A customary atonement ritual practised by Orthodox Jews on the eve of Yom Kippur, involving the waving of money or a chicken over a person's head before it is donated to charity or to feed the hungry.


shacharit

/ˈʃɑːxəriːt/

Borrowed from Hebrew שַׁחֲרִית (shakharít).

bor+

shacharis (alternative)
shaharis (alternative)
shaharith (alternative)
shaharit (alternative)
Shacharit (alternative)
shacharith (alternative)


Shehecheyanu

/ʃɛˌhɛxiˈjɑːnuː/

Borrowed from Hebrew שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ (shehekheyánu), a Jewish blessing for special occasions.

שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ

(Judaism) A Jewish prayer to express gratitude for special occasions and new experiences.


shtadlanut

(Judaism, historical) The work of a shtadlan; intercession on behalf of a local European Jewish community.


shtadlan

en-noun

shtadlan (plural shtadlans or shtadlanim)

shtadlans (plural)
shtadlanim (plural)
shetadlan (alternative)

bor

Hebrew שַׁדְלָ

(Judaism, historical) An intercessor for a local European Jewish community on behalf of the authorities.


Priestly

A habitational surname from Old English.


Priestly

en-adj

Priestly (not generally comparable, comparative more Priestly, superlative most Priestly)

more Priestly (comparative)
most Priestly (superlative)

Semantic loan from German priesterlich and Priesterschrift (“Priestly source”, literally “priest document”), so called because of the reconstructed source’s emphasis on cultic issues. See priestly.

Thus we continue to meet the new Priestly expression, “you (they) shall know that I am Yahweh” […]

1971, Norman Habel, Literary Criticism of the Old Testament, →ISBN, page 79:

Then, Welch (1939) went the opposite way, asserting that the original layer, written before the end of the exile showed Deuteronomy’s influence and that more Priestly texts were secondary.

2004, Steven L. McKenzie, Abingdon Old Testament Commentaries: I & II Chronicles, →ISBN, page 27:

Noth made the necessary objections to that view and demonstrated that these are additions in the Priestly style which presuppose the bringing together of P and the non-Priestly text in Genesis–Numbers and the combination of Genesis–Joshua.

2005 [2000], Reinhard G. Kratz, translated by John Bowden, The Composition of the Narrative Books of the Old Testament, →ISBN, page 110:

documentary hypothesis
documentary hypothesis

(history) Pertaining to the Priestly source (“P”), one of the sources of the Torah or Pentateuch according to the documentary hypothesis.


Shield of David

Synonym of Star of David (“Jewish symbol”)


Joktan

en-proper noun

Joktan (countable and uncountable, plural Joktans)


ner tamid

(Judaism) An "eternal lamp" found within Jewish synagogues, illuminating the area before or near the Torah ark.


qere perpetuum

From Latin perpetuus (“perpetual”). See qere.

אֲדוֹנָי אדוני#Hebrew

יהוה יהוה#Hebrew

In the liturgical use of the Tanakh, a fixed substitution that is always expected when a certain written word is read out, most notably אֲדוֹנָי (ăḏônāy, literally “my Lord(s)”) for יהוה (YHVH), the name of God; an indication of such a substitution.


NASB

New American Standard Bible
w:New American Standard Bible

(biblical) Initialism of New American Standard Bible.


Micaiah

From מִיכַיְהוּ (mīḵāyᵊhū, “who is like Yahweh”). The name Micah is a shortened form, such as in the book of the Bible (Hebrew מִיכָה (mīḵāh)) or the Ephraimite meantioned in Judges 17-18.

(biblical) A prophet in the court of King Ahab and possibly a disciple of Elijah in the Old Testament of the Bible in 1 Kings 22.


giyoret

Coordinate term: ger


Ashkephardi

You, my friend, are a Sephardi, an Ashkenazi boundary crosser, the multicultural Ashkephardi, an ally to all … or just someone with a darn good vocabulary and possibly a belly to boot!

