kriah

Pronunciations

Definitions

  • n. Reading, especially Torah.

  • n. The tearing of a garment (ritual of mourning).

Example Sentences

  • "Learning to read Hebrew is one of the most important skills your child will master. Experts agree that the mastery of kriyah while a child is young is key to his or her entire future growth as a Torah Jew." (source)

  • "[That minyan] might be perfect for you- it's trad egal, and they do a full kriyah."

  • "In addition to being a ritual process and an acknowledgment of extreme sorrow, keriah can also be very cathartic for mourners, allowing them to express anger and sadness in a visible and physical way." (source)

  • "Before the burial, the close mourners stood and did keria." (Glinert)

Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew

Etymology

  • קריאה 'reading'
    קריעה 'tearing, rending'

    • Who Uses This

      • Religious: Jews who are engaged in religious observance and have some Jewish education
      • Orthodox: Jews who identify as Orthodox and observe halacha (Jewish law)

      Regions

      • North America
      • Australia / New Zealand
      • Great Britain
      • South Africa

      Dictionaries

      • The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).
      • The Joys of Hebrew, by Lewis Glinert (New York, 1992).
      • Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Popular Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms, by Sol Steinmetz (Lanham, MD, 2005).

      Alternative Spellings

      krieh, kriyah, k'riye, k'riyah, k'riya, keriyah, keriya, kria, kriya, krie, keriah, qeriah, q'ria, q'ri'a, q'ri'ah, qeria

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