Glossary
Alef: first letter of the Hebrew alphabet
Asara ma’amaros: ten pronouncements / sayings with which the world was created
Avraham: Abraham, the first Patriarch of the Jewish People
Atzvut: dead kind of sadness
Avoda: work
Azut d’kdusha: holy arrogance
Bal Shem: The Bal Shem Tov, founder of the Hassidic movement
Beis Din: Rabbinic court
Beis Din Hagadol: High Rabbinic court of 71
Beis Hamikdash: the holy tabernacle, Holy Temple
Beis medrash: Synagogue study hall
Ben: son, the son of
Bench licht: light Shabbos candles
Bentsh gomel: say a special blessing thanking G-d for helping us
B’simcha: filled with joy
Bet: 2nd letter of the Hebrew alphabet
Challah: loaves of bread eaten on the Sabath
Chanuka: Jewish holiday of light
Chas veshalom: G-d forbid
Chassan: groom
Chassidishe mentsh: Chassidic man
Chassidishe Yidden: Chassidic Jews
Chassidus: Chassidism
Chevra: group of friends
Chhhh: an expression
Chodesh: Jewish month
Chossid: Chassid, of the Jewish spiritual movement
Chumash: Five Books of Moses
Chuts laarets: outside of Israel
Chuppah: Jewish marriage canopy
Chutzpah: audacity
Daven: pray
Davening: praying
Davener: someone who prays
David HaMelech: King David
Ellul: a Jewish month
Esrog: citron
Emuna: faith
Frum: Religious – careful to abide by the word of HaShem
Gabbi: shamash / beadle / secretary
Gaon: genius
Geferlach: a bad scene
Gehinnom: Hell
Gemara: Talmud / the oral law
Gevalt: strong (Yiddish expression originaly having a negative meaning: ‘help!’ Rebbe Shlomo Carlebach zt”l transformed the word to have a positive meaning: ‘tremendous!’)
Gornisht: it is nothing, worthless
Gut: good
Gut yom tov: have a good holiday
HaNeor balayla: One who is awake at night. (The title of Rebbe Nachmans teaching on Hisbodedus)
Haggadah: read at Passover, recounting the Jews’ leaving Egypt
HaKodesh: holy
Haneor Balayla: if you are up at night
Hanevia: the prophetess
Hashmonaim: Maccabi
Hatzadik: the holy person
Heilege ziese: holy sweet
Heilege: holy
Halacha: Jewish law
Hevre: group of friends
Hisbodedus: being alone with G-d
Ich veis: I don’t know (Yiddish expression)
Kaddish: prayer, said when ten men pray, honoring G-d
Kallah: bride
Kavod: honor
Kiddush: blessing over the wine on the sabbath and Holidays
Kishkes: stomach
Koach: strength
Krechts: cry
Krechtzing: groaning
Kvetching: complaining
Kriyat Shema: reading the prayer, Hear O Israel
Lasuach: to talk
L’vatala: to nothingness, to unimportant things
Lechem mishna: Double loaves of bread on the Sabbath
Lulov: palm branch waved together with a citron, willow, and myrtle on the holiday of Succoth
Maimonides: Rambam
Mamash: really
Maos Hittim: Money given to the poor to buy wheat for Yom Tov
Marirut: bitterness, which is living sadness
Megilla: Purim scroll
Mehadrin min hamehadrin: very high stardard of doing good deeds
Menorah: candelabrum lit on Hanukah, hanukiyah
Meraglim: The spies that were sent by Moses to the Land of Israel
Michuyav hamitziut: really existing
Mikva: ritual bath
Mincha: afternoon daily prayer
Mishna: Jewish oral law
Mitzvah: good deed
Mitzvas: when you do something good
Mashiach: Messiah
Nebech: unfortunate
Nefesh: soul (lower level of the soul)
Neshama: soul (higher level of the soul)
Niggun: a tune, a song
Neggina: singing a song
Noam Elyon: holy sweetness which flows down from Heaven
Olam hatohu: chaos world
Olam Hatikun: the world of correction
Oneg: bliss
Ohr Haganuz: the hidden light of creation
Oral Law: Gemara / Talmud
Oy: oh
Oy vey: oh, no!
P’gam: a blemish
Passuk: passage, verse from the Torah
Peyos: sidelocks
Rabbenu: Our teacher
Reb: Rebbe / Rabbi
Rebbe: Chassidic master
Rebono Shel Olam: G-d
Rosh Chodesh: New month
Rosh HaShanah: Jewish new year
Ruach: soul (mid level of the soul, between nefesh and neshama)
Sanhedrin: Rabinic high court
Schmendrik: fool
Sefer: holy book
Sefira: level, emanation of the light of G-d
Sforim: holy books
Shabbos: the Sabbath
Shabbosdike: Sabbath like
Shacharit: Morning prayer
Shalach Manos: food gifts given on Purim
Shames: beadle / secretary of the Rebbe
Shasim: books of Talmud
Shebalpeh: oral tradition
Shema: Hear
Shema Yisrael: Hear O’ Israel
Shlemazel: lazy, simpleton
Shleppers: poor, sad people, tramp
Shlita: May he live long
Shmendrik: fool
Shmonah Esrai: Prayer
Shukkle: shake
Shul: synagogue
Siach hasadeh: The little grass in the field
Siddur: prayerbook
Siddurim: prayerbooks
Simcha: joy
Simchas Torah: Holiday of the Torah
Streimel: Traditional fur hat
Sukkah: temporary dwelling on Succoth
Sukkot: Jewish holiday of Succoth
Tallis: prayer shawl
Talmid: disciple, student
Tamuz: a Hebrew month
Tefillin: phylacteries
Talmud: Gemara, the Oral Law
Taka: actually
Torah: Bible, Pentateuch. Sometimes means; a teaching from the Torah
Torah shebal peh: Oral Torah
Torah shebechtav: written Torah
Teshuva: returning to G-d
Tzadik: holy person
Tzadikim: holy people
Tzitzis: four cornered garment with fringes
Yarmulke: skullcap
Yerushalayim: Jerusalem
Yerushalayim Ir Hakodesh: Jerusalem the Holy City
Yeshiva bochur: young Jewish student
Yesod heafar: the element of earth (of the four elements: air, water, fire, earth)
Yid: Jew
Yiddelach: Jews
Yiddele: Jew
Yidishkeit: Judaism
Yivul: fruit of the field
Yom Kippur: Day of forgiveness
Yom Tov: Jewish Holiday
Zie gezunt: goodbye, be healthy
Zohar HaKadosh: Holy book of Kabala
Z”tl: may the memory of a holy person be for a blessing
Expressions:
A bad scene: a bad situation, hard to imagine
Blow my mind: mind boggling, amazing
I am not knocking it: I am not saying anything bad about it
In the craziest way: in the most amazing way, paradoxical
Intellectuals: they have everything in their head, and nothing in their heart
It doesn’t go: it does not work, it doesn’t make sense
Let’s put it this way: Put in another way
Not to be believed: amazing
Right?: Do you understand?
So: very
Straight: orderly. (Or it sometimes means; overly conforming and uptight.)
Strong: intensely, powerful, gevalt
Taste: experience, receive, understand
Top: epitomy, best, greatest
Top man of: the person who epitomizes the concept of…
That is all head stuff: It is only intellectual without feeling and depth
Way out: amazing, very high concept
With it: composed and in control, together with
