Jewish English Lexicon

aleichem sholom

Peace be upon you. Response to "sholom aleichem"

almemar

the platform on which the Torah is read in synagogue; the bima

asina

Just like this/that, thus, in this manner. Such, even if.

Bayit Sheni

Second Temple, period of the Second Temple

A place one repairs to for debauchery after being expelled from one's initial location.

biz hundert un tsvantsik

[may you/he/she live] "until a hundred and twenty [years]" -- often used as a birthday wish for long life, or when mentioning a person who is getting on in years.

cashew

a person of Catholic and Jewish heritage

chazak u'baruch

"be strong and be blessed," usually said to someone who participated in a religious service in some way (for example, has an aliyah, makes a donation, opens the ark, etc.)

Chrismukkah

"Chrismukkah is a pop-culture portmanteau neologism referring to the merging of the holidays of Christianity's Christmas and Judaism's Hanukkah." (Wikipedia)

Dahak

A joke. Or someone or something who is funny.

dos

A derogatory term for ultra-Orthodox/Haredi Jews, common in Israel.

Escapamiento bueno

May the results be good/ said upon hearing of a pregnancy/ said before giving birth

geza

n. good lineage, adj. having good lineage. people from the right families that go back generations within a given Orthodox community

golem

"A creature of Jewish medieval folklore, a golem is a figure made into the form of a human and given life." (JPS)

gondi

A Persian Jewish soup, commonly prepared on Shabbat, consisting of a meatball/meat dumpling prepared with ground chickpeas in a chicken or meat broth.

hajj

to stop, "enough" (slang), not in the mood

Hak mir nisht keyn tshaynik

Literally, don't knock a teakettle at me

Stop annoying me

Don't bother me

Harry

A single, yeshivish male (see bochur) who is less culturally yeshivish than his peers.

Haskalah

19th century Jewish Enlightenment, in which modern philosophy and literature entered Jewish consciousness

ipcha mistabra

"the opposite is more reasonable"; "you have it backwards"

JDub

An American Jew who is not Syrian (usually refers to Ashkenazim)

kalike

1. Cripple 2. Someone who is sickly 3. A clumsy person 4. A stupid ignorant man 5. An inept performer, a singer off-key, a pianist who hits the wrong notes, a waiter who spills the soup.

maimouna

a celebration, traditionally among Moroccan Jews, right after Passover ends, marking the springtime and the return to eating chametz (leavened foods which are forbidden on Passover)

meldado

anniversary of someone's death; the study session done in honor of that person

ohel

tent (in a summer camp setting)

structure built over a grave, especially that of the Lubavitcher Rebbe

patrilineal

Being considered Jewish because one's father but not mother is Jewish.

Shorthand reference to “A Portrait of Jewish Americans,” a comprehensive survey, released in October 2013 by the Pew Research Center’s Religion and Public Life Project. Upon its release, the survey's findings on population, Jewish identity, and interfaith marriage seemed likely to play a central role in determining priorities for myriad Jewish institutions.