2008, Lisa Alcalay Klug, Cool Jew: The Ultimate Guide for Every Member of the Tribe, Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC, →ISBN, →LCCN, page 65:

My children, unlike me, my parents and grandparents, are not fully Sephardi. As their father is an Ashkenazi Jew, Zara and Asher are ‘Ashkephardi’: part Sephardi, part Ashkenazi.

2012, Elana Benjamin, My Mother's Spice Cupboard: A Journey from Baghdad to Bombay to Bondi, Port Campbell Press, →ISBN, page 273:

Max Guttman (ze/zir/zirs) is a non-binary transgender and Ashkephardi Jewish educator, artist and writer.

2019, Freiya Benson, editor, Trans Love: An Anthology of Transgender and Non-Binary Voices, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, →ISBN, page 288:

(Judaism, rare) Being both Ashkenazi and Sephardi simultaneously.


chavurah

en-noun

chavurah (plural chavurahs or chavurot or chavuroth)

chavurahs (plural)
chavurot (plural)
chavuroth (plural)
havurah (alternative)

Borrowed from Hebrew חֲבוּרָה (khavurá, “fellowship”).

(Judaism) A small group of like-minded Jews who assemble for prayer, learning, etc.


Maariv

bor

Hebrew מַעֲרִיב

Maarib (alternative)
Ma'ariv (alternative)

(Judaism) A Jewish prayer service held in the evening or at night.


sarkic

en-adj

sarkic (comparative more sarkic, superlative most sarkic)

more sarkic (comparative)
most sarkic (superlative)

(Gnosticism) designating the lowest level of human thought; focused on neither intellectual (psychic) nor spiritual (pneumatic) reality.


Sarkic

Sarkic (comparative more Sarkic, superlative most Sarkic)

more Sarkic (comparative)
most Sarkic (superlative)

(Gnosticism) the lowest state of human thought; the fleshly, instinct-driven level; neither intellectual (psychic) nor spiritual (pneumatic).


mizpah

(biblical) The pile of stones erected by Jacob and Laban as a figurative watchtower to mark their separation.


Letter of Jeremiah

A deuterocanonical book of the Old Testament, attributed to Jeremiah and addressed to the Jews who were about to be carried away as captives to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar.


Naphtalite

A descendant of Naphtali, sixth son of Jacob.

A descendant or member of the tribe of Naphtali.


Naphtalite

Of or pertaining to Naphtali, or to the tribe of Naphtali.


Gog and Magog

/ˈɡɒɡ ɛnd ˈmeɪɡɒɡ/

From the book of Ezekiel and the book of Revelation; see quotation below. Ultimately from Biblical Hebrew גּוֹג (gôḡ) and מָגוֹג (māḡôḡ).

Gog, a prince who attacks Israel in the book of Ezekiel, and the nation he leads, Magog.


Azharot

From Hebrew אזהרות (literally “exhortations”).

bor

(Judaism) Didactic liturgical poems on, or versifications of, the 613 commandments in rabbinical enumeration.


Gadite

A descendant of Gad, seventh son of Jacob.


Gadite

Of or pertaining to Gad, or to the tribe of Gad.


meshummad

en-noun

meshummad (plural meshummads or meshummadim)

meshummads (plural)
meshummadim (plural)


Manassite

A descendant of Manasseh, elder son of Joseph.


Manassite

Of or pertaining to Manasseh, or to the tribe of Manasseh.


counting of the Omer

Calque of Hebrew סְפִירַת הָעוֹמֶר

clq

סְפִירַת הָעוֹמֶר

Calque of Hebrew סְפִירַת הָעוֹמֶר

(Judaism, Samaritanism) The ritual of stating the specific day of the Omer.


shomer shabbos

en-adj

shomer shabbos (comparative more shomer shabbos, superlative most shomer shabbos)

more shomer shabbos (comparative)
most shomer shabbos (superlative)

Borrowed from Yiddish שומר שבת (shomer shabes), Hebrew שׁוֹמֵר שַׁבָּת.

der

שׁוֹמֵר שַׁבָּת

Hebrew שׁוֹמֵר שַׁבָּת

She wouldn't have her phone with her on Saturday because she's shomer shabbos.

