Night Vocab I

Rabbi

a scholar and teacher of Jewish law; the spiritual leader of a Jewish congregation.

Synagogue

a building used by Jewish people for religious study and worship

Kaddish

a Jewish prayer recited in the daily ritual of the synagogue and by mourners at public services after the death of a close relative

Hasidism

Jewish sect of mystics that originated in Poland in the eighteenth century.

Talmud

a book of detailed expositions and interpretations of Hebrew scriptures; the writings that make up Jewish law.

Torah

the books of Moses constituting the Pentateuch.

Rosh Hashanah

the Jewish New Year observed on the first orthodox and conservative jews.

Zionism

formerly, a movement for reestablishment of a Jewish state; now, a movement supporting the Jewish state of Israel.

Maimonides

a twelfth century Spanish rabbi and one of the most reviewed of Jewish philosophers.

Phylacteries

small cases holding copies of passages from scripture worn on the forehead and wrist during week day and morning prayers.

Cabbala

an occult Jewish philosophy based on a mystical interpretation of the scriptures.

Passover

a Jewish holiday celebrating the deliverance of the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt.

Pentecost

the seventh day after Easter; fifth day of passover.