Tor-Ch's Hebrew FAQ

(The Torat Chayim List's Hebrew Frequently Asked Questions Page)

The first version of this faq was created on January 18, 1996, based on discussions on the list Tor-Ch supported by the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTSA) listserver. It is meant to contain words that are important in Halachic (Jewish Legal) discussions, but is not meant as an introduction to modern hebrew.

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aggadah: stories, parables, folklore
agunah: (lit. chained) a woman who cannot remarry; usually because her husband refuses to give her a get (divorce), because there is no way to verify whether or not he is dead, or because he is incompetent to give a divorce (i.e., mentally ill)
assur: something prohibited
averah (aveira): sin, transgression of God's will
ba'al tefillah: prayer leader
ba'al teshuvah: (lit. master of return) a penitent; a Jew who returns to a traditional observant Jewish lifestyle (also known by the acronym BT)
b'chor: firstborn
b'diavad: after the fact, post facto (Lat.), what the halacha says about handling a less-than-ideal action that has already occurred (as opposed to l'chatchilah, see entry)
begid ish(ah): prohibition against dressing as the opposite gender
Bemidbar: (lit. in the desert) Numbers (4th book of the Torah)
bentsch: (Yiddish) to recite a brachah; especially Birkat Hamazon.
bet din: court of Jewish law
bikkur cholim: visiting the ill or hospitalized
birkat kohanim: the priestly blessing (Num. 6 verses 22-27)
bracha (pl. brachot): blessing
B'reshit: (lit. in the beginning) Genesis (1st book of the Torah)
b'rit milah (bris): covenant of circumcision
b'sha'ah tovah: congratulations to an expectant mother (literarily "in a good hour," means "at an auspicious time," i.e., "may whatever time your child is born be a good time.") Also the correct response to announcement of a marriage engagement. In both cases, it is in anticipation of a "mazel tov" for something hoped for that has not yet occurred.
chag sameach: a happy holiday (used as a greeting)
chayav: one who is obligated
chazzan (hazzan): cantor
chachamim (hachamim): sages
cherem: excommunication (from cessation of aid, boycott)
chessed (hesed): kindness
cheshbon hanefesh: (lit. accounting of the soul) self-examination of your actions' merit, or accounting of your soul's good and bad aspects
chevra: friends; comrades
Chevra Kadisha: (lit. holy society) the group that prepares a body for burial
chillul hashem: desecration of the divine name
chiyuv: obligation
chok (pl. chukim): law from the Torah deemed to be without a humanly discernible rationale, e.g., the red heifer.
chometz (chametz, hametz): leavened food, which is forbidden during Pesach
chumash: the five books of the Torah, bound in one volume (not a scroll)
chumra: stringency -- custom of a community to observe more strictly
"dati/lo dati": dati = religious, lo dati=not religious, as used in current Hebrew in Israel, but it is a black and white distinction, meaning Orthodox and not Orthodox
daven: pray (from the Yiddish, with a particular emotional sense)
derech eretz: respectful, menschlich, considerate of others
din: law, judgment
d'rasha: a talk or sermon interpreting a Torah passage (often a creative interpretation) (from a root meaning "search")
dukhn: perform the kohen's blessing before the congregation
d'var torah (pl. divrei torah): (lit. word of Torah) a Torah discourse, homily or sermon
D'varim: (lit. words, things) 5th book of the Torah (Deuteronomy)
emet: truth
emunah: faith
eruv: a legal fiction which transforms a "public domain" into a "private domain", by enclosing the area inside fences, power lines, etc., so as to allow carrying objects on Shabbat; the area so enclosed
frum: observant (often with an ultra-Orthodox implication)
Gemara: (lit. learning, from the Aramaic) the later part of the Talmud, which expands upon the Mishna
get (pl. gittin): document of divorce
g'milut chasadim: acts of loving kindness
Haftarah: The selection from the book of prophets read after the Torah reading.
halacha: (lit. path) Jewish law
halbanat panim: causing someone to blanch by public embarrassment (lit. whitening the face)