Donny: How come you don't roll on Saturday, Walter? / Walter: I'm shomer shabbos.

(Judaism, of a person) observant of the laws of Shabbat.


Mincha

From Hebrew מִנְחָה (literally “gift, offering”).

bor

Minchah (alternative)
Minha (alternative)
Minhah (alternative)


hashkabah

(Judaism) A Sephardic prayer for the dead.


kvutza

en-noun

kvutza (plural kvutzas or kvutzot or kvutzoth)

kvutzas (plural)
kvutzot (plural)
kvutzoth (plural)
kevutza (alternative)
kevutzah (alternative)
kvutzah (alternative)

Coordinate term: kibbutz

(Judaism) A Jewish communal settlement, primarily in Israel before it became a modern state.


Hoshana Rabbah

From Hebrew הוֹשַׁעְנָא רַבָּה (literally “Great Supplication”).

bor

הוֹשַׁעְנָא רַבָּה

(Judaism) The seventh day of Sukkot, marked by a special synagogue service in which seven circuits are made by the worshippers with their lulav and etrog while the congregation recites prayers.


Haymanot

From Ge'ez ሃይማኖት (haymanot, “religion, faith”).

(Judaism) the traditions and practices of the Beta Israel community


bikkurim

(Judaism, historical) A religious offering of first fruits by the ancient Israelites.


Jew-ish

en-adj

Jew-ish (comparative more Jew-ish, superlative most Jew-ish)

more Jew-ish (comparative)
most Jew-ish (superlative)

I'm not exactly Jewish; more like Jew-ish.

The data reveals a group of American Jews who are, well, Jew-ish – an identity that is not only absent of faith, Torah and mitzvot, but also largely absent of anything that matters much at all.

2013 October 9, Leon A. Morris, “Religion Matters: Beware the American 'Cultural Jew'”, in Haaretz, Tel Aviv: Haaretz Daily Newspaper Ltd., →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-06-25:

(Judaism, colloquial) Identifying as culturally Jewish, but not taking part in religious activities.


eat the bread of idleness

en-verb

eat the bread of idleness (third-person singular simple present eat the bread of idleness, present participle eating the bread of idleness, simple past ate the bread of idleness, past participle eaten the bread of idleness)

eat the bread of idleness (present singular third-person)
eating the bread of idleness (participle present)
ate the bread of idleness (past)
eaten the bread of idleness (participle past)

(archaic, obsolete, biblical) To eat or consume food that one has not worked for or personally earned.


hakhshara

From Hebrew הַכְשָׁרָה (literally “preparation”).

bor

hachshara (alternative)
hachsharah (alternative)
hakhsharah (alternative)

(Judaism) Zionist training in preparation for emigration to Israel and subsequent life in a kibbutz.


halutziut

חֲלוּצִיּוּת

chalutziut (alternative)
chalutziuth (alternative)
halutziuth (alternative)

(Judaism) The pioneering work of the halutzim.


Kidron

(biblical) A Hellenistic city mentioned in the first Book of the Maccabees, tentatively identified with Qatra.


many-eyed

(biblical) Having many eyes, especially in reference to the angels in the Biblical book of Ezekiel.


bochur

bochurim (plural)
bahur (alternative)
bachur (alternative)
bocher (alternative)
bokher (alternative)
bokhur (alternative)

My son told me that the principal had passed a new rule that if a bochur were a smoker, he had to leave the yeshiva and could not return until he stopped smoking.

2011 July 4, cindys, soc.culture.jewish.moderated (Usenet):

(Judaism) A (male) student at a yeshiva.


emunah

I've seen cases in which #1 might possibly be true, though the only way to do so would entail something like suicide of the soul anyway. And who knows, maybe the idea is that such a person will have it "made up" to them in Olam HaBa. But there's emuna and there's emuna. The emuna that's strong enough for a person to willingly shrivel up into a living death in return for a better room on the other side seems awfully rare to me.

