Showing 34 of 34 words, page 1 of 1
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aleichem sholom
Peace be upon you. Response to "sholom aleichem"
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averah
religious transgression (Glinert: "An aveirah is an infringement on the Torah, the opposite of a mitzvah.")
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balaboosta
1) Female head of household 2) Impressively competent homemaker
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balabotish
"Quiet; respectable; well mannered" (Rosten). "middle class"; normal
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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).
"An unemployed or lazy man" (Rosten).
"Someone with intellectual pretensions and half-baked ideas" (Rosten).
"Layabout" (Glinert)
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bubbale
sweetie, darling [term of endearment]
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cheder
Hebrew and religious classes (often on Sundays) for elementary school children.
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fress
To gobble up food; to gorge oneself. "To eat quickly or noisily, like an animal" (JPS)
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gemara
"A compilation of 300 years of rabbis' legal and ethical commentaries on the Mishnah...together, the Gemara and the Mishnah comprise the Talmud." (JPS)
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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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kashe
Question, difficulty (Steinmetz), challenge, objection.
A question posing some difficulty because of apparent inconsistencies with accepted premises: problem. A tough, perplexing question.
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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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kishka
"Stuffed derma: a sausagelike comestible of meat, flour, and spices stuffed into intestine casing and baked" (Rosten) Also, "guts," literally, Slavic. (Wikipedia)
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mazume
"A group of three or more adult males who join together to recite the after-meal blessings..." (Steinmetz).
"ready money, cash" (Steinmetz)
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nebach
interjection, adverb: "unfortunately"; noun: an unfortunate person
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ongepotchket
overly elaborate, excessively decorated, slapped together senselessly, overdone, tacky, ostentatious, overcomplicated.
"Excessively and unaesthetically decorated; overly baroque." (Rosten)
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prost
coarse, base, not classy, vulgar, common
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rachmones
mercy, pity, empathy
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reb
"sir"; "mister"
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Shabbos goy
"A non-Jew who by prearrangement performs chores [that are forbidden] for a Jew on the Sabbath or holidays." (Steinmetz)
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shtrayml
A hat trimmed with fur pieces, typically worn by Hassidim on Shabbat.
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tate
dad
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tzadik
Someone who does extremely righteous deeds.
A highly learned and esteemed rabbinic leader (sometimes used as an alternative name for a Hasidic rebbe).
Common name for the 18th letter of the Hebrew alphabet (tzadi / tzade).
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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).
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yichus
"Pedigree, lineage, family background." (JPS)
Bragging rights based on respected family history
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yid
A derogatory term used by non-Jews for a Jewish person (particularly so in Great Britain).
a Jewish person
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