In my research of Ashkenazi foodways and Jewish culture, it became apparent very early on that I needed to have some understanding of both Yiddish (the language of eastern European Jews) and Hebrew (the cutural language of the Jews). As I conducted research, I made a working list of terms for myself, and that became the basis for this glossary.
Definitions for each term have been constructed from the sources I used for research, and I have tried to offer a well rounded, multi perspective explanation for each word, as well as etymology. While this glossary is by no means an exhaustive list, I hope that it will allow my reader the deeper understanding of the subject matter that it has afforded me.
Chametz: Hebrew: Foods with leavening agents that are forbidden on the Jewish holiday of Passover. According to halakha, Jews may not own, eat or benefit from chametz during Passover. Chametz is a product that is both made from one of five types of grain and has been combined with water and left to stand raw for longer than eighteen minutes (according to most opinions) and becomes leavened.
Chumrah: Hebrew: Additional stringencies that are beyond the letter of the law, which some communities or individuals may adopt.
Counting of the Omer: Hebrew: An important verbal counting of each of the forty-nine days starting with the offering of a sheaf of ripe grain with a sacrifice immediately following the commencement of the grain harvest, and the festival celebrating the end of the grain harvest, known as Shavuot; or in the varying current Jewish holidays traditions, the period between the Passover and Shavuot. This mitzvah (“commandment”) derives from the Torah commandment to count forty-nine days beginning from the day on which the Omer, a sacrifice containing an omer-measure of barley, was offered in the Temple in Jerusalem, up until the day before an offering of wheat was brought to the Temple on Shavuot. The Counting of the Omer begins on the second day of Passover (the 16th of Nisan) for Rabbinic Jews (Orthodox, Conservative, Reform) and ends the day before the holiday of Shavuot, the ‘fiftieth day.’
Diaspora: see Golus.
Fleishig: Yiddish: “Meaty”.
The Four Species: Four plants mentioned in the Torah (Leviticus 23:40) as being relevant to the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. Observant Jews tie together three types of branches and one type of fruit and wave them in a special ceremony each day of the Sukkot holiday, excluding Shabbat. The waving of the four plants is a mitzvah prescribed by the Torah, and contains symbolic allusions to a Jew’s service of God. In Talmudic tradition, the four plants are identified as: etrog – the fruit of a citron tree, lulav – a ripe, green, closed frond from a date palm tree, hadass – boughs with leaves from the myrtle tree, and aravah – branches with leaves from the willow tree.
Gemara: Hebrew: “to finish” or “to complete”) is the component of the Talmud comprising rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah.
Gezeirah: Hebrew: “preventive legislation” of the classical rabbis, intended to prevent violations of the commandments. However, the general term takkanah is used to refer to either gezeirah or takkanah.
Gittin: Hebrew: A tractate of the Mishnah and the Talmud, and is part of the order of Nashim. The content of the tractate primarily deals with the legal provisions related to halakhic divorce, in particular, the laws relating to the Get (divorce document). The laws of the divorce itself, including when a divorce is permitted or even required, are discussed in other tractates, namely Ketubot.
Glatt: Yiddish: Literally “smooth,” this refers to an animal whose lungs have been found to be superbly healthy and free of adhesions. Since this is a higher standard of kosher, it has come to refer to food that is kosher according to the most exacting of standards.
Golus: Yiddish: Also called the Jewish Diaspora. The dispersion of Israelites or Jews out of the Land of Israel and their subsequent settlement in other parts of the globe.
Haftarah: Hebrew: “Parting” or “taking leave”. A series of selections from the books of Nevi’im (“Prophets”) of the Tanakh that is publicly read in synagogue as part of Jewish religious practice. The haftarah reading follows the Torah reading on each Sabbath and on Jewish festivals and fast days. Typically, the haftarah is thematically linked to the parashah (weekly Torah portion) that precedes it. The haftarah is sung in a chant (trope in Yiddish). Related blessings precede and follow the haftarah reading.
Haggadah: Hebrew: Literally “telling”. A Jewish text that sets forth the order of the Passover Seder. Reading the Haggadah at the Seder table is a fulfillment of the mitzvah to each Jew to “tell your children” the story from the Book of Exodus about G-d bringing the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt.
Halakhah: Hebrew: “the Way”. The totality of laws and ordinances that have evolved since biblical times to regulate religious observances and the daily life and conduct of the Jewish people. Quite distinct from the Written Torah, halakhah purports to preserve and represent oral traditions stemming from the revelation on Mount Sinai or evolved on the basis of it.
Hashgachah: Hebrew: Supervision, and the certification thereof, often issued by a rabbi or a rabbinic agency.
