aderaba

certainly, by all means; I certainly don't object

on the contrary

am haaretz

Bumpkin, ignoramus, uneducated person

Vulgar, boorish person

People of the land

arbes

Boiled chickpeas

avade

Of course. / Obviously!

And how!

aveil

pl. aveilim. "Someone who is in mourning" (Glinert).

averah

religious transgression (Glinert: "An aveirah is an infringement on the Torah, the opposite of a mitzvah.")

ayin hara

The evil eye

ba'al tshuvah

a Jew raised non-religious who becomes Orthodox, [lit. 'one who returns/repents']

baal gaavah

"Arrogant person" (Glinert)

"conceited person" (Steinmetz)

balaboosta

1) Female head of household 2) Impressively competent homemaker

balabos

Male head of a household

Proprietor

balabotish

"Quiet; respectable; well mannered" (Rosten). "middle class"; normal

baruch haba

"Welcome!"

batlan

"One who consistently wastes time: Bum, Fainéant" (Weiser).

"A misfit, such as a Talmud student of no promise" (Rosten).

"naive, impractical person" (Steinmetz)

"Someone without a trade or regular means of livelihood" (Rosten).

"Layabout" (Glinert)

"Someone with intellectual pretensions and half-baked ideas" (Rosten).

"An unemployed or lazy man" (Rosten).

bechina

examination, particularly for rabbinic ordination

bechira

free will

behema

a boor, an uncouth, unmannered individual

an animal, especially a large one

bekies

"range of personal knowledge" (Weiser)

broad but not deep knowledge

bochur

young unmarried male, especially a yeshiva student

broiges

angry, annoyed (adj.)

a dispute (n)

bubbale

sweetie, darling [term of endearment]

chag sameach

"Literally, 'Happy Holiday.' The traditional, all-purpose greeting exchanged on almost any Jewish holiday" (JPS).

chap

"to comprehend" (Weiser) (lit. "to grasp")

chas v'chalila

"heaven forbid" (Steinmetz's Yiddish and English dictionary)

chas v'sholom

"heaven forbid" (Glinert)

chatuna

wedding

chayav

Guilty of transgressing. Liable.

cherem

"excommunication; ostracism" (Yiddish)

chiyuv

obligation

one who is in mourning and must say Kaddish

chrain

A spicy paste made from grated horseradish.

chrein

horseradish

chutzpahdik

impertinent

dati

Modern Orthodox

religious

drasha

"Sermon, learned address." (Glinert)

dveykus

spiritual ecstasy; lit. "cleaving"

einikel

grandchild

emes

"In accordance with the truth: True" (Weiser)

Truth, true

emesdik

"As a matter of fact: Genuinely" (Weiser)

"Truthful, genuine" (Steinmetz)

emunah

"faith"; sometimes contrasted with practical striving in the material world

erlech

honest, legitimate

religious

farbrengen

Noun: a gathering or celebration that includes a spiritual or religious component.

Verb: to hold such a gathering or celebration.

farher

noun: an oral examination, typically on one's understanding of Talmud

verb: examine, test, quiz

freilach

noun: (frailach or freylekhs) a lively song/dance performed at simchas

adj: happy, merry

fress

To gobble up food; to gorge oneself. "To eat quickly or noisily, like an animal" (JPS)

gadol

literally "big," refers to particularly well respected rabbis; "luminary" (Weiser)

gaon

"A title of honor for the rabbis and teachers who were the spiritual heads of the Babylonian yeshivot between the 6th and 11th centuries C.E." (JPS)

"A rabbi whose learning was so great that he was given the honorary title of gaon" (Rosten), e.g. the Vilna Gaon

Modern Hebrew: genius (JPS)

gayve

pride; arrogance; obnoxiousness

geferlech

Dangerous, terrible

gehenom

Considered to be a temporary place one's soul goes after death, for atonement, before reuniting with God.