1997 January 11, li...@interport.net, “Lesbianism in Halakha”, in soc.culture.jewish (Usenet):

By 1900, many of the young who grew up in the Hirschian community had dropped out and even among those who remained committed, their religious observance was rather formalistic and arid. The thing that really saved German Orthodoxy was the renewed contact between German Orthodox Jews with those from Eastern Europe and both its traditional Lithuanian Yeshiva elements and the Hasidic groups. Their enthusiasm and deep emunah revitalized many German Orthodox Jews.

2006 February 28, YM, “Rabbi Wein on Robert Auman and parshas Vayishlach”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated (Usenet):

(Judaism) faith, sincere belief, conviction.


Nadab

(biblical) The first-born son of Aaron and Elisheba.


middah

Shaul Hamelech was halachically wrong to spare Agag, but his desire to do so arose from an authentic Jewish middah of rachamim.

2006 June 5, Jonathan K. Baker, “Spilling out drops of wine at the Seder”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated (Usenet):

(Judaism) A personal moral virtue, especially viewed separately from religious obligation.


rachamim

Borrowed from Hebrew רַחֲמִים (rakhamím).

bor+

Israel has the attribute of rachamim, which is why we didn't fulfill God's command to wipe out the Seven Nations, and not to make treaties with them.

2002 July 29, Jonathan K. Baker, “A little help with a debate?”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated (Usenet):


mesorah

Given a problem like this, we don't assume a machloket, and we don't assume diametrically opposed views, because diametrically opposed views are always addressed as such. Our mesorah does not simply say two contradictory things and let them sit without comment.

2006 April 27, Lisa, “Spilling out drops of wine at the Seder”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated (Usenet):


gebrochts

Matzah that has become wet after being baked.


Acharon

I want to see a WRITTEN source as authored by a posek/acharon prior to the year 1900.

2006 April 29, bac...@vms.huji.ac.il, “Spilling out drops of wine at the Seder”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated (Usenet):

A rabbi-scholar of the modern period, starting from the 16th century.


tameh

(Jewish law) Ritually impure or tainted.


Eretz Yisrael

Borrowed from Hebrew אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל (“land of Israel”).

אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל

He categorically states that there will not be a renewal of Jewish sovereignity ^([sic]) in Eretz Israel prior to the Mashiach, thus indicating that the Jews would, for the indefinite future, would remain in Europe.


yahrzeit candle

en-noun

yahrzeit candle (plural yahrzeit candles)

Every year he brought the yahrzeit candle out, and looked at it, and thought about lighting it.

2007, Michael Chabon, The Yiddish Policemen’s Union, 4th Estate (2010), page 348:

(religion, Judaism) A type of candle that is lit in memory of the deceased.


Mosaic covenant

Coordinate term: New Covenant

(Christianity, Judaism) A covenant between the Israelite tribes and God, including the entirety of the laws brought by Moses.


frumkeit

(Judaism) The quality of being frum (pious and observant of Jewish laws and customs).


guilt offering

Coordinate term: sin offering

(biblical, historical) A kind of biblical sacrifice made as a compensation payment for certain transgressions.


sin offering

Coordinate term: guilt offering

(biblical, historical) A sacrificial offering of flour or an animal, commanded in the Torah (Leviticus 4.1-35), serving to atone for the unintentional transgression of a prohibition.


kosher-style

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-kosher-style.wav

Of foods: associated with Jewish cuisine, and typically not including forbidden meat (such as pork) nor combining meat and dairy, but not necessarily prepared in a kosher manner.


goysplain

en-verb

goysplain (third-person singular simple present goysplains, present participle goysplaining, simple past and past participle goysplained)

goysplains (present singular third-person)
goysplaining (participle present)
goysplained (participle past)
goysplained (past)

And so Walker makes the appropriate gestures of love for Israel, which is both a great beacon of democracy and a necessary prop that will be needed to bring about the End Times. He even made a point of goysplaining, at a Las Vegas Adelsonfest, that he named his son Matthew, which is Hebrew for "gift from God," and that he celebrates the Birth of Our Saviour Jesus Christ with both Christmas lights and "a menorah candle." See, he's trying real hard!

