Al kiddush Hashem – for the sanctification of Hashem’s Name
Ahavat Hashem – love of Hashem
Aron Hakodesh – Ark, where the Sefer Torah is housed
Aveirah, aveirot (pl) – transgression
Avodat Hashem – service of Hashem
Avot – Patriarchs, Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov
Avrech, avrechim (pl) – young Torah scholar
Ayin hara – evil eye
Ba’alei Mussar – Masters of Ethics
Ba’al teshuvah, ba’alei teshuvah (pl) – (lit. Master of Return/Repentance), one who returns to Hashem
Ba’alat chessed – woman who does many acts of kindness
Bachur – young man
Baruch Hashem – Thanks to Hashem
B’chasdei Hashem – With the help of Hashem
Bedikat chametz – searching the house for chametz on the night before Pesach
Bein Hazmanim – intercession between study semesters in yeshiva
Beit Din – rabbinical court
Beit Hakeneset, Batei Kenesiot (pl) – house of prayer, synagogue
Beit Hamidrash, Batei Midrashot (pl) – house of study
Beit Hamikdash –Holy Temple
B’ezrat Hashem – With the help of Hashem
Berachah, berachot (pl) – blessing
Bikur cholim – visiting the sick
Bikurim – first of the produce from the seven species, brought to the Beit Hamikdash
Birkat hagomel – blessing of thanksgiving after one has been rescued from danger
Birkat Hamazon – Grace after Meals
Bitachon – trust
Bitul Torah – time wasted from Torah study
Bli ayin hara – May there be no evil eye (expression)
Bnei Yisrael – The Children of Israel
Brit (milah) – circumcision
Chachamim – (lit. wise people), Sages, teachers
Chametz – leavened bread, which is forbidden to be eaten on Pesach
Chanukat habayit – dedication ceremony for a new home or institution
Chas v’shalom, chalilah – May G-d have mercy
Chatan – bridegroom
Chatunah – wedding
Chavruta – study partner
Chazal – our Sages, may their memory be for a blessing
Chessed – kindness
Chevrah kadisha – Jewish burial society
Chillul Hashem – desecration of Hashem’s Name
Chizuk – inspiration
Chuppah – wedding canopy
Chutz la’aretz – Diaspora
Daf Hayomi – program to learn one page of Gemara every day, which is completed in approximately seven and a half years
Dayan – judge
Divrei Torah – words of Torah
Eirev Rav – gentiles who joined the Jewish people at the Exodus
Erev – the eve of (Shabbat)
Emunah – faith
Gabbai, gabbaim (pl.) – caretaker of the synagogue
Galut – exile
Gematria – numerical value
Get – Jewish bill of divorce
Geulah – redemption
Gezel – robbery
Gilgul – reincarnation
Hachnasat orchim – hosting guests
Hachnasat Sefer Torah – dedication ceremony for a Sefer Torah
Hakadosh Baruch Hu – The Holy One, Blessed is He (referring to Hashem)
Halachah, halachot (pl) – Jewish law
Halachic – according to Jewish law
Hashgachah, hashgachot (pl.) – kashrut symbol
Hashgachah pratit – Divine intervention
Hilula – celebration of the anniversary of a death of a tzaddik
Im yirtzeh Hashem – If Hashem wants
Kabbalat kahal – receiving the public for private audiences
Kaddish – prayer said by the mourner for the merit of the deceased
Karet – punishment of being cut off from Hashem
Kashrut – laws pertaining to food
Kedushah – holiness
Kelippah, kelippot (pl) – force of impurity
Kiddush Hashem – sanctification of Hashem’s Name
Kimcha d’Pischa – funds allotted to the needy for Pesach
Kinot – Tishah B’Av lamentations
Kippah, kippot (pl) – skullcap
Kohen Gadol – high priest
Kollel, kollelim (pl) – Torah institution for married men
Korban, korbanot (pl) – offering, sacrifice
Kriyat Shema – the recital of the Shema
Lashon hakodesh – (lit. the holy tongue), Hebrew
Lashon hara – evil speech, slander
Leket – gleanings: one or two stalks that fall away at the time of reaping and must be left for the poor
L’havdil – to separate the holy from the mundane
L’shem Shamayim – For the sake of Heaven
