Aharon: Aaron, the first High Priest
Akiva, Rabbi: one of the foremost sages of the Talmudic period, unlearned until the age of 40, whose ardent efforts enabled him to serve as a major figure in the transmission of the Torah tradition
Alter Rebbe, the (lit., “the Old Rebbe”): Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi (1745-1812), the founder of the *Chabad-*Lubavitch trend within the chassidic movement; author of the Tanya, a classic text of the chassidic tradition, and Shulchan Aruch HaRav, a classic legal code
Amcha Yidden: plain, honest folk
Avodah (lit., “service”): formerly, the sacrificial service in the Temple, and later, the service of prayer instituted in its stead
Avraham Avinu (lit., “our father Abraham”): the Patriarch Abraham
AriZal (lit., “the lion of blessed memory”): R. Isaac Luria (1534-1572), one of the leading Kabbalistic* luminaries
Baal Shem Tov, the (lit., “Master of the Good Name”): Rabbi Yisrael ben Eliezer (1698-1760), founder of Chassidism
Baal teshuvah (lit. “master of return”): a person who turns to G‑d in repentance, after willful or unknowing transgression of the Torah’s commandments
Beis HaMikdash: the (First or Second) Temple in Jerusalem
Chabad (acronym for the Hebrew words meaning “wisdom, understanding, and knowledge”): the approach to Chassidism which filters its spiritual and emotional power through the intellect; a synonym for Chabad is *Lubavitch, the name of the town where this movement originally flourished
Chai Elul (lit., “the Eighteenth of Elul”): the birthday of both the Baal Shem Tov (1698) and the Alter Rebbe (1745)
Chanukah (lit., “dedication”): eight-day festival beginning 25 Kislev, commemorating the Maccabees’ rededication of the Temple in the second century B.C.E., and marked by the kindling of lights
Chassidus: chassidic thought
Chinuch: (lit. “dedication” or “education”)
Chizkiyahu: Hezekiah, one of the last righteous kings in the First Temple Period
Elul: the sixth month of the Jewish year when counting from Nissan (or the twelfth when counting from Tishrei); a month devoted to repentance and soul-searching in preparation for the Days of Awe
Eretz Yisrael: the Land of Israel
Gematria: the Hebrew letters also serve as numerals. Since G‑d created the world through speech, the numerical equivalence between words indicates an intrinsic connection
Haftorah (lit., “the final passage”): the passage from the Prophets read in the synagogue after the conclusion of the Torah reading
Haggadah (lit., “telling”): the text from which the *Seder service is conducted on the first two nights of Passover (outside of *Eretz Yisrael, and in Eretz Yisrael on the first night only)
Halachah (pl., halachos): (a) the body of Torah law; (b) a particular law
Holy of Holies: the inner chamber of the Temple where the Divine Presence was revealed. In the First Temple, it contained the Holy Ark
Kabbalah (lit., “received tradition”): the Jewish mystical tradition
Kabbalas ol (lit., “the acceptance of [G‑d’s] yoke”): an unswerving, selfless commitment to carrying out the Will of G‑d
Kislev: the ninth month of the Jewish year when counting from Nissan (or the third when counting from Tishrei)
Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, Rabbi: one of the foremost disciples of the Maggid of Mezritch; renowned for his all-encompassing love and care for the Jewish people and for every individual Jew
Likkutei Dibburim: a selection of the public talks of the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn (see *Previous Rebbe)
Likkutei Torah: a collection of chassidic discourses by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi (see *Alter Rebbe)
Lubavitch: name of the village in White Russia which for a century was the home of the Rebbeim of *Chabad, and which is hence used as a name for the movement
Maamar: a formal chassidic discourse
Maccabees: the sons of Mattisyahu the priest who inspired the revolt against the Syrian-Greek rulers of Eretz Yisrael which culminated in the *Chanukah miracle
Machzor: the special prayer book used on holidays
Maggid of Mezritch (lit., “the preacher of Mezritch”): R. Dov Ber (d. 1772), disciple and successor of the *Baal Shem Tov; mentor of the *Alter Rebbe
Mashiach (lit., “the anointed one”): the Messiah
Matzah: the unleavened bread eaten on Passover (see *Pesach)
