Zim Novels

Lemons In The Fog

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Abba - Father
Aliya - Immigration to Israel
Aliyahs - The honor of being called up to recite blessings preceding the reading of the Torah
Ani yichola la’azor lecha - Can I help you
Aron kodesh - The ark holding the Torah scroll 
Ashkenazic - Jews of Eastern European descent
Avraham - The biblical forefather Abraham
Baal koreh - The person who reads aloud from the Torah scroll in the synagogue
Bar mitzvah - The celebration of a Jewish boy turning 13
Beis medrash - Study hall
Beit cafe - Lunchroom
Bentching - 1. Grace after meals 2. Reciting the grace after meals 
Bigadim sheli - My clothes
Bima - The raised platform in the synagogue on which the cantors pray and the Torah is placed
Birkas Ha’Mazon - Grace after meals
Bli neder - A phrase used to release one  from a promise that one may not keep 
Bochurim - Young men, usually rabbinical students
Boreh Pri Ha’Etz - The blessing recited before eating fruit
Boruch Hashem - Thank G-d
Brocha - Blessing
Charedi - Ultra-Orthodox Jews
Chavrusa - A learning partner
Chumash - The first five books of the Bible
Chutzpah -Shameless audacity 
Daven - Pray
Dvar Torah - A short talk regarding lessons to be gleaned from passages in the Torah 
Divrei Torah - Plural of dvar Torah
Dybbuk - A wandering soul that enters and possesses a person
Eretz Yisroel - The land of Israel
Egged bus - The largest public bus company in Israel
Frum - Religious
Gan Eden - The Garden of Eden
Gemorra - Talmud
Gemorra Brochos - A tractate of the Talmud that deals with blessings and prayer 
Get - Jewish divorce contract given by a husband to a wife, without which she cannot remarry
Goyish - Non-Jewish, secular
Hashem - G-d
Hatzlacha - Success
Havdallah - The ritual performed at the end of the Sabbath
Jaffa Gate - One of the seven entrances to the Old City of Jerusalem
JCC - Jewish Community Center
Kallah - Bride
Kashrut - Jewish dietary laws
Kiddush - 1. The prayer recited over wine or grape juice, at the beginning of the Sabbath meals 2. Refreshments served in the synagogue after the Sabbath morning services
Kotel - The outer Western Wall of the Temple in Jerusalem 
L’Cha Dodi - A prayer recited at the beginning of the Sabbath 
L’chaim - To life
Maariv - The evening prayer
Malbish Arumim - A blessing thanking G-d for clothing us, recited each morning
Malawach - A rich, Yemenite bread
Maseches - A tractate of Talmud
Maseches Taanis - A tractate of the Talmud that deals primarily with fasting
Mazel - Luck/destiny
Mehadrin Kosher - Strict interpretation of the Jewish dietary laws
Melava Malka - Meal eaten after the Sabbath ends
Mezuzah - A piece of parchment containing the text of the Shema and placed on the doorpost of a Jewish home 
Midos - Traits
Mincha - The afternoon prayer
Mishnah - The six-book text containing the Jewish oral tradition
Mishnayos - Sections of the Mishnah
Modeh Ani - A blessing recited in the morning thanking G-d for returning our souls
Moshav - A rural community in Israel
Musaf - An additional prayer recited on the Sabbath and festivals
Niggunim - Traditional, wordless, soulful melodies
Novi - Prophet
Oy vey -  A Yiddish expression of dismay or suprise
Parsha - A section of the Torah read during a particular week
Payos - Long sideburns worn by ultra-Orthodox Jews
Perek - Chapter
Pirkei Avot -A book of aphorisms containing teachings of past sages
Pushka - Charity box
Rabbeim - Rabbis, teachers
Rav - Rabbinical judge and mentor
Rebbes - Rabbis, teachers
Refua sheleima - (A wish for) a complete recovery
Regah - One moment
Rosh Yeshiva - The head of a yeshiva
Sanhedrin - Court of Jewish law
Seder - Session of learning
Sefer -A book or religious text
Seforim - Plural of sefer
Segula - A mystical ritual performed for one’s benefit or protection
Shabbat shalom - A Sabbath greeting
Shabbos - The Sabbath, beginning at sunset Friday night and ending an hour after sunset Saturday night
Shabbosim - Plural of Shabbos
Shacharis - The morning prayer
Shadchan - Matchmaker
Shalom - Hello/goodbye/peace
Shalom Aleichem - Song sung at the Sabbath table on Friday nights/Greeting
Sheitel - A wig worn by some religious married Jewish women
Shekels - Israeli currency
Shema - One of the central prayers of Judaism proclaiming the oneness of G-d and the love between G-d and the Jewish people
Shemonah Esrey - The central, silent prayer recited daily
Shidduch - A potential match for marriage
Shul - Synagogue
Shulchan Aruch -The Code of Jewish Law;” a compilation of rulings on Jewish law
Siddur - Jewish prayer book
Simchas - Joyous religious occasions
Sirtuk - Silk robes worn by men in certain sect of the ultra-orthodox community
Smicha - Rabbinical ordination
Sokar - “Sugar,” an Arabic term of endearment
Streimels - Fur hats worn by men in certain sects of the ultra-orthodox community
Talmud - A Jewish text concerning law, practice, and theology that serves as the basis for Rabbinic Judaism
Tefillin - Boxes containing the Shema written on parchment that are worn during morning prayers
Tehillim - Psalms
Teimoni - Yemenite
Tichel - A lightweight scarf worn by some religious married Jewish women
Torah - 1.The five books of the Bible written on parchment 2. The whole body of Judaism
Tzaddik - Righteous person
Tzaddikim - Plural of tzaddik
Tzedaka - Charity
Ulpan - A Hebrew language program designed for immigrants
Yarmulka - A head covering worn by religious men and boys
Yerushalayim - Jerusalem
Yerushalmi - Jerusalemite
Yeshiva - A Jewish school devoted to religious studies
Yeshiva bochur - A young male enrolled in a Jewish religious school
Yeshivos - Plural of yeshiva
Yidden - Jews