Hechsher: Hebrew: Kosher certification, and the actual symbol denoting that a given product is certified kosher.
Kasher: Yiddish: The act of making something kosher. This can either refer to the salting of meat or to the process of making dishes or appliances kosher through the application of heat.
Ketubot: Hebrew: A tractate of the Mishnah and the Talmud in the order of Nashim. It deals with a variety of marital responsibilities, especially those intended for the marital contract, also named the ketubah. A ketubah (plural: ketubot) is a special type of Jewish prenuptial agreement. It is considered an integral part of a traditional Jewish marriage, and describes the groom’s rights and responsibilities towards the bride.
Ketuvim: Biblical Hebrew: “Writings”. The third and final section of the Tanakh, after Torah and Nevi’im. Collectively, eleven books are included in the Ketuvim.
Klaf: Hebrew: The the designation given a particular piece of skin. The Talmudic definition includes both the form of the skin and the way it is processed, in particular, that it must be tanned. In modernity, it is primarily used to refer to parchment or vellum. It is one of the materials upon which a sofer writes certain Jewish liturgical and ritual documents.
Kosher: Hebrew: The catch-all term that refers to all that is fit to be consumed or to be used together with kosher food.
Nevi’im: Hebrew: Literally “spokespersons”. “Prophets”. The second major division of the Tanakh, between the Torah and Ketuvim. The Nevi’im are divided into two groups: The Former Prophets consists of the narrative books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings; while the Latter Prophets include the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve Minor Prophets.
Mashgiach: Hebrew: Supervisor, often appointed by a supervising agency to ensure that food produced at a commercial establishment is kosher.
Matza: An unleavened flatbread that is part of Jewish cuisine and forms an integral element of the Passover festival, during which chametz (leaven and five grains that, per Jewish Law, are self-leavening) is forbidden.
Five Megillot or Megillah: Hebrew: Parts of the Ketuvim (“Writings”), the third major section of the Tanakh. The Five Scrolls are the Song of Songs, the Book of Ruth, the Book of Lamentations, Ecclesiastes and the Book of Esther. These five relatively short biblical books are grouped together in Jewish tradition.
Mezuzah: Hebrew: “doorpost”; A piece of parchment called a klaf contained in a decorative case and inscribed with specific Hebrew verses from the Torah. In mainstream Rabbinic Judaism, a mezuzah is affixed to the doorpost of Jewish homes to fulfill the mitzvah (Biblical commandment) to “write the words of God on the gates and doorposts of your house” (Deuteronomy 6:9).
Milchig: Yiddish: “Dairy”.
Minyan: Hebrew: The quorum of ten Jewish adults required for certain religious obligations. In more traditional streams of Judaism, only males 13 and older may constitute a minyan; in more liberal (non-Orthodox) streams women are also counted. The most common activity requiring a minyan is public prayer, and the term minyan in contemporary Judaism has taken on the secondary meaning of referring to a prayer service.
Mishnah: “study by repetition”, “to study and review”, “secondary”. The first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions, known as the Oral Torah, and also the first major work of rabbinic literature.
Mitzvah: Hebrew: “commandment”; Refers to a commandment commanded by God to be performed as a religious duty. Jewish law (halakhah) in large part consists of discussion of these commandments. Traditionally, it is held that there are 613 such commandments. The word mitzvah also refers to a deed performed in order to fulfill such a commandment. As such, the term mitzvah has also come to express an individual act of human kindness in keeping with the law.
Parashah: Hebrew: Literally “portion”. Formally means a section of a book of the Tanakh. In common usage today the word often refers to the Weekly Torah portion.
Parve: Yiddish: The in-between, neutral foods, which are neither meat nor dairy and may be eaten with both.
Passover Seder: Hebrew: ” Literally Passover order” or “arrangement”. A ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted throughout the world on the eve of the 15th day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar; the day falls in late March or in April of the Gregorian calendar, and the Passover lasts for seven days in Israel and eight days outside Israel. Jews generally observe one or two seders: in Israel, one seder is observed on the first night of Passover; many Jewish diaspora communities hold a seder also on the second night.
The Seder is a ritual performed by a community or by multiple generations of a family, involving a retelling of the story of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt. Traditionally, families and friends gather in the evening to read the text of the Haggadah, an ancient work derived from the Mishnah. The Haggadah contains the narrative of the Israelite exodus from Egypt, special blessings and rituals, commentaries from the Talmud, and special Passover songs. Seder customs include telling the story, discussing the story, drinking four cups of wine, eating matza, partaking of symbolic foods placed on the Passover Seder plate, and reclining in celebration of freedom. The Seder is the most commonly celebrated Jewish ritual, performed by Jews all over the world.