Megillah (lit., “scroll”): the Biblical book of Esther; the parchment scroll on which that book is recorded
Menorah: the golden candelabrum lit in the Temple
Mesirus nefesh (lit., “sacrifice of the soul”): the willingness to sacrifice oneself, either through martyrdom, or through a selfless life, for the sake of the Torah and its commandments
Midrash: classical collection of the Sages’ homiletical teachings on the Bible
Mishnah: the germinal statements of law elucidated by the Gemara, together with which they constitute the Talmud
Mitteler Rebbe, the (lit., “the Middle Rebbe”; Yid.): R. Dov Ber (1773-1827), son and successor of the *Alter Rebbe
Mitzvah (pl., mitzvos; lit., “command”): a religious obligation; one of the Torah’s 613 Commandments
Moshe Rabbeinu (lit., “Moses our Teacher”): the “father of the prophets,” who redeemed the Jews from Egypt and brought them to the revelation at Mount Sinai
Nasi: (a) in Biblical times, the head of any one of the Twelve Tribes; (b) in later generations, the civil and/or spiritual head of the Jewish community at large
Neilah (lit., “locking”): the fifth prayer service recited before the conclusion of Yom Kippur, when the gates of heaven are being locked
Nigleh (lit., “the revealed [knowledge]”): the study of Jewish law as reflected in the Talmud, and in the works of the subsequent commentators and codifiers
Nissan: the first month of the Jewish year according to certain reckonings, or the seventh when counting the months from Tishrei; the month of the Exodus from Egypt
Pardes (lit., “orchard”): the metaphorical term used to refer to (a) the four levels of Torah interpretation: pshat (the literal meaning of the text), remez (its allusions), derush (the homilies that can be derived from it), and sod (its mystical secrets); (b) more particularly, the study and experience of those mystical secrets
Parshah: portion of the Torah read publicly every week
Parshas...: the Parshah of [a certain *Shabbos or festive occasion]
Pesach: Passover, seven-day festival beginning on 15 Nissan, commemorating the Exodus from Egypt
Pnimiyus HaTorah (lit., “the inner dimension of [the Torah]”): the mystical dimension of Torah study
Pesach Sheni (lit., “the second Passover”): opportunity given to certain persons who were unable to offer the Paschal sacrifice to do so one month later, on 14 Iyar
Previous Rebbe, the: Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn (1880-1950; also known by the acronym of his name as the Rebbe Rayatz), the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, who headed the movement’s active resistance against the Communist suppression of religion in Soviet Russia and who transferred the movement to the US during World War II
Purim (lit., “lots”): one-day festival falling on 14 Adar and commemorating the miraculous salvation of the Jews of the Persian Empire in the fourth century B.C.E.
Rambam (acronym for Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon; 1135-1204): Maimonides, one of the foremost Jewish thinkers of the Middle Ages; his Mishneh Torah is one of the pillars of Jewish law, and his Guide to the Perplexed, one of the classics of Jewish philosophy
Rashi (acronym for Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki; 1040-1105): the author of the foremost commentaries to the Torah and the Talmud
Rebbe (lit., “my teacher [or master]”): saintly Torah leader who serves as spiritual guide to a following of chassidim
Rebbe Maharash (acronym for Moreinu (“Our teacher”) HaRav Shmuel): R. Shmuel Schneersohn of Lubavitch (1834-1882); the son and successor of the *Tzemach Tzedek
Rebbe Rashab: (acronym for Rabbi Sholom DovBer): Rabbi Sholom DovBer Schneersohn (1860-1920), the son and successor of the *Rebbe Maharash, who founded the Tomchei Temimim Yeshivah in Lubavitch in 1897
Rosh HaShanah (lit., “head of the year”): the New Year festival, falling on 1 and 2 Tishrei
Sanhedrin: the High Court of 71 sages in Jerusalem which served as the supreme authority on Jewish law
Shabbos: the Sabbath
Shavuos (lit., “weeks”): festival commemorating the Giving of the Torah at Sinai, in Eretz Yisrael falling on 6 Sivan, and in the Diaspora on 6-7 Sivan
Shechinah: the Divine Presence
Shlomo: King David’s son and successor, who built the First Temple in the tenth century B.C.E.