2014 December 10, Doktor Zoom, “Scott Walker Wished Jewish Friends A Merry Jewish Christmas And An Incendiary New Year”, in Wonkette, archived from the original on 2024-03-27:

The people who goysplain think that because they went to the trouble of reading an article, watching a documentary, or Googling something, they now understand an entire faith and should be congratulated for it.

2015 March 30, Lilit Marcus, “The Art of Goysplaining”, in The Forward, New York, N.Y.: The Forward Association, Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-12-07:

This did not stop Clinton from "goysplaining" the holiday and accusing prominent left-wing Jews like Bernie Sanders of betraying their own people.

2016 April 18, Ben Norton, “Hillary Clinton "goysplains" to Bernie Sanders in Passover article, accusing him of betraying his people by criticizing Israel”, in Salon.com, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-12-03:

(neologism, Judaism) To condescendingly explain Jewish issues to a Jew as a goy (non-Jew).


goysplaining

Some may accuse me of goysplaining – him being Jewish, me not. But seeing as I'm his father, he's just going to have to get used to a lot more of where that comes from.

2017 April 6, Giles Fraser, “Israel makes sense only from the perspective of Passover”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2024-03-28:

(neologism, Judaism) The act of condescendingly explaining Jewish issues to a Jew as a goy (non-Jew).


Sepharad

Sefarad (alternative)
Sephared (alternative)
Sfard (alternative)
Spharad (alternative)

(Judaism) The Iberian Peninsula, especially in reference to the local Jews before their forced expulsion from 1492 onwards.


Ashmedai

/ˈæʃ.mɪˌdaɪ/

Borrowed from Hebrew אַשְׁמְדַאי (ashmedáy). Doublet of Asmodeus.

bor+

Asmodai (alternative)
Asmoday (alternative)
Hammadai (alternative)
Hashmedai (alternative)
Osmodai (alternative)
Shidonai (alternative)

Whilst Ashmedai was reigning in Jerusalem, Solomon went about from place to place saying that he was Solomon the king of the Jews; but the people laughed at him and said that he was mad.

1869, E. C. A., Count Teleki: A Story of Modern Jewish Life and Customs, →OCLC, page 202:

The moment he released Ashmedai from his fetters, the demon snatched the ring and hurled it into the sea. Solomon’s power and wisdom were lost, and Ashmedai took the king’s throne in his place.

2006, Dov Noy, Folktales of the Jews, Volume 3: Tales from Arab Lands, →ISBN, page 586:

In the famous tale of Solomon and Ashmedai (Gittin 68a-b), the latter resists until the moment Benaiah produces Solomon’s ring, engraved with the Ineffable Name

2009, Eli Yassif, The Hebrew Folktale: History, Genre, Meaning, →ISBN, page 154:


Othniel

From Biblical Hebrew עָתְנִיאֵל (ʿOṯnīʾēl), of uncertain meaning but at any rate ending in אֵל (ʾēl, “God”).

(biblical) Othniel, the first of the biblical judges.


Keturah

From Hebrew קְטוּרָה (Qəṭūrā, “Keturah”).

(biblical) Keturah, the second wife of Abraham.


tikkun olam

Borrowed from Hebrew תִּקּוּן עוֹלָם (“repairing the world”). The Hebrew phrase has been used to refer to a variety of things through Jewish history, including the elimination of idolatry.

תִּקּוּן עוֹלָם

The value, prominent in Liberal Judaism, of helping and bettering society as a whole.


negiah

Borrowed from Hebrew נְגִיעָה (“touch”).

negia (alternative)
negiyah (alternative)

(Jewish law) Physical contact between the sexes outside of marriage or familial relations.

