xx glossary
Shemoneh Esreh [H] Lit. ‘eighteen’. A series of nineteen benedictions
regularly recited in silent prayer.
shofar [H] Ram’s horn, sounded particularly on the New Year.
Sifra [A] Commentary on the book of Leviticus.
shtetl [Y] Lit. ‘little town’. Term used for Jewish settlements in eastern
Europe.
Sukkot [H] Festival of Tabernacles or Booths.
tallit [H] Prayer shawl, fringed at the four corners.
Talmud [H] Commentary to the Mishnah compiled in the third to
sixth centuries ce.
Tanakh [H] Acronym for the Bible (Torah, Neviim (Prophets) and
Ketuvim (writings)).
tanna (pl. tannaim) [H] Lit. ‘repeater’. A rabbinic teacher from before
c. 200 ce.
targum (pl. targumim) [H] Aramaic translation of the Bible.
tefillin [H] Phylacteries. Square leather boxes enclosing pentateuchal
texts, worn on the head and arm during prayer.
Torah [H] Lit. ‘teaching’. 1. The Pentateuch (i.e. the first five books of
the Hebrew Bible); 2. the whole body of rabbinic law and practice.
tosafot [H] Lit. ‘additions’. Commentaries on Rashi’s commentary on
the Talmud.
Tosefta [A] Lit. ‘addition’. Compilation of rabbinic opinions similar
in format to the Mishnah and generally serving as a supplement to
the Mishnah.
tsaddik [H] Lit. ‘righteous’. In Hasidism, the term is used specifically
to refer to a spiritual leader or rabbi.
tsitsit [H] Fringes attached to the four corners of a small tallit (worn
under clothing) or a large tallit (used as a prayer shawl).
Yahad [H] Lit. ‘community’. The self- designation of the Jewish group
which produced the sectarian rules found among the Dead Sea
scrolls.
yahrzeit [Y] Lit. ‘anniversary’. Yiddish word for the anniversary of the
death of a close relative.
yeshivah (pl. yeshivot) [H] Academy where the Torah (with special
emphasis on the Babylonian Talmud) is studied.
Yizkor [H] Lit. ‘May he remember’. Synagogue liturgy with prayers in
memory of the dead.
Yom Kippur [H] Day of Atonement.
Zohar [H] Mystical work revered by kabbalists since the fourteenth
century.