Showing 40 of 40 words, page 1 of 1
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aleichem sholom
Peace be upon you. Response to "sholom aleichem"
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arba kanfot
A tallit katan (see tzitzit)
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askan
A person who is influential in working for the community
A Jewish communal or social worker (Steinmetz)
Activist
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balaboosta
1) Female head of household 2) Impressively competent homemaker
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batlan
"naive, impractical person" (Steinmetz)
"Someone without a trade or regular means of livelihood" (Rosten).
"One who consistently wastes time: Bum, FaineĢant" (Weiser).
"A misfit, such as a Talmud student of no promise" (Rosten).
"Someone with intellectual pretensions and half-baked ideas" (Rosten).
"Layabout" (Glinert)
"An unemployed or lazy man" (Rosten).
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besamim
"Modern Israeli slang for illegal drugs" (JPS).
"Literally, 'spices.' It almost always refers to the spices in the spice box used for the Havdalah ceremony" (JPS).
Spices
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bris
circumcision ceremony; the celebration surrounding it. Lit. covenant.
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bubbe meise
"Something of little importance, an inconsequential thing or minor happening." (JPS)
"old wive's tale"; an untrue story, sometimes related to superstition
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chashuv
Important; of high status
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chassidus
"Chasidism" (Glinert)
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cheder
Hebrew and religious classes (often on Sundays) for elementary school children.
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chochmah
"Brains; wisdom; a brilliant idea" (Glinert)
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da'as torah
Intuitive knowledge that comes from a lifetime of Torah study.
The authoritative wisdom of the tradition mediated by "gedolim" or great rabbis.
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dybbuk
a spirit, "often thought to be the soul of a dead person, that wanders the earth looking for a living body to inhabit" (JPS)
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gemilas chesed
(pl. gemilas chasodim) A loan of money without interest to help a needy person.
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goyish
"in the manner or style of a non-Jewish person" (JPS), especially something WASPy or "white bread"
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gut chodesh
"Good month!" Ashkenazi greeting on Rosh Chodesh.
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gut moed
"Good festival season!" Used by Ashkenazim on Chol Hamoed.
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gut yontef
"Happy holiday!" Ashkenazi greeting used on any of the holidays, including Rosh Hashanahh and Yom Kippur.
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kaddishl
A son who will say kaddish for a parent (literally, "little kaddish").
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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)
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l'hachis
spitefully; deliberately; literally "in order to anger"
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mayofes
a servile person (see note below)
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mazume
"ready money, cash" (Steinmetz)
"A group of three or more adult males who join together to recite the after-meal blessings..." (Steinmetz).
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mechuten
In laws, more generally (http://www.pass.to/glossary/gloz2.htm#letm).
the father of one's child's spouse, though can sometimes be used to refer to the grandfather of one's grandchild's spouse.
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mechuteneste
the mother of one's child's spouse
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naches
"Proud pleasure, special joy--particularly from the achievements of a child... 2. Psychological reward or gratification." (Rosten)
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orel
non-Jew (contemptuous, pejorative).
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sheymes
n., such content
adj., of or relating to printed material, such as a book or even an audio recording, that contains the name of God, and therefore must not be erased, put on the floor, etc., out of respect for the Divine Name
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shkotz
berating term for a mischievous Jewish boy
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tsvuak
hypocrite
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yechinik
a Lubavicher (a Hasidic group, Chabad) who believes that Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavicher rebbe, is the Moshiach.
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yontif
a Jewish holiday, especially one on which work is prohibited (in contrast to chol hamoed)
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