If I see a young man and woman out on a date in the US, would I not assume that even if they were makpid on kashrut, they might not be as makpid on negia? Or even on pre-marital sex? After all, that is exceedingly common in the US today, and it's even made inroads among ostensibly Orthodox Jews.

2006 June 9, Lisa, “LESBIAN & GAY SHABBAT DINNER - 5 JUNE -- RODEPH SHOLOM (NYC)”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated (Usenet):

(Jewish law) The prohibition against this.


shomer negiah

(Judaism) Abstaining from physical contact with the other sex outside of marriage.


tekiah

(Judaism) A single long blast played on the shofar.


tachanun

From Hebrew תחנון (literally “supplication”).

tahanun (alternative)
takhanun (alternative)


bechorim

bor

Hebrew בכורים


ovel

(Judaism) Alternative form of avel (“mourner”)


Izhar

he-m

יִצְהָר (yitshár)


aufruf

Borrowed from Yiddish אויפֿרוף (oyfruf, “summoning”), with the spelling influenced by German Aufruf.

bor+

My Hebrew is horrible, but my Haftarah trope's pretty good. :-) My father-in-law taught me the haftarah trope for my aufruf; that was my first one ever. I just did the haftarah yesterday (my excuse being my wife's birthday), and I'll use my birthday in a couple of months as my excuse for doing a third.

2003 May 25, Tim Meushaw, “Shabbat debut”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated (Usenet):

At an aufruf I was at a few months ago, the groom's uncle did Adon Olam to the tune of "Rock Around The Clock". It worked amazingly well - it sounded like a one-man band on the bimah!

2003 October 10, Eliyahu Rooff, “Who shall live and who shall die, tra-la-la-la-la!”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated (Usenet):

(Judaism) An aliyah (Torah reading) made by the bridegroom, typically on the Shabbat before the wedding; a gathering at which this occurs.


tircha d'tzibura

Borrowed from Aramaic טִרְחָא דְּצִבּוּרָא.

טִרְחָא דְּצִבּוּרָא

The last several weeks has seen Sephardi Haftaras being much shorter than the Ashkenazi one. What would be wrong with an Ashkenazi shul adopting the Sephardi Haftaras as a measure to cut down on Tircha D'Tzibura?

2002 October 28, Raphael, “The liturgy of Orthodox Judaism”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated (Usenet):

The concept is that having got a minyan together for Minchah we don't expect them to go away and come back later (Tirchah detziburah) for Maariv.

2007 November 15, mos...@mm.huji.ac.il, “No Brakha on Someone Else's Talit?”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated (Usenet):

(Judaism) An inconvenience to the congregation.


tzibbur

Borrowed from Hebrew ציבור (“community”).

The phone company said they were working on it [the eruv] and the work would be completed during Friday evening. Can you trust them to the extent of informing the Tzibbur that they may not carry on Friday night but may on Shabbat morning?

2004 February 4, Henry Goodman, “Repairing an Eruv on Shabbat”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated (Usenet):

At hashkama I sit in front of an annoying old man who is always correcting the Torah readers, a practice infuriating to the tzibbur and to the reader.

2008 January 13, Abe Kohen, “Cincinnati congregations”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated (Usenet):


taharat hamishpacha

Borrowed from Hebrew טהרת המשפחה (“family purity”).

That's an _added_ bonus, like avoiding pork products avoids trichonosis or circumscised males are less prone to penile cancer and women who practice taharas hamishpacha are less prone to cervix cancer.

2003 May 18, mos...@mm.huji.ac.il, “Actually, only 20% of the Jewish people left Eg”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated (Usenet):

They are "offended" by the laws of taharas hamishpacha and bristle at the idea that women sit behind a mechitza.

2004 May 23, Susan Cohen, quoting Cindys, “Sheitel Burning in Israel”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated (Usenet):

Numerous scholars […] have opined on potential ways in which adherence to the mandates of taharat hamishpacha can benefit a marriage, including injecting a monthly sense of renewal into the husband-wife relationship, ensuring that the couple learns to relate to each other on levels beyond the physical, cultivating a husband's sensitivity towards his wife during a vulnerable time of the month, sanctifying the physical bond between husband and wife, and more.