Shmuel: the prophet Samuel
Shulchan Aruch: the standard Code of Jewish Law compiled by Rabbi Yosef Caro in the mid-sixteenth century
Shulchan Aruch HaRav (or “the Alter Rebbe’s *Shulchan Aruch”) is the later edition compiled by the *Alter Rebbe
Shvat: the eleventh month of the Jewish year when counting from Nissan (or the fifth when counting from Tishrei)
Simchas Beis HaShoevah: the celebration which accompanied the water libation in the Temple on *Sukkos
Simchas Torah (lit., “the rejoicing of the Torah”): the final day (in Eretz Yisrael, the eighth day; in the diaspora, the ninth) of the festival of *Sukkos on which the annual cycle of Torah readings is completed; this event is celebrated with exuberant rejoicing
Sukkah (lit., “booth”; pl., sukkos): a temporary dwelling in which we are commanded to live during the festival of *Sukkos
Sukkos (lit., “Booths”): seven-day festival (eight days in the Diaspora) beginning on 15 Tishrei, taking its name from the temporary dwelling in which one lives during this period
Tammuz: the fourth month of the Jewish year when counting from Nissan (or the tenth when counting from Tishrei)
Tanach: the Bible
Tanya: the classic text of *Chabad chassidic thought authored by the *Alter Rebbe
Tefillin: small leather boxes each containing four Biblical passages which the Torah commands adult males to wear daily during morning prayers
Tehillim (lit., “praises”): the Book of Psalms
Teshuvah (lit., “return [to G‑d]”): repentance
Teves: the tenth month of the Jewish year when counting from Nissan (or the fourth when counting for Tishrei)
Thirteen Attributes of Mercy: G‑d’s boundless capacity for compassion, especially as expressed in the granting of atonement
Tishah BeAv (lit., “the Ninth of Av”): fast commemorating the Destruction of both the First and the Second Temple
Tishrei: the first month of the Jewish year according to certain reckonings, or the seventh when counting the months from Nissan; the month which includes *Rosh HaShanah, *Yom Kippur and *Sukkos
Tu BiShvat (lit., “the Fifteenth of Shvat”): “The New Year of the Trees,” celebrated every year as a minor festival
Tzaddik: righteous man
Tzedakah: charity
Tzemach Tzedek: R. Menachem Mendel Schneersohn (1789-1866); son-in-law and successor of the Mitteler Rebbe; known by the title of the collection of Responsa which he authored
Ushpizin (“honored guests”): seven leading figures in Jewish history who make noncorporeal visits to our sukkos on the holiday of that name
VeAl HaNissim (lit., “And for the miracles”): the opening phrase of a passage included in the daily prayers and the grace after meals on Chanukah and Purim, thankfully acknowledging the miracles G‑d wrought on those days
Yaakov Avinu: the Patriarch Jacob
Yahrzeit (Yid.): the anniversary of a person’s passing
Yechidah: the highest of the five levels of the soul, the rung in which the soul is in absolute unity with G‑d
Yechezkel: the prophet Ezekiel
Yehoshua: Joshua, the leader of the Jewish people after Moses
Yehudah: Judah
Yehudah HaNasi, Rabbi (“Rabbi Yehudah the Prince”): leader of the Jewish people in Eretz Yisrael shortly after the Destruction of the Second Temple; compiler of the *Mishnah
Yeshivah: Rabbinical academy
Yetzer HaRa: the Evil Inclination
Yitzchak Avinu: the Patriarch Isaac
Yom Kippur: the Day of Atonement, fast day falling on 10 Tishrei and climaxing the Days of Awe
Yud-Beis Tammuz: the twelfth of Tammuz; the Previous Rebbe’s birthday and the anniversary of his release from capital sentence and imprisonment in Soviet Russia in 1927
Yud Shvat (lit., “the Tenth of Shvat”): anniversary of the passing of the *Previous Rebbe in 1950
Yud-Tes Kislev (lit., “the Nineteenth of Kislev”): anniversary of the passing of the Maggid of Mezritch in 1772, and anniversary of the release from capital sentence of his disciple, the *Alter Rebbe, in 1798
Zohar (lit., “radiance”): the classic text of the *Kabbalah
Start a Discussion