hashgacha: ritual supervision, most often used in terms of kashrut/dietary laws, although it can also refer to spiritual or moral supervision, as in a yeshiva or dormitory
hechsher: kosher certification
heter: permission (usually a rabbinic ruling that permits something)
hiddur mitzvah: beautifying physical objects involved in a mitzvah, or otherwise adding to a mitzvah an esthetic sense
kabbalat ol mitzvot: acceptance of commandments as binding (lit. acceptance of the yoke of the commandments)
Kabbalat Shabbat: service welcoming the Sabbath
kal vachomer: a category of halachic inference in which we generalize from a weak case to a strong case. As an common expression, it means something like "how much more so." Example; I couldn't even build a bookshelf -- kal v'chomer a sailboat
kavanah: intention, devotion, inner concentration during prayer
kevah: fixed; a fixed time; fixed words or prayer (often contrasted with kavanah, inner concertration during prayer)
kiddush hashem: sanctification of the divine name; martyrdom
kiddushin: betrothal (for the purpose of marriage)
klal: a general principle
klal Yisrael: the Jewish community as a whole
koach: strength
Kohelet: the book of Ecclesiastes
kol hakavod: lit. all honor, used idiomatically to express praise or congratulations for an achievement
Kol Isha: voice of a woman
kol tuv: everything good (may you be blessed with everything good)
kosher: legally proper; usually used for food permitted under the dietary laws ("kasher" means "fit, proper")
kulot: leniencies
k'vod hatzibur: the honor of the community
lashon hara: (lit. "evil tongue") defaming or badmouthing
l'chatchilah: from the beginning, ab initio (Latin). What the halacha prescribes in the ideal situation (before you've acted) as opposed to b'diavad (see entry) For example; L'chatchilah, you should add "Al HaNissim" to the amida on Hanukkah and Purim, but b'diavad, if you forgot, your amida is valid and you need not repeat it
leyn: (Yiddish) to read (usually to read Torah)
ma'ariv: evening; the evening prayer service
ma'asim tovim: good deeds
machmeer: stringent; one who observes a chumrah (stringency)
Maftir: The aliyah consisting of the last few lines of the Torah reading, or the person assigned that aliyah. The person assigned the maftir aliyah also chants Haftarah
mamzer: a person born from a prohibited union (i.e., from an incestuous or adulterous union)
mara d'atra: (Aramaic, lit. master of the place) the local rabbi, whose decision carries the force of law in that locality
mar'it ayin: the way something appears (i.e. wearing a kipah in a treif resturant)
mashgiach (pl. mashgichim): ritual superviso of kashrut who watches/supervises on the premises for dietary supervision of ingredients, food preparation, serving, dishes and cutlery, etc.
Mashiach (Moshiach): messiah
mechitsa: division; a barrier separating men from women in the synagogue
midrash: an interpretation; a story that fills in gaps in the Torah narrative, or answers questions about the narrative; (when capitalized) any of several volumes of such stories compiled by rabbis of the Talmudic era
mincha: the afternoon prayer service
minhag: custom
minhag ha-makom: local custom
minyan: quorum of 10 needed for a public prayer service
Mi Sheberach: "The One Who Blessed", a blessing recited on someone else's behalf, usually after a Torah reading, often for one who has had an aliyah, or for one who is ill. It begins "May the One who blessed our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah, bless ... who has ... "
Mishna: the early core of the Talmud, consisting primarily of case law decisions
mishna: (not capitalized) one unit, typically a single sentence or short paragraph, in the Mishna
mishpat (pl. mishpatim): law from the Torah that can be rationalized
mitzvah: commandment; not "good deed" in Hebrew, but has come to mean that in Yiddish, especially among more secular people
mutar: permitted
ner tamid: eternal light
nigun (pl. nigunim): wordless prayer melody, usually repeated many times over to create a spiritual mood
nusach: (lit. formula) Used for melodies and musical modes associated with particular services and portions of services, and also used for verbal formulas of particular prayers and services.
olam ha-ba: the world to come