2010, Shmuel Goldin, Unlocking the Torah Text: Vayikra, Gefen Publishing House, →ISBN, page 88:

The Jewish laws pertaining to menstruation, given in Leviticus.


metzora

a kohen does not "treat" tzoraas; there is in fact no medical treatment for tzoraas, the only cure being for the metzora to do teshuva, and it does not require a kohen to advise him how to do that

2009 September 5, Giorgies E. Kepipesiom, “The book is coming along well”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated (Usenet):


hashkama

(Judaism) An early-morning prayer service.


chatan

chatanim (plural)
chasan (alternative)
chosson (alternative)
hatan (alternative)

"So, who is the chosson," she asked. Her father told her the name, but of course she had no idea who he was or what he looked like. She asked if she could see him. "Of course you'll see him! You're going to marry him, and you'll see him for 120 years."

2002 May 22, R, “Dating a midrashh”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated (Usenet):

Another potential reason for leniency is the basic requirement of weddings that the ring must belong to the chatan (Shulchan Aruch E.H. 28). In fact, mesadrei kiddushin verify with the chatan that he owns the ring and did not simply borrow it. If the chatan forgot to bring the wedding ring, the mesader kiddushin will ensure that the "lender" of a replacement ring transfers the title of the ring to the chatan with proper kinyanim (halachic mechanisms of conveyance).

2008, Chaim Jachter, Ezra Fraser, Gray Matter: Volume 3, Ian Richmond, →ISBN, page 116:

Yesterday I traveled from Chicago to New Jersey for the day to attend an afternoon wedding at a place called the Venetian in Garfield New Jersey. The Chatan was the son of friends of mine.

2013 October 7, David Makowsky, “Wedding food”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated (Usenet):


bitachon

(Judaism) Faith, trust, especially in God.


mesader kiddushin

en-noun

mesader kiddushin (plural mesadrei kiddushin)


mega-synagogue

mega-synagogues (plural)
megasynagogue (alternative)

He wanted His prophet to think bigger than reaching one or two, bigger than a Torah study group, bigger even than a mega-synagogue.

1996, Daniel Lupton, I Like Church, But…, Destiny Image Publishers, →ISBN, page 30:

On the Upper West Side of Manhattan, there is a mega-synagogue called B’nai Jeshurun, known as “BJ” to its members.

2021, Amanda Ripley, chapter 7, in High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out, New York: Sim & Schuster Paperbacks, →ISBN, →LCCN, page 237:

(Judaism, rare) An unusually large synagogue.


baal chesed

Borrowed from Hebrew בעל חסד (“master of kindness”).

bor+

The greatest ba'al chessed is one with the broadest notion of self, including as many people as possible.

2009 April 27, Micha Berger, “Avigdor Lieberman, our realistic new Foreign Minister (Naomi Ragen)”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated (Usenet):

(Judaism) A highly generous or righteous person.


hiloni

Borrowed from Hebrew חילוני (“secular”).


nivul peh

In the course of my lifetime, I have engaged in many sorties in milchamtah shel Tora. In some, I have conceded error; in some, those with whom I disagreed conceded error; in yet others, we agreed to remain in disagreement. However, in none of them did the conversation ever degenerate to the level of personal insult or invective, and certainly not to the nadir of nibul pe. Rather, we each made the effort to understand the other's point of view respectfully, and responded to each other's thoughts and the words by which they were expressed, not to what we perceived to be the other's motives.

2008 November 11, meir b., “Annulment of Vows - How Recent?”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated (Usenet):


leitzanus

Borrowed from Hebrew ליצנות (“clownery”).

The uncorrected child who scorns, mocks and laughs at others is subconsciously being educated to become a perpetrator of leitzanus.

2002, Moshe Young, Apples from the Tree: Transmitting Torah Values to Our Children:

Your problem is that you did _not_ ask a question on limudei kodesh, you made bad jokes and leitzanut. Don't be surprised if your answered in kind.