Pesach or Passover: Hebrew: Literally “he passed over”. A major Jewish holiday that celebrates the exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, the first month of Aviv, or spring. The word Pesach or Passover can also refer to the Passover Seder. One of the ordained Shalosh Regalim, Passover is traditionally celebrated in the Land of Israel for seven days and for eight days among many Jews in the Diaspora, based on the concept of “yom tov sheni shel galuyot”.
Pesachdig, Kosher for Passover (Pesach). Passover has its own set of rules, food and dishes that conform to strict standards. See chametz.
Sefer Torah: Hebrew: “Book of Torah”; A handwritten copy of the Torah. The Torah scroll is mainly used in the ritual of Torah reading during Jewish prayers. At other times, it is stored in the holiest spot within a synagogue, the Torah ark, which is usually an ornate curtained-off cabinet or section of the synagogue built along the wall that most closely faces Jerusalem, the direction Jews face when praying.
Shalosh Regalim: literally “Three Pilgrimage Festivals”: The three major festivals in Judaism—Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkot—when the ancient Israelites living in the Kingdom of Judah would make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem, as commanded by the Torah. After the destruction of the Second Temple and until the building of the Third Temple, the actual pilgrimages are no longer obligatory upon Jews, and no longer takes place on a national scale, though many observant Jews living in or near Jerusalem make an effort to attend prayer services at the Western Wall, emulating the ancient pilgrimages in some small fashion.
Shavuot: Hebrew: Literally “Weeks” and commonly known in English as the Feast of Weeks. A Jewish holiday that occurs on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan. In the Torah, Shavuot marked the wheat harvest in the Land of Israel (Exodus 34:22). In addition, Orthodox rabbinic traditions teach that the date also marks the revelation of the Torah to Moses and the Israelites at Mount Sinai. The word Shavuot means “weeks” and marks the conclusion of the Counting of the Omer. Its date is directly linked to that of Passover; the Torah mandates the seven-week Counting of the Omer, beginning on the second day of Passover, to be immediately followed by Shavuot. This counting of days and weeks is understood to express anticipation and desire for the giving of the Torah.
Shechitah: Hebrew: Kosher slaughter.
Shochet: Hebrew: Trained kosher slaughterer.
Sofer: Hebrew: “scribe”; A Jewish scribe who can transcribe sefer Torah (Torah scrolls), tefillin (phylacteries), mezuzot, the Five Megillot and other religious writings. By simple definition, a sofer is a copyist, but their religious role in Judaism is much more. Besides sefer Torah, tefillin, and mezuzot, scribes are necessary to write the Five Megillot (scrolls of the Song of Songs, Book of Ruth, Book of Esther, Ecclesiastes, and Book of Lamentations), Nevi’im (the books of the prophets, used for reading the haftarah), and for gittin, divorce documents. Many scribes also function as calligraphers—writing functional documents such as ketubot (marriage contracts), or ornamental and artistic renditions of religious texts, which do not require any scribal qualifications, and to which the rules on lettering and parchment specifications do not apply. In the Torah’s 613 commandments, the second to last is that every Jew should write a sefer Torah before they die
Sukkah: Hebrew: A temporary dwelling in which farmers would live during harvesting, a fact connecting to the agricultural significance of the holiday of Sukkot. It is also intended as a reminiscence of the type of fragile dwellings in which the Israelites dwelt during their 40 years of travel in the desert after the Exodus from slavery in Egypt.
Sukkot: Hebrew: Literally “Festival of Ingathering”, “Harvest Festival”, or “Festival of Booths”. A Torah-commanded holiday celebrated for seven days from the 15th day of the month of Tishrei, and is one of the Shalosh Regalim. Sukkot has a double significance; one, mentioned in the Book of Exodus, is agricultural in nature and marks the end of the harvest time and thus of the agricultural year in the Land of Israel. The holiday lasts seven days in the Land of Israel and eight in the diaspora.
The Hebrew word sukkōt is the plural of sukkah, “booth” or “tabernacle”, which is a walled structure covered with s’chach (plant material, such as overgrowth or palm leaves). Throughout the holiday, meals are eaten inside the sukkah and many people sleep there as well. On each day of the holiday it is mandatory to perform a waving ceremony with the Four Species.
