ב"ה
Glossary
Gabbai: (Aramaic) (a) the person responsible for the proper functioning of a synagogue or communal body (b) an official of the Rebbe’s court, who admits people for yechidut, private meetings |
Gad: Son of Jacob and Zilpah, seventh of the Twelve Tribes. [5 related articles] Five Books of Moses (Biblical Personalities) » Gad |
Gal: mound |
Galut (Exile): exile; diaspora. [190 related articles] |
Gan Eden (Spiritual Heaven): (lit. the Garden of Eden): the spiritual realm of souls in the afterlife. [20 related articles] Heaven & Hell » Gan Eden (Spiritual Heaven) |
Gaon: (lit. ‘magnificent’); a Torah genius; especially the head of one of the Babylonian Talmudic academies that illuminated the period between 500 and 1038 |
Gaonim: (lit. "the magnificent"); period in Jewish history from 500 to 1038 C.E marked by intense scholarship at the Babylonian academies by scholars who studied and interpreted the Talmud. During this period, many decrees were passed, thousands of responsa were sent to Jews throughout the civilized world of the time, and many important books were compiled. [6 related articles] |
Garden of Eden, The Biblical: The place in which the narrative of Adam, Eve and the sin of the Tree of Knowledge occurred. [12 related articles] Biblical Locations » Garden of Eden, The Biblical |
Gartel: (Yiddish) a braided sash or belt worn (especially by chassidim) during prayer and other formal occasions |
Gartel: Sash worn by Jewish men during prayer. [4 related articles] |
Gashmiyut: (lit. "materiality"); material reality (in contradistinction to ruchniyut—spirituality) [28 related articles] |
Gavra: (lit. "man") Prohibitions or obligations may mandate the behavior of the "gavra," the person, in contrast to those which define the status of the "cheftza," the object or act in question. [4 related articles] |
Gavra: (Aramaic, lit. “man”); a term used to imply that the halachic obligations associated with an entity center on the person performing the action rather than on the entity (cheftza) Gavra and Cheftza ("Person" and "Object") » Gavra |
Gavra and Cheftza ("Person" and "Object"): (lit. "man" and "object") Prohibitions or obligations are divided between those which apply to the "gavra," the person himself, mandating his behavior, and those which apply to the "cheftza," the object or the act in question, defining its status. [4 related articles] |
G-d: [It is customary to insert a dash in G-d's name when written or printed on a medium that could be defaced. See also “Why Don't You Spell Out G-d's Name?”] [128 related articles] |
Gedaliah ben Ahikam: (a) (d. 423 BCE) After Nebuchadnezzar exiled most of the Jews from Israel, he appointed Gedaliah to govern those who remained. Gedaliah advocated submission to Babylon as a means of ensuring continued partial Jewish autonomy, and under his administration, the Jewish colony prospered. When he was assassinated by political rivals, the Jews scattered and all remaining vestiges of Jewish autonomy were lost. His assassination is commemorated yearly with the Fast of Gedaliah. (b) A common Jewish name. [8 related articles] Post First Temple (Biblical Personalities) » Gedaliah ben Ahikam |
Gehazi: (8th century BCE) Elisha’s servant. After Elisha cured Naaman of tzaraat, Gehazi, falsely claiming to speak for Elisha, asked Naaman for an imbursement—which he appropriated for himself. For his dishonesty and greed, Elisha cursed Gehazi that he permanently “inherit” Naaman's tzaraat. [6 related articles] Kings and Prophets » Gehazi |
Gehinnom: purgatory, the spiritual realm in which the souls are cleansed from the blemishes brought about by their conduct while on Earth [15 related articles] Heaven & Hell » Gehinnom |
Geirah: one-twentieth of a shekel, currency used in biblical times |
Gemach: Acronym for the Hebrew words gemilut chesed--“deed of kindness,” a term used for an interest-free loan, or for a fund which distributes such loans. [11 related articles] Charity » Gemach |
Gemara: (lit. "learning") A reference to the Babylonian Talmud. [982 related articles] |
Gematria: Hebrew numerolog: a tradition of interpreting biblical verses on the basis of the numerical equivalents of Hebrew letters. [9 related articles] |
Gemilut Chassadim: deeds of kindness, extending charity and kindness by word and deed [1 related article] |
Generation of the Flood, The: the generation destroyed by the Flood [8 related articles] |
Genesis, the Book of: The first of the Five Books of Moses, relates the story of creation and Noah's Flood, and describes the lives and deeds of the Patriarchs, Matriarchs, and the Twelve Tribes. Genesis ends with the Israelites' descent to Egypt and Jacob's passing. [1330 related articles] |
Get: Jewish bill of divorce [74 related articles] Marriage » Get |
Gevald: Yiddish exclamation |
Gevurah (Might; Restraint): (lit. “might”); the second of the seven Divine middot, or attributes, associated with the holding back of Divine revelation and restricting the dispersion of Divine light to lower levels of existence [57 related articles] |
Gezeirah Shavah: (lit. "identical phraseology") A method of biblical exegesis whereby a similar word appearing in two different contexts is used to infer that the details of one context apply to the other. Whether a pair of words is a gezeirah shavah is determined by rabbinic tradition. |
Gezuntheit: "Good health!" Traditionally said to someone who has just sneezed. [2 related articles] |
Gid Hanasheh (sciatic nerve): Consumption of the sciatic nerve is biblically forbidden, to commemorate Jacob’s victory over an angel after they wrestled all night. The angel dislodged Jacob’s sciatic nerve. [15 related articles] |
Gideon: Fifth of the Judges, judged the Israelites for forty years (1067-1027 BCE). Leading an army of 300 men, he caused the 135,000-strong occupying Midianite army to panic and flee. Also known as Jerubbaal. [4 related articles] Joshua and the Judges » Gideon |
Gilui: the revelation of light |
Gimmel: the third letter of the Hebrew alphabet, pronounced as a hard "g," with a numerical value of three [15 related articles] Language » Aleph-Beit, The » Gimmel |
Gimmel Tammuz: The anniversary of passing of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson of righteous memory (b. 1902), who passed away in the early morning hours of the 3rd of the Hebrew month of Tammuz, of the year 5754 from creation (1994). [156 related articles] |
Gittin: Tractate of the Talmud that discusses the laws of the get, the biblically mandated bill of divorce [9 related articles] Talmudic Tractates » Gittin |
Giving of the Torah: Giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai. [190 related articles] Five Books of Moses (Biblical Events) » Giving of the Torah |
Givon: one of the places which served as a center for the sacrificial worship for the Jewish people between the destruction of the sanctuary of Shiloh and the construction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem |
Godliness: Divinity [5 related articles] |
Golden Calf, The: the idol made by the Jews when it appeared to them that Moses would not be coming down from Mount Sinai [101 related articles] Five Books of Moses (Biblical Events) » Golden Calf, The |
Golel: congregant honored with the binding of the Torah scroll after the public reading |
Goliath: (9th century BCE) A Philistine warrior "six cubits and a span" tall, he would taunt the Israelite army, challenging them to fight him. Young David accepted the challenge and killed Goliath with his slingshot, leading to the Philistines’ defeat. [8 related articles] Kings and Prophets » Goliath |
goral: lot [10 related articles] |
Gossip: [95 related articles] |
Grace After Meals: The blessings of thanksgiving after a meal that included bread [75 related articles] |
Groschen: small Polish coin |
Gut Yom-Tov: (Yid./Heb.) festival greeting |