Hell (metaphoric)

gemilas chesed

(pl. gemilas chasodim) A loan of money without interest to help a needy person.

ger

(pl. gerim) A convert to Judaism.

geshmak

delicious, delightful

get

a writ or deed of divorce

geulah

redemption

gezerah

In Jewish law, a prohibition enacted by the Sages as a measure to protect religious observance under changed conditions.

"evil decree" (Steinmetz)

"An authoritative command either to perform or to refrain from performing a particular act" (Weiser)

"an addition to a previously existing precept" (Weiser)

glatt

Showing consistency of reason (Weiser).

Super-kosher (not only of food), or acceptable to the Haredi community.

goyish

"in the manner or style of a non-Jewish person" (JPS), especially something WASPy or "white bread"

gramen

rhymes; especially a rhyming poem or song

gurnisht

"nothing, zilch, zero" (JPS)

gut voch

"Good week!" Ashkenazi greeting at the conclusion of the Sabbath.

gut yontef

"Happy holiday!" Ashkenazi greeting used on any of the holidays, including Rosh Hashanahh and Yom Kippur.

gut yor

"Good year!" Ashkenazi greeting on Rosh Hashanah.

hachnasas orchim

hospitality (lit. "bringing in guests")

halevai

"Would that it be so" (Steinmetz, Yiddish and English)

I wish!

If only

hashgacha

Rabbinic supervision designating food as kosher

Divine providence, interference, attention

hashpa'ah

motivating force, source for change in one's actions, influence

influence, or effect, particularly on one's character, development, and/or behavior

hechsher

(Rabbinic) stamp or seal of approval-- typically designating a product as kosher

hefker

running wild, undisciplined

ownerless

heimish

3. at home, comfortable

1. familiar, homey, informal, cozy, warm

2. Haredi Orthodox

heter

rabbinic allowance

inyan

topic [of conversation] (Weiser, Glinert).

matter (Steinmetz)

significance within Jewish law.

kaboles ponem

the reception before a wedding ceremony, consisting of a tish (for men) and a bedeken (for women). Lit. 'receiving the faces'.

kallah

bride

Jewish communal gathering, conference

kaparot

Ritual performed between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur to remove sins carried out by swinging a chicken over ones head.

kashe

A question posing some difficulty because of apparent inconsistencies with accepted premises: problem. A tough, perplexing question.

Question, difficulty (Steinmetz), challenge, objection.

kedai

"worth it" (Weiser)

kein yirbu

"So they may increase in number"

keinehora

"no evil eye" (Rosten). "An expression said to ward off the evil eye or bad luck in general; the verbal equivalent of knocking on wood." (JPS)

khnyok

a mean or bigoted person

a sanctimonious, holier-than-thou religious person

an unkempt or slovenly person

kimat

"almost or nearly" (Weiser)

kishka

"Stuffed derma: a sausagelike comestible of meat, flour, and spices stuffed into intestine casing and baked" (Rosten) Also, "guts," literally, Slavic. (Wikipedia)

kivyakhol

"As if", "so to speak," can be used to refer to anthropomorphic language about God

Substitute or euphemism for God's name, similar to Hashem

kuntz

feat, stunt, trick, challenge, ingenuity

strategy (Weiser)

peculiarity, particular oddness (JPS)

l'hachis

spitefully; deliberately; literally "in order to anger"

lamden

a proficient Talmudic scholar

leibedik

lively, enthusiastic; warm, heartfelt

lekech

"Honey cake, traditionally served on Rosh Hashanah... made with honey, eggs, cinnamon, and, often, coffee" (JPS).

levaye

funeral

leytsanus

silliness; buffoonery

lo aleynu

"I hope it won't happen to us"; "God forbid" lit. "not unto us"

mabul

the Biblical Flood

a deluge; a torrent of rain

madrega

level, especially spiritual level

maidel

girl

matzeivah

headstone

mazel

luck (good)

congratulations

mazume

"ready money, cash" (Steinmetz)

