The Tapestry of My Soul

a”h: Alav hasgalkom (May he rest in peace)

B”H: an abbreviation of Baruch HaShem which means “Blessed is The Name (Praise the L-RD).” Baruch HaShem is also a common Hebrew response to greetings such as “What’s new?” or “How’s it going?”, etc.

Ben Noach/Bat Noach/Benei Noach: Son of Noah, Daughter of Noah, Children of Noach (see “Noahide” below for further info)

B’racha: Blessing; B’rachot = Blessings. In Judaism, the food or drink is not blessed, but the Creator who has provided the food and drink is thanked for His faithfulness and provision.

Davening: “Praying” in Yiddish.

Gemara: from the Hebrew “gamar” for “[to] complete” and the Aramaic “[to] study”, the Gemara is the name for the collective body of rabbinical commentaries and analysis of the Oral Torah (Mishnah). The Gemara, when combined with the Mishnah, forms the Talmud.

Greek Testament: Known better as the “New Testament” or “Apostolic Scriptures/Writings”.

Halachah: Means “the way to go” or the “way to walk” in Hebrew and may refer to a single rule, to the entire literary corpus of rabbinic legal texts, as well as to the overall system of Jewish religious law.

HaShem: Literally means “The Name” in Hebrew and refers to The Name of the L-RD. Commonly used as a respectful substitute for the four Hebrew letters (yud-hey-vav-hey) or Tetragrammaton, that form His ineffable Name. Removing the letter “O” in G-d and L-rd is also another way of remaining respectful of HaShem, and sanctifying His Name in everyday correspondence.

Iggeret: A letter of instruction or guidance from a Rabbi to his constituents. Known as an “epistle” in Christianity.

Jesus: See “Yeshua”

Mashiach or HaMashiach: “Annointed one” and “The Annointed One” respectively. The word “messiah” is the anglophonization for this title in the Hebrew.

Mikvah: (plural = mikva’ot) an artificial pool of water used for total immersion in a purification ceremony within Judaism or the act of purification through total immersion (translated as “baptism” in the English NT). Mikva’ot are used today by Torah observant women to achieve ritual purity after menstruation or childbirth, by Torah observant men to achieve ritual purity, part of the procedure for conversion to Judaism, and to purify utensils used for food. *Note: One may also mikvah in a place of mayim chayim (living water) such as a river, stream, large lake with a connection to a river or other moving water source, the ocean, gulf, etc.

Mishlei: Proverbs

Mishnah: Means “repetition” in Hebrew. The Mishnah gets its name because it is the first recording of the Oral Torah–which up until the time it was written down (about 200 C.E.) was repeated until memorized. It is taught by the Sages (rabbis of old) that at the same time the Written Torah was given to Israel at Mount Sinai, the Oral Torah was also given as an inseperable companion to the Written.

Mo’ed or Mo’edim: Singular and plural respectively for “G-d’s Appointed Time”. G-d tells us in His Torah (Gen. 1: 14) that He created the sun, moon, and stars in the sky solely for us to use in planning to meet Him at His appointed times (the Hebrew word that is translated as “seasons” in most English Bibles in that verse is actually mo’edim, or appointed times). G-d’s appointed times (incorrectly referred to as “Jewish Holidays”) are:

• Rosh HaShanah (lit. Head of the Year, i.e. New Year; Feast of Trumpets; “Day No Man Knows”, etc.)
• Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement)
• Sukkot (Booths; Feast of Tabernacles, etc.)
• Pesach (Passover)
• Shavuot (Weeks; Pentacost, etc.)
• Rosh Chodesh (lit. Head of the Month, i.e. New Moon/New Month)
• Shabbat (Sabbath) Defined as G-d has defined it–the seventh day of the week

There are several fasts, and two non-mo’edim holidays (Chanukah and Purim) that are meaningful in their own right but aren’t Torah commanded and so are in a separate category. Information on them will appear near their occurence throughout the year. Look under the “Appointed Times” tab on the home page. As for the earlier comment that “Jewish Holidays” is a misnomer for mo’edim, the fact of the matter is that these appointed times are (or will be) for all mankind (see Isaiah 66:23, Zechariah 14:16-19, etc.), and specifically for those in covenant with Him (Israel).

Noahide: Referring to either the core 7 Laws that were given to Noah and are incumbent upon all mankind to follow (Sanhedrin 56), or an individual who lives by these laws. Will always be a non-Jew with an attachment to Judaism through his or her faith.

r”l: Rachmana l’tzlan (“Not by us” or “We should never know”)

Ruach HaKodesh: The Holy Spirit; also known as Bat HaKol (Daughter of the Voice) in Talmudic writings.

Sh’kinah: (Also spelled Shechinah, Shekinah, etc.) The manifested presence of G-d.

Talmidim: Disciples; Talmid = Disciple

Talmud: See Gemara

TaNaKh (also Tanach): an acronym that identifies the Hebrew Bible (a.k.a. “Old” Testament). The acronym is based on the initial Hebrew letters of each of the text’s three parts:

1. Torah (תּוֹרָה)–meaning “Instruction” (not “law”) and is composed of the “five books of Moses” also called Pentateuch in Greek.
2. Nevi’im (נביאים)–meaning “Prophets”.
3. Kesuvim (כתובים)–meaning “Writings”.

“Rendered ‘scripture’ or ‘it is written’ in most translations of the New Testament. The reason the New Testament writers cite the TaNaKh so frequently is that they understand it as G-d’s authoritative Word to mankind.” (David H. Stern)

Tefillin: Phylacteries

Tehillim: Psalms

Yahrtzeit: Anniversary of someone’s death. There are a number of Jewish mourning customs regarding the obligations of descendants on a yartzheit.

Yeshiva: Institution for Torah and Talmud study primarily within Orthodox Judaism and primarily attended by males. This world may also refer to a religious Jewish school for all ages and for both genders.

Yeshua: The name of the man Christians believe is the Messiah. It is Aramaic and is the masculine form of the word, “yeshu’ah” or “salvation”. The word used for his name “Jesus” is actually a relatively recent creation (17th Century) and is the anglophonization of the Latinized word for the Greek word “Iêsous”.

z”l: Zeicher l’vracha (Of Blessed Memory)

zt”l: Zeicher tzaddik l’vracha (The memory of the righteous [shall be] for a blessing)