melaveh malka
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Pronunciations

melaveh malka (meh-LAH-veh MAHL-kah)

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Definitions

  • n. A celebratory meal on Saturday night after Shabbat has ended.

  • n. A party or gathering for Orthodox women only.

Example Sentences

  • "My husband is careful to have a melaveh malka that includes bread and meat." (source)

  • "You are cordially invited to a musical melaveh malka on Saturday, March 11 at 8 P.M." (Glinert)

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Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew

Etymology

  • מלווה מלכּה, lit. 'escorting the queen'

      • 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

      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).
      • Yinglish: A Lexicon of Judeo-English by Aliza Bulow
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      Alternative Spellings

      melave malka, melaveh malkah, melave malkah, melaveh malke, melave malke, melave malkeh, melaveh malkeh

Notes

  • "Tradition says [this Saturday night celebration] began with King David, who had been warned that he would die on a Sabbath. At the end of each Sabbath, he celebrated his being alive with a feast." (JPS)

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