ב"ה
Glossary
| Laban: Son of Bethuel, brother of Rebecca, father of Leah and Rachel. He employed his son-in-law Jacob for twenty years and was a notoriously unscrupulous and dishonest individual. [28 related articles] Five Books of Moses (Biblical Personalities) » Laban |
| Ladino: a Spanish dialect spoken by many Sephardic Jews [3 related articles] |
| Lag BaOmer: the 33rd day of the Omer, a minor festival falling between Passover and Shavuot, commemorating the end of a plague which killed thousands of Rabbi Akiva’s students; also the yahrzeit of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, author of the Zohar [135 related articles] |
| Lamed: the twelfth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, prounounced "l," with a numerical value of 30 [7 related articles] Language » Lamed |
| Lamentations, the Book of: The book of Tanach authored by Jeremiah, lamenting the destruction of the Holy Temple, the suffering the Jews experienced at that time, and the ensuing exile. It is read on Tisha b'Av, the anniversary of the Temples' destruction. [19 related articles] |
| Lashon HaKodesh: (lit. “the Holy Tongue”); Biblical Hebrew [253 related articles] |
| Latke: Fried potato pancake, traditionally served on Chanukah. [27 related articles] |
| Latkes: Potato pancakes, traditionally served on Chanukah. [27 related articles] |
| L'chatchila: L'chatchila: At the outset; a halachic term for the initially recommended or appropriate course of action, as opposed to b'dieved |
| L'chatchila Ariber (Niggun of the Rebbe Maharash): The tune and the name of this melody represent Rabbi Shmuel of Lubavitch's famous adage on dealing with challenges: "The world says, 'If you can't crawl under an obstacle, try to climb over,' but I say, 'At the outset, one should climb over!'" [17 related articles] |
| Leah: (a) Third of the four Matriarchs. Oldest daughter of Laban; her father deceptively gave her hand in matrimony to Jacob, switching her for the intended bride, her younger sister Rachel. Mother of Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulon, and Dinah. Buried in the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron. (b) A common Jewish name. [23 related articles] Five Books of Moses (Biblical Personalities) » Leah |
| LeChaim!: (lit. “To life!”); A toast or blessing, often exchanged over wine or other strong drink. [11 related articles] |
| Lekach: (Yiddish) honey cake, eaten on Rosh Hashanah and the morning of the eve of Yom Kippur [18 related articles] |
| Lemafreia: (Aramaic) (a) retroactively; (b) out of proper sequence |
| Levi: (a) (1567-1429 BCE) Third son of Jacob and Leah, third of the Twelve Tribes. He and his brother Simeon destroyed the city of Shechem in retaliation for their sister Dinah’s abduction and violation. Ancestor of the priestly tribe of Levi. (b) A common Jewish name. [8 related articles] Five Books of Moses (Biblical Personalities) » Levi |
| Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev: 1740-1809, Chassidic leader, one of the foremost disciples of the Maggid of Mezritch; renowned for his all-encompassing love and compassion for the Jewish people and for every individual Jew [45 related articles] Other Chassidic » Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev |
| Levin, R. Aryeh: One of the foremost rabbinic leaders in Israel from the 1930’s to the 1960’s. [3 related articles] |
| Levite: A member of the priestly tribe of Levi. [183 related articles] |
| Levites, The: A member of the priestly tribe of Levi. [183 related articles] |
| Leviticus, the Book of: The third of the Five Books of Moses, describes the inauguration of the Tabernacle, and contains many of the mitzvot, including the laws of sacrifices. [621 related articles] |
| Lieber Foter: (Yiddish) beloved father |
| Lifnim Mishurat HaDin: [4 related articles] |
| Likkutei Dibburim: (lit. "Collected Talks"); a selection of the public talks of the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn [5 related articles] |
| Likkutei Sichot: (lit. "Collected Talks"); the edited collection of the Rebbe’s talks [55 related articles] |
| Likkutei Torah: a classic collection of chassidic discourses by the first Chabad Rebbe, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, collected and edited by his grandson, the Tzemach Tzedek [12 related articles] |
| Lishmah: (lit. “for its own sake”) an action done for its own sake, and not for the promise of reward; often used in reference to Torah study |
| Livyatan: a giant sea creature whose flesh will be served to the righteous in the Messianic age |
| Loshon Horo: (lit. “the evil tongue”); gossip and slander [90 related articles] |
| Lot (Abraham's nephew): Son of Haran, nephew of Abraham. He accompanied Abraham on his journey to Canaan and on his subsequent travels. After conflict arose between the two, he relocated to Sodom. When he was taken captive, Abraham rushed to his aid, battling four kings to secure his freedom. When Sodom was destroyed, angels were dispatched to save him. He is the ancestor of the nations of Ammon and Moab. [12 related articles] Five Books of Moses (Biblical Personalities) » Lot (Abraham's nephew) |
| Lot's Wife: Wife of Lot. When Sodom was destroyed, she disregarded the angels admonition and turned around to witness the destruction. She was immediately transformed into a pillar of salt. According to the Midrash, her given name was “Idis.” [4 related articles] Five Books of Moses (Biblical Personalities) » Lot's Wife |
| Lubavitch: (lit. “town of love”) townlet in the county of Mohilev, White Russia, which served as the center of the Chabad Chassidism for four generations, from 1813 to 1915 and whose name has become synonymous with the movement. [304 related articles] Judaism » Lubavitch |
| Lulav: the palm branch used during the festival of Sukkot for the mitzvah of the Four Species [12 related articles] |