parnassa: sustenance, sufficient livelihood, (earn/grow) enough to eat.
parsha (pl. parshiot): (n) the weekly Torah portion
patur: something or someone who is exempt (from an obligation or a law)
pikuah nefesh: savin a life (usually in context of breaking Shabbat or other mitzvot)
posek (pl. poskim): the rabbi one consults for halachic decisions; an authority on Jewish Law
posken: to render an halachic ruling, usually one that clarifies the law in a specific case
p'sak: decision, verdict
p'shat: straitforward meaning of a passage (literal meaning)
r'chilut: gossip
Ribono shel Olam: Master of the universe
Rosh Chodesh: first day of the new Jewish month
ruach: spirit, wind
sedra: the weekly Torah portion
shacharit: the morning prayer service
shaliach: emissary, appointed agent (male pl. sh'lichim, sh'lichei; fem. sing. sh'lichah; fem. pl. sh'lichot)
shaliach tzibur: (lit. emissary of the community) the person leading services
sh'lom bayit: peace in the home
Shekhinah: (lit. that which dwells) God's presence (often associated with feminine imagery, but not always)
Shir Ha-Shirim: Song of Songs
shlit"a: (acronym for "sheyechyeh l'orech yamim tovim amen." lit., may he live a long and good life, amen) an honorific appended to the names of living rabbis
Sh'mot: (lit. names) the 2nd book of the Torah (Exodus)
shomer (pl. shomrim): watchman, guardian
shomer shabbat: observant of the laws of Shabbat
shoresh: root of a word (all Hebrew verbs have a 3-4 letter root that is the basis of conjugation. many other parts of speach (adj, nouns) are also derived from this same shoresh)
shtiebel: (Yiddish, lit. little room) a small synagogue
shul: (Yiddish) synagogue
sinat chinam: gratuitous hatred
s'micha: rabbinic ordination
tahara (pl. taharot): ritual purity
takkanah (pl. takkanot): correction; a rabbinic edict that supersedes the existing halachah
tanach (acronym for Torah Nevi'im K'tuvim - Torah, Prophets, Writings): the three divisions of the Hebrew Bible
tana'im: sages of the Mishnaic period
tefillah: prayer
teshuvah: return, repentance
t'hillim: psalms
tikkun olam: correcting the world, repairing the world; an action promoting social justice
torah misinai: (lit., Torah from Mount Sinai) refers to the doctrine that the entire Torah, including the Oral Law, was given to Moses at Mount Sinai.
torah she-b'al peh: Oral Tradition (Talmud and Rabinnical)
torah she-bichtav: Written Tradition (the five books of the Torah)
treif: literally, torn; refers to non-kosher food
tzniut: modesty
tzedakah: righteousness; used for charitable donations, though the root has a very different sense from the root of "charity."
Vayikrah: (lit. "and He called") 3rd book of the Torah (Leviticus)
yahrzeit: (Yiddish, year-time) anniversary of a death
yahrzeit candle: a 24-hour candle lit to commemorate the death anniversary of a close relative; also lit on holy days when Yizkor (prayer of remembrance) is recited
yasher koach: (lit. meaning unclear, but possibly "straight strength") used idiomatically to express praise or thanks for serving in a religious or ceremonial role. Implies "May your stength continue, go on straight"; i.e., "You done good! Do it many times more!"
yotzi: (lit. gone out) one who has properly fulfilled an obligation
zt"l: (acronym, zichron tzadik livracha; lit. the memory of a tzadik is a blessing) honorific appended to the names of dead rabbis and righteous people
z"l: (acronym, zichrono (fem. zichronah) livrachah; lit. may his/her memory be a blessing) appended to the names of those who have died

NOTE on spelling/transliteration
Some people transliterate the letter "het" as "ch," and others as "h." (Better would be "h" with a dot under it, but that's not possible in email. This also ignores the linguists, who prefer "x.") Thus "hag/chag sameah/sameach," "bikkur holim/cholim," etc. All the terms beginning with "ch" on the list are "het" words.

Other Hebrew Vocabulary Lists

This List of Yiddish and Hebrew words. comes from S3 and is a good starting place.
Foreign Language for Travelers - Hebrew/Ivrit Page has a great list of vocabualary words in Modern Hebrew.

Go back to the TOR-CH home page

http://www.tor-ch.org/words.html

HTML coding by: David Rosenthal

Last Updated: July 1996