Word origins

• AharonA male given name from Hebrew.
• vavThe sixth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, ו.
• shofarA ram’s-horn trumpet, used for Jewish ritual purposes.
• PeretzA surname from Hebrew.
• AsaphA biblical figure associated with music.
• AkivaA male given name from Hebrew.
• oferAn outfielder.
• HamanA surname.
• yairAn enclosure for catching salmon as the tide ebbs.
• rishonA hypothetical fundamental particle in an early preon model.
• noyTo annoy; to harm or injure.
• kiddushA blessing recited over wine or grape juice in commemoration of the sanctity of the Shabbat or other Jewish holy day.
• olehA Jew who has recently made aliyah to Israel; an immigrant to Israel.
• marahA gratuity in the form of deductions from the gross produce of cultivated lands, granted to a mirasidar.
• YaelA female given name from Hebrew.
• dayanA rabbinic judge.
• NisanThe seventh month of the civil year and the first month of the ecclesiastical year in the Jewish calendar, after Adar and before Iyar.
• challahA traditional bread eaten by Ashkenazi Jews, usually braided for the Sabbath and round for a yom tov.
• SanhedrinAn assembly of twenty-three judges appointed in every major city in Israel.
• ReuvenA male given name from Hebrew.
• GathA surname.
• ShulaA diminutive of the female given name Shulamith, from Hebrew.
• bekaan ancient Biblical unit of weight, half a shekel
• minyanThe minimum number of ten (male) adult Jews required for a communal religious service.
• ItzhakA male given name from Hebrew, variant of Isaac.
• mezuzahA piece of parchment inscribed with specific Hebrew verses from the Torah (Deuteronomy 6:4–9 and 11:13–21) and attached in a case to the doorpost of a house.
• KadimaA centrist political party in Israel.
• NephilimSynonym of Naphil (“a member of the race of Nephilim”).
• shoahA mass murder.
• KassinA surname from Hebrew.
• AdonaiThe Lord: a Hebrew title of God.
• YoavA male given name from Hebrew.
• RambamMaimonides, a 12th-century Jewish philosopher.
• BathshebaIn the Old Testament, the wife of Uriah and later of David.
• halachaA law or tradition by which Jews live. They are derived from the Torah and from later rabbinic literature.
• joramA male given name from Hebrew.
• MelchizedekA very large champagne bottle (named after the King) with the capacity of about 30 liters, equivalent to 40 standard bottles.
• ShemaThe central declaration of faith of Judaism, recited at least twice daily by religious Jews.
• SamaelThe angel of death and chief ruler of the 5th heaven.
• tallitA traditional Jewish prayer shawl with tassels which covers the chest and upper part of the back.
• tikkunA night of (usually communal) Torah study.
• SivanThe ninth month of the civil year and the third month of the ecclesiastical year in the Jewish calendar, after Iyar and before Tammuz.
• SephardiOf or relating to Jews of Iberia and their traditions, customs, and rituals. Their traditional vernacular is Ladino.
• eberthe son of Salah and the father of Joktan and Peleg.
• YitzchakA male given name from Hebrew.
• EitanA male given name from Hebrew.
• MarguliesA surname from Hebrew.
• DagonThe main god of the Phoenicians. Although at one time believed to be represented as half man and half fish, modern scholarship recognizes that the latter was the apkallu, while Dagan/Dagon was a grain god.
• EleazarAny of a number of men in the Old Testament, including a son of Aaron.
• VashtiA queen of Persia.
• LiorA male given name from Hebrew.
• DrorA male given name from Hebrew.
• jeroboamA bottle of champagne or Burgundy wine containing 3 liters of fluid, four times the volume of a standard bottle.
• NachmanA surname.
• NetanyaA city in the Central District, Israel.
• AvramA male given name from Hebrew, equivalent to English Abram.
• ShavuotA Jewish harvest festival which falls on the sixth day of Sivan in the spring, fifty days after the second day of the Passover when the omer (“sheaf of barley”) is offered.
• MegiddoMount Megiddo, site of an ancient city in northern Israel's Jezreel valley
• ObedThe son of Ruth and Boaz, father of Jesse and grandfather of David, grandson of Naomi.
• SapirA surname from Hebrew.
• nebelA Hebrew stringed instrument, possibly the same as the nabla.
• haverTo hem and haw.
• seahA former Hebrew unit of dry volume, about 7.7 L or 7 quarts.
• ZadokA priest, said to be descended from Eleazar the son of Aaron, who aided King David during the revolt of his son Absalom and was subsequently instrumental in bringing King Solomon to the throne.
• SassonA surname from Hebrew.
• PelegA male given name from Hebrew.
• MidianA biblical location in northwest Arabia.
• RehovotA city in the Central District of Israel.
• nazirThe custodian of a waqf, or Islamic endowment.
• JubalA son of Lamech and Ada.
• RammA surname.
• zillahA district or local division, as of a province, in India.
• HaggadahThe text which is recited at Seder during the first and second nights of Passover, focused on the freeing of Israel from Egyptian bondage as described in the Book of Exodus.
• chayaA teahouse in Japan.
• KalebA male given name from Hebrew, a less common modern spelling variant of Caleb.
• tzedakahThe Jewish tradition of charity.
• MoshiachThe Messiah.
• AdlaiThe father of one of King David's officials (mentioned in 1 Chronicles 27:29).
• AkibaA surname from Japanese.
• targumAn Aramaic translation of the Tanakh written or compiled between the Second Temple period and the early Middle Ages.
• HaganahA Jewish paramilitary organization in the British Mandate of Palestine (1921–48), which became the core of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
• BrannA surname.
• molochAny of species Moloch horridus of Australian lizards, sole species of the genus Moloch.
• AzariahA male given name from Hebrew.
• Ushpizinthe seven guests who spiritually visit the sukkah during Sukkot.
• MaorA surname from Hebrew.
• MaarivA Jewish prayer service held in the evening or at night.
• TanakhThe body of Jewish scripture comprising the Torah, the Neviim (prophets) and the Ketuvim (writings); corresponding to the Christian Old Testament (or roughly so, depending on the denomination).
• DaganA surname from Hebrew.
• EfronA surname from Hebrew.
• BeershebaA city in Israel.
• chagA branch of a tree; a branch of broom or gorse.
• kaddishA Jewish prayer of praise to God recited during services, and specifically when mourning the death of a close relative.
• bimaThe raised platform in the front of a synagogue where the Torah is read on a podium.
• assurforbidden
• hamsaThe Hand of Fatima.
• JehoshaphatExpressing astonishment; jumping Jehoshaphat.
• shiurA lesson on a topic in the Tanakh.
• MalkaA surname from Hebrew.
• AshkelonA coastal city in the Southern District of Israel on the Mediterranean coast.