"A group of three or more adult males who join together to recite the after-meal blessings..." (Steinmetz).

mesiras nefesh

self-sacrifice

moshl

parable, example

musar

reproof; system of ethics; discipline

a Jewish ethical movement that crystallized among non-Hasidic Orthodox Jews in Lithuania in the 19th century, led by Israel Salanter, focusing on character development.

nafke mine

practical difference

nebach

interjection, adverb: "unfortunately"; noun: an unfortunate person

nes

miracle

nifter

deceased

oilam

the world; the public

a group of people

okh un vey

"a pity on him"

an unenviable position

ongepotchket

overly elaborate, excessively decorated, slapped together senselessly, overdone, tacky, ostentatious, overcomplicated. "Excessively and unaesthetically decorated; overly baroque." (Rosten)

pasken

to rule halachically

patsh

a smack (playful)

to give a light slap

patur

not liable, exempt

pekel

little bundle

pintele yid

"essential Jewishness"

poshet

simple

posl

invalid

pritse

an immodest woman

prost

coarse, base, not classy, vulgar, common

psak

rabbinic ruling

rachmones

mercy, pity, empathy

ruchnies

spirituality

safek

"Unresolved question: Uncertainty" (Weiser)

"Doubt in the integrity of: Suspicion" (Weiser)

A doubt or doubtful case.

sefer

"A literary composition written particularly of, on, or about the Torah" (Weiser)

Hebrew or Aramaic book

seforim

Religious books written in Hebrew or Aramaic.

segula

Folk remedy, safeguard, superstitious action, talisman

divinely bestowed reward as a result of an individual's participation in a minhag or mitzvah

"procedure that is not based on medical or scientific logic yet is efficacious in improving a situation or protecting a person from harm" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segula_(Kabbalah))

Shayach

Pertinent, relevant (Steinmetz).

1. Capable of being true or believable: Conceivable. / 2. Capable of being done: Surmountable / 3. Practical, reasonable, or possible: Feasible. (Weiser)

shidduch

arranged spousal match

mate

match

a date in the process of finding one's spouse

shpatzir

literally 'to walk, take a stroll'; figuratively 'to delay, tarry, procrastinate'

shvach

weak, pathetic, (a place or gathering that is) lacking in activity

svara

guess, hypothesis

justification, reason, plausible explanation

svive

environment, surroundings

group or get-together

tachrichim

burial shrouds

tate

dad

titchadesh

"Use it in good health" or "Enjoy your new item"

tzadik

Common name for the 18th letter of the Hebrew alphabet (tzadi / tzade).

Someone who does extremely righteous deeds.

A highly learned and esteemed rabbinic leader (sometimes used as an alternative name for a Hasidic rebbe).

tzimmes

"A prolonged procedure, and involved business, a mix-up" (Rosten).

"A sweet, baked dish of vegetables or fruit. Carrot tzimmes, a popular version, includes carrots, sweet potatoes, dried apricots, raisins, sugar, and cinnamon" (JPS).

"Troubles, difficulties, a contretemps" (Rosten).

veiter

"More distant: Farther." (Weiser)

"At a more advanced point: Further." (Weiser)

"Further; next." (Steinmetz)

vort

a short lesson derived from the Torah; an engagement party, named after the short speech usually delivered in honor of the couple

yasher koach

Good job!

Thank you (used by Orthodox Jews)

Congratulations!

yetzer hara

Lit. 'the evil inclination'

yichus

Bragging rights based on respected family history

"Pedigree, lineage, family background." (JPS)

yid

a Jewish person

A derogatory term used by non-Jews for a Jewish person (particularly so in Great Britain).

yiddishkeit

"Jewishness"; sometimes used interchangeably with 'Judaism' or 'Jewish culture'

yiras shamayim

"awe of heaven"

yosem

orphan

zivug

(n.) mate, predestined match