simcha

Alternative Spellings

simchah, simkhe

Definitions

• "A joyous occasion; a celebration" (JPS); usually related to a lifecycle event

Example Sentences

• "What a simchah!" (said by a friend to my dad in reference to our wedding which he had attended) or "Baruch hashem, I have so many simchas to go to this week!"

Languages of Origin

Textual Hebrew, Yiddish

Etymology

Heb שמחה simkhá 'happiness', Yiddish שׂימחה símkhe 'a celebration, party'

Who Uses This

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).
Frumspeak: The First Dictionary of Yeshivish, by Chaim Weiser (Northvale, 1995).
Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Popular Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms, by Sol Steinmetz (Lanham, MD, 2005).