Adonai - lit. "My masters." One of the most frequently used names for God in the Jewish tradition. The "unpronounceable Name" Y-H-V-H is usually spoken aloud as Adonai.
Ayn Sof - lit. Without End. The Infinite - God which is beyond any conceptualization or reification. In many kabbalistic systems, Keter, the Crown, is understood as being the portal through which the unknowable and ungraspable Infinite begins to emanate into the world through the sefirot.
Bat / Bar / Bnai Mitzvah - lit. "Daughter / Son / Children of Commandment." Classically celebrated as a coming of age ceremony when a person reaches the age of majority at adolescence, but can be observed at any point after this. Many Jewish adults who did not celebrate becoming bnai mitzvah at puberty choose to become bnai mitzvah later in life. Doing so generