Word origins

• Olam HazehThe world of the living, as opposed to the afterlife.
• ona'ahThe sin of knowingly selling goods for more than they are worth or buying them for less than they are worth.
• oy vavoyoh dear
• pa'alThe simplest and most common Hebrew verb conjugation pattern (binyan), without any characteristic prefix or gemination.
• parochetThe curtain that covered the Ark of the Covenant.
• partzufAn aspect of God.
• pashtaA cantillation mark found in Hebrew religious texts.
• Pas Yisroelgrain products that were baked or otherwise prepared with the participation of an Orthodox Jew
• patachA vowel point in the Hebrew script appearing as a horizontal line placed below a letter (ִ◌ַ) and designating the open vowel a /a/.
• PathrosUpper Egypt, in Hebrew contexts.
• paytanThe writer of a piyyut.
• peotSidelocks worn by Hasidic and Orthodox male Jews.
• pereqA subdivision of a masekhet; loosely, a chapter or section thereof.
• periaha supplementary procedure in the bris following the milah (excision of the akroposthion) where the preputial epithelium of the foreskin is separated from the glans of the penis as a precursor to posthetomy.
• peshatA method of interpretation of a text using the face-value, literal meaning.
• Petah TikvaA city in the Central District, Israel.
• petuhahAn open parashah (a section of a book in the Hebrew text of the Tanakh), set apart in roughly the same way as a paragraph would be in modern text.
• pikuach nefeshThe religious commandment to save human life, which overrides most commandments.
• pilpulSynonym of sophistry, hair-splitting, quibbling.
• Pishonone of the four rivers in Eden.
• piyyutA Jewish liturgical poem.
• posekdecisor; legal scholar who decides the Halacha in cases where previous authorities are inconclusive or no halakhic precedent exists.
• prozbulA document assigning one's promissory notes to a court for collection, used to evade the sabbatical year's nullification of debts.
• psakA decisive rabbinic ruling on halachic law.
• ptitimA kind of toasted pasta from Israel, shaped like rice grains or little balls.
• qahalA theocratic organizational structure in ancient Israelite society; congregation, assembly.
• rachamimMercy, compassion.
• Ramat GanA city in the Tel Aviv District, Israel.
• reshutTo shut again.
• revi'itA Talmudic unit equal to a quarter of a log, approximately 100 milliliters.
• Rishon LeZionA city in central Israel.
• Rosh ChodeshA minor holiday marking the beginning of a new month in the Jewish calendar.
• Rosh HaGolahThe Babylonian exilarch.
• Rosh HashanahA specific occurrence of this holiday.
• sabichAn Iraqi-Jewish eggplant sandwich popular in Israel.
• SaboraAny of the leading Jewish rabbis who completed the revision of the Babylonian Talmud in the 6th century C.E.
• safekA doubt, uncertainty
• salatimCold dishes served as a course in Israeli cuisine.
• Sefer TorahA scroll of the Torah, a handwritten parchment containing the Pentateuch
• segolA Hebrew niqqud diacritical mark (ִ◌ֶ) in the form of three dots arranged as an upside-down triangle, pronounced in Modern Hebrew as /e/.
• selichotJewish penitential poems and prayers, especially those said in the period leading up to the High Holidays, and on fast days.
• semikhahThe ordination of a rabbi.
• SepharadThe Iberian Peninsula, especially in reference to the local Jews before their forced expulsion from 1492 onwards.
• setumahA closed parashah (a section of a book in the Hebrew text of the Tanakh), set apart by a space in the middle of the line of text, with the previous portion ending before the space, and the next portion starting after it.
• seudahA festive meal.
• seudah shlishitThe third meal eaten on the Sabbath.
• Shabbat KallahA celebration held by a bride on the Shabbat before her wedding, typically with her bridesmaids and family.
• Shabbat shalomUsed to express good wishes on or before the Jewish sabbath.
• shaliahA legal agent; one who performs an act of legal significance for another.
• Shalosh RegalimPassover, Shavuot, and Sukkot, the three festivals that included pilgrimages.
• shammathaThe most severe form of excommunication among the ancient Jews.
• shana tovaHappy New Year; a common greeting on and around Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.
• SharoniA surname from Hebrew.
• shatnezCloth containing both wool and linen (linsey-woolsey), which Jewish law prohibits wearing.
• shavua tovUsed Saturday night through Sunday (and sometimes later) to express good wishes for the coming week following the Jewish sabbath.
• shehakolShehakol, a Jewish prayer said before a variety of foods and drinks
• ShehecheyanuA Jewish prayer to express gratitude for special occasions and new experiences.
• shehitahThe ritual slaughter of mammals and birds according to Jewish dietary laws.
• sherutSynonym of shared taxi.
• shevarimA series of three medium-length blasts of the shofar.
• shittahA tree said in the Bible to have furnished the precious wood of which the ark, tables, altars, boards, etc., of the Jewish tabernacle were made; now believed to have been red acacia, of species Vachellia seyal (formerly Acacia seyal).
• shkedei marakA Jewish food consisting of crisp miniature croutons used as an accompaniment for soup.
• shmitaA sabbatical year.
• shmurah matzoA type of handmade matzo whose production is supervised to ensure that no fermentation occurs.
• shophetA judge: an ad hoc leader in ancient Israel.
• shoreshA Semitic root
• shoterA kind of officer or overseer among the Ancient Israelites.
• shovavimA period of six to eight weeks every year in which, according to some kabbalists, one should focus on repentance for sins, particularly sexual sins.
• shtadlanAn intercessor for a local European Jewish community on behalf of the authorities.
• ShulamisA female given name from Hebrew, variant of Shulamith, masculine equivalent Shlomo, equivalent to English Salome.
• ShulamithA female given name from Hebrew, masculine equivalent Shlomo, equivalent to English Salome.
• sichahA lesson, disquisition.
• simhahJoy; gladness.
• sivlonotGifts given by the fiance to the fiancee at the engagement.
• siyumA celebration held upon completing the reading of a unit of Judaic scripture; a graduation.
• skhugA Middle Eastern hot sauce made from fresh hot peppers seasoned with coriander, garlic, and various spices.
• SmotrichAn Israeli Jewish surname from Hebrew
• snapplingThe sport or activity of abseiling.
• StammaimAny of the rabbis who composed the anonymous statements and arguments in the Talmud, some of whom may have worked during the period of the Amoraim, but who mostly made their contributions later.
• sufganiyahA deep-fried, ball-shaped doughnut, usually filled with jelly or custard and topped with powdered sugar.
• tachanunA penitential prayer service.
• tachrichA traditional simple white burial furnishings, usually made from 100% pure linen, in which the bodies of deceased Jews are dressed for interment after undergoing a taharah (ritual purification).
• taharahA state of ritual purity.
• taharat hamishpachaThe Jewish laws pertaining to menstruation, given in Leviticus.
• takkanahA law created by the rabbis not derived from Biblical commandments.
• talmidA disciple, student
• tamehRitually impure or tainted.
• tashlikhA ritual practiced on Rosh Hashanah of throwing pieces of bread into a body of water, symbolically disposing of one's sins.
• tefachA biblical unit of measure, the palm or handbreadth.
• tefillaSynonym of phylactery (“either of two small leather cases containing scrolls with passages from the Torah, traditionally worn by a Jewish man (one on the arm (usually the left) and one on the forehead) and now sometimes by a woman at certain morning prayers as a reminder to obey the law as set out in the Bible”).
• tekiahA single long blast played on the shofar.
• tekiah gedolahAn extremely long blast of the shofar, the final blast in the ceremony.
• tekufahA solstice or equinox.
• tembel hatA kind of loose hat with a floppy brim, an Israeli national symbol.
• teraphAn idol or other image of reverence and divination among the ancient Hebrews; apparently especially a kind of household god.
• teruahA series of usually nine short notes blown on the shofar as a Jewish ceremonial
• tevilahRitual bathing in a mikveh.
• ThaumielOne of the ten Orders of Qliphoth, associated with or ruled by the demons Satan and Moloch.
• tikkun olamThe value, prominent in Liberal Judaism, of helping and bettering society as a whole.
• Tisha B'AvAn annual day of fasting, associated with a number of disasters in Jewish history.