2006 July 3, mos...@mm.huji.ac.il, “SCJM Contest Shel Shavua: "OK, Rock, Gay Pishen!"”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated (Usenet):

(Judaism) ridicule, disrespectful mockery.


Israel-firster

From Israel + firster, influenced by and compared to America First (“American isolationist ideology”).

The ZPC never lost a beat: Israel Firster and Zion-Con fanatic, US Treasury Under Secretary responsible for terrorism and financial intelligence, Stuart Levey, succeeded in convincing China to tighten trade credit ...

2010, James Petras, Zionism, Militarism and the Decline of US Power, page 78:

Former Israel-firster Andrew Sullivan chalked up the likes of Krauthammer as "victims of Israel Derangement Syndrome."

2011, Norman G. Finkelstein, "This Time We Went Too Far" - Truth and Consequences of the Gaza Invasion, page 177:

The increasing proximity to the president of this quintessential "Israel firster" most likely played a role in reigning in Obama's initiative to completely freeze Israeli settlements.

2013, Josh Ruebner, Shattered Hopes - Obama's Failure to Broker Israeli-Palestinian Peace, page 75:

routinely used the white supremacist anti-Semitic slur "Israel Firster" to describe any Jew who was hawkish on Israel.

2014, Ben Shapiro, Bullies - How the Left's Culture of Fear and Intimidation Silences Americans, page 247:

Don't pull U.S. into this. You Israel firster should fight your own fights.

One critic argued, "Kirk is a pure Israel-firster ... [H]e brings home the bacon for Israel big time.

2018, Colton C. Campbell, David A. Dulio, James A. Thurber (editors), Congress and Diaspora Politics - The Influence of Ethnic and Foreign Lobbying, page 236:

It has also earned me the titles "Ziofascist", "Jewish Nazi", "Tool of the Likud", and "Israel Firster".

2019, Alan Dershowitz, Taking the Stand - My Life in the Law, page 478:

On the other, to fail to show sympathy for Palestinians was to out yourself as a heartless tribalist, an Israel-firster.

2022, Richard Landes, Can “The Whole World” Be Wrong? - Lethal Journalism, Antisemitism, and Global Jihad, page 478:

(informal, somewhat derogatory, politics) A person who places the interests and welfare of the State of Israel above those of the nation in which they reside.


tachrich

(Judaism) A traditional simple white burial furnishings, usually made from 100% pure linen, in which the bodies of deceased Jews are dressed for interment after undergoing a taharah (ritual purification).


chiyuv

When you're engaged, you have a chiyuv to set up your friends too. You might not have anybody in mind for your friends before you're engaged, but once you are, you obtain a special power that makes it possible to sense a good shidduch when you see one.

2002 May 15, Harry Weiss, “60 ways to be a frummie”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated (Usenet):

When it comes to a person's freedom of action in Judaism, there are only chiyuvim and issurim, and everything else is up to the individual.

2005 March 24, Lisa, “Force feeding geese for pate”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated (Usenet):

Is there an inyan or chiyuv to bury the entire body together, or is it OK to have body parts buried in two separate locations?

2011 January 30, “Burying Amputated Limbs with Body”, in Ask The Rabbi - Dinonline:

When I was a chiyuv (saying kaddish for my father, a'h, and thus leading prayers almost every day), I asked my LOR whether I should continue my practice, or adopt the more standard version. He told me that my version was an acceptable variant within the shul's own accepted nusach.

2000 November 3, Eliot Shimoff, “Liturgical issues -- in the spirit of Conservative Judaism”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated (Usenet):

(Judaism) A mourner who is obligated to say Kaddish.


issur

The C movement has eliminated: mamzerut, the issur of kohen and grusha, permitted eydut of woman, permitted driving on shabbat and half a hundred other issurim.

2003 July 20, bac...@vms.huji.ac.il, “Re; For Julie”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated (Usenet):

(Judaism) A prohibition; something forbidden.