Synagogue or Shul: Sometimes called a temple. A Jewish house of worship. Synagogues are consecrated spaces used for the purpose of Jewish prayer, study, assembly, and reading of the Tanakh. However, a synagogue is not necessary for Jewish worship. Halakha (Jewish law) states that communal Jewish worship can be carried out wherever a minyan (a group of at least 10 Jewish adults) is assembled. Worship can also happen alone or with fewer than 10 people, but halakha considers some prayers as solely communal, and these can therefore be recited only by a minyan. In terms of its specific ritual and liturgical functions, the synagogue does not replace the long-destroyed Temple in Jerusalem.
Takkanah: Hebrew: “positive legislation”, practices instituted by the rabbis not based directly on the commandments as such; rabbinical mitzvot. However, the general term takkanah is used to refer to either gezeirah or takkanah.
Talmud: Hebrew: “Instruction” or “Learning”. The body of Jewish civil and ceremonial law and legend. There are two versions of the Talmud: the Babylonian Talmud (which dates from the 5th century AD but includes earlier material) and the earlier Palestinian or Jerusalem Talmud. The Talmud comprises two components: the Mishnah – the core text; and the Gemara – analysis and commentary which “completes” the Talmud
Tanakh: Hebrew: Tanakh is an acronym, made from the first Hebrew letter of each of the text’s three traditional divisions: Torah (‘Instruction’ or ‘Law’), Nevi’im (Prophets), and Ketuvim (Writings)—hence Ta-Na-Kh. These texts are almost exclusively in Biblical Hebrew, with a few passages in Biblical Aramaic, and are considered the canonical collection of Hebrew scriptures.
Tefillin: Hebrew: “phylacteries”; A set of small black leather boxes with leather straps containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah. Tefillin are worn by adult Jews during weekday morning prayers. In Orthodox and traditional communities, they are worn solely by men, while some Reform and Conservative communities allow for them to be worn by both men and women. By traditional Jewish Law (halakhah), women are exempt from most time-dependent positive commandments.
Torah: Hebrew: “Instruction”, “Teaching”, or “Law”. A compilation of the first five books of the Tanakh, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. However, the word Torah can also be used as a synonym for the whole of the Tanakh. Torah can even mean the totality of Jewish teaching, culture, and practice, whether derived from biblical texts or later rabbinic writings. In rabbinic literature, the word Torah denotes both the five books (“Torah that is written”) and the Oral Torah (“Torah that is spoken”). The Oral Torah consists of interpretations and amplifications which according to rabbinic tradition have been handed down from generation to generation and are now embodied in the Talmud and Midrash.
Rabbinic tradition’s understanding is that all of the teachings found in the Torah (both written and oral) were given by God through the prophet Moses, some at Mount Sinai and others at the Tabernacle, and all the teachings were written down by Moses, which resulted in the Torah that exists today. According to the Midrash, the Torah was created prior to the creation of the world, and was used as the blueprint for Creation. Common to all these meanings, the Torah consists of the origin of Jewish peoplehood: their call into being by God, their trials and tribulations, and their covenant with their God, which involves following a way of life embodied in a set of moral and religious obligations and civil laws (halakhah). Traditionally, the words of the Torah are written on a scroll by a scribe (sofer) in Hebrew. A Torah portion is read publicly at least once every three days in the presence of a congregation. Reading the Torah publicly is one of the bases of Jewish communal life. If meant for liturgic purposes, it takes the form of a Torah scroll (Sefer Torah).
Treif: Hebrew: Literally “torn”. Refers to an animal that met an unnatural death other than shechitah, but extended to mean any food that is not fit to eat.
Trop: Yiddish: A series of traditional chanting and melodic patterns used in reading the Torah and other books of the Tanakh in communal prayer services. Also the name of the Diacritic-like marks in printed editions of the Tanakh that indicate the chanting/melodic pattern to be used with each word.
Western Wall: An ancient limestone wall in the Old City of Jerusalem. It is a relatively small segment of a far longer ancient retaining wall, known also in its entirety as the “Western Wall”. The wall was originally erected as part of the expansion of the Second Jewish Temple begun by Herod the Great. The term Western Wall is mostly used in a narrow sense for the section traditionally used by Jews for prayer; it has also been called the “Wailing Wall”, though the term “Wailing Wall” is not used by religious Jews, and increasingly not by many others who consider it derogatory.
Yom tov sheni shel galuyot or Yom tov shini: Hebrew: “the second festival day in the Diaspora”. The concept refers to the observance of an extra day of Jewish holidays outside of the Land of Israel, and is an important concept in halakha. The need for a second festival day arises from problems encountered by Jews living in the Diaspora following the Babylonian exile. Yom tov sheni was established as a gezera by the rabbis approximately 2,000 years ago, and is observed to this day by Orthodox and Conservative Jews. Reform Judaism abolished it in 1846, and Reconstructionist Judaism also largely did the same.