Luchot – Tablets, on which the Ten Commandments were written
Ma’aser – tithe
Ma’ariv – Evening Prayer
Maggid shiur – one who delivers a Torah lecture
Masechet, masechta – tractate
Mashiach – Messiah
Mashgiach, mashgichim (pl) – supervisor, assistant dean in a yeshiva
Mashgiach kashrut – kashrut supervisor
Matan Torah – The Giving of the Torah
Matmid – diligent student
Mazal – sign of the zodiac, luck, fate
Mesirut nefesh – self-sacrifice
Mezuzah – parchment containing Torah verses, commanded to be affixed to every doorpost
Middah – character trait
Midrash – homiletical teachings of the Sages
Mikveh, mikvaot (pl) – body of water for ritual immersion and purification
Minchah – the Afternoon Prayer
Minyan – quorum of ten men necessary to conduct prayers
Mishkan – the Tabernacle
Mitzrayim – Egypt
Mitzvah, mitzvot (pl) – commandment
Muktzeh – items set aside, forbidden from touching on Shabbat
Mussar – ethics
Nachat – joy or pleasure from another’s accomplishments
Navi – prophet
Neshamah, neshamot (pl) – soul
Neshamah yeteirah – the additional soul awarded a person on Shabbat
Niddah – woman who became impure due to her menstrual cycle; the mitzvah concerning this
Nisayon, nisyonot (pl) – test, challenging situation
Parashah, parshiyot (pl) – chapter
Pasuk, pesukim (pl) – verse
Payot – side locks
Pe’ah –corner of a field which must be left for the poor
Pirkei Avot (or Avot) – The Chapters of the Fathers
Rabbanim – rabbis
Rachmana litzlan – May G-d’s mercy be upon them
Rasha, resha’im (pl) – evil person
Rechilut – gossip
Ribbono shel Olam – Master of the World (referring to Hashem)
Rosh Kollel – Dean of a kollel
Ruach hakodesh – Divine inspiration
Sandek – one who holds the baby during a circumcision
Sefer – book
Sefer Torah, Sifrei Torah (pl) – Torah Scroll
Segulah – act or talisman to gain merit
Selichot – special prayers said prior to the Yamim Nora’im
Seudah – meal
Seudat hodayah – thanksgiving meal for salvation
Seudat mitzvah – meal eaten for a mitzvah celebration
Seudah shlishit – third meal on Shabbat
Sha’atnez – mixture of wool and linen that is forbidden to be worn
Shacharit – Morning Prayer
Shaliach tzibbur – cantor, one who leads the prayers
Shalom bayit – marital harmony
Shechinah – Divine Presence
Shemoneh Esrei – prayer containing eighteen blessings, recited three times a day
Shidduch, shidduchim (pl.) – marriage proposal, marriage partner
Shikchah – bundle of stalks of grain forgotten in the field at the time of the harvest, which must be left for the poor
Shiur, shiurim (pl) – Torah lecture
Shivah – seven-day mourning period for a deceased family member
Shlita – May he live many good years, Amen
Siddur – prayer book
Simchah – joy, joyous celebration
Siyata di’Shemaya – Divine assistance
Siyum – completion of a tractate (and celebration thereof)
Sugya – topic in Gemara
Taharat hamishpachah – laws of family purity
Talmid chacham, talmidei chachamim (pl) – Torah scholar
Tannai’m – Sages of the Mishnah
Tefillat, tefillot (pl.) – prayer
Tefillin – phylacteries
Terumah – tithe
Teshuvah – (lit. return) repentance
Tikkun, tikkunim (pl) – rectification
Treif – nonkosher food
Tumah – defilement
Tzaddik – righteous person
Tzedakah – charity
Tzeniut – modesty
Tzitzit – four-cornered garment with fringes, worn by men and boys
Viduy – prayer of confession, recited on Yom Kippur
Yerushalayim – Jerusalem
Yeshiva – rabbinical college
Yetzer Hara – Evil Inclination
Yetzer Hatov – Good Inclination
Yichud – prohibition of being secluded with a strange woman
Yirat Shamayim – fear of Heaven
Zman – semester of Torah study
Zechut, zechuyot (pl.) – merit
Zemirot – songs sung in honor of Shabbat
Zikuy harabim – bringing merit to the public
Zt”l – May the tzaddik’s memory be for a blessing
Zy”a – May his merits protect us
