kehillah

Pronunciations

kehillah (keh-HEE-luh) listen
kehillah (keh-hee-LAH) listen

Definitions

  • n. A Jewish community or congregation.

  • n. (historic) A governing board chosen to run an autonomous Jewish community.

Example Sentences

  • "Kiddush this morning is sponsored by several members of the kehillah."

  • "They're in South Bend, Indiana? Is that a large kehila?" (Glinert)

Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • TH קהילה kehilá > Y קהילה kehíle

    • Who Uses This

      • Religious: Jews who are engaged in religious observance and have some Jewish education

      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).

      Alternative Spellings

      kehilla

Notes

  • Often used in more formal settings, such as when a synagogue represents itself in writing.

    See also kahal.

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