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.)

Haskalah

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

mayofes

a servile person (see note below)

responsa

Written decisions and legal rulings by rabbis appointed to be legal deciders.

shtadlan

an elected or self-appointed Jewish emissary pleading the cause of his people before the authorities

an intercessor

tzitzit

A garment worn under the shirt by Orthodox men and boys, with a tassel hanging down from each of the four corners.

The fringes on a tallit (tallis) prayer shawl or on a tallit katan.