arba kanfot

A tallit katan (see tzitzit)

arba kosot

"The four glasses of wine drunk on Passover" (Glinert).

arbes

Boiled chickpeas

askan

A person who is influential in working for the community

A Jewish communal or social worker (Steinmetz)

Activist

avade

Of course. / Obviously!

And how!

balaboosta

1) Female head of household 2) Impressively competent homemaker

balabos

Male head of a household

Proprietor

bencher

prayer booklet or card with the text of the blessings after meals, and often times including other meal-time blessings and songs

besamim

"Literally, 'spices.' It almost always refers to the spices in the spice box used for the Havdalah ceremony" (JPS).

"Modern Israeli slang for illegal drugs" (JPS).

Spices

biberhit

A man's black hat with beaver fur, worn on weekdays.

bokser

The fruit of the carob tree, traditionally eaten on Tu Bishvat.

broiges

angry, annoyed (adj.)

a dispute (n)

bubbale

sweetie, darling [term of endearment]

chacham

wiseguy

rabbi (Sephardi)

wise, learned person; genius

chalat

A man's silk robe for indoor use, usually on Shabbat or holidays.

cheder

Hebrew and religious classes (often on Sundays) for elementary school children.

chrain

A spicy paste made from grated horseradish.

duchen

A ritual where the kohanim recite the Priestly Blessing (Num. 6:24-26), blessing the rest of the congregation.

dveykus

spiritual ecstasy; lit. "cleaving"

eyer kichlech

Egg cookies, usually in the shape of bow ties.

gut chodesh

"Good month!" Ashkenazi greeting on Rosh Chodesh.

gut moed

"Good festival season!" Used by Ashkenazim on Chol Hamoed.

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.

halevai

I wish!

If only

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

kaftan

A man's long black overcoat.

kallah

Jewish communal gathering, conference

bride

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)

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

leibedik

lively, enthusiastic; warm, heartfelt

lekech

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

mandelbrot

"Literally, 'almond bread.' A crunchy, dry cookie, similar to biscotti" (JPS).

mazel

congratulations

luck (good)

mazume

"ready money, cash" (Steinmetz)

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

nittel nacht

Christmas Eve

ongepotchket

"Excessively and unaesthetically decorated; overly baroque." (Rosten)

overly elaborate, excessively decorated, slapped together senselessly, overdone, tacky, ostentatious, overcomplicated.

patsh

to give a light slap

a smack (playful)

pesadik

"Acceptable to be eaten on Pesach" (JPS), kosher for Passover.

rachmones

mercy, pity, empathy

shomer

a chaperone, protector, or guard

a camp counselor on duty

one who keeps vigil over a dead body before it is buried

adj. observant, observing the laws of kosher, shabbat, or negiya (not touching members of the opposite gender outside of family)

a member of Hashomer Hatzair or a camper or counselor at a Hashomer Hatzair camp

shtrayml

A hat trimmed with fur pieces, typically worn by Hassidim on Shabbat.

sidra

weekly Torah portion

tate

dad

tichel

headscarf worn by Orthodox women

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

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

"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).

tznius

(adj.) modest, discrete, especially according to Orthodox norms of dress, comportment, and gender interaction

(n.) modesty, discretion, especially according to Orthodox norms of dress, comportment, and gender interaction

yasher koach

Good job!

Thank you (used by Orthodox Jews)

Congratulations!

yichus

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

Bragging rights based on respected family history

yid

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

a Jewish person

yiddishkeit

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

zivug

(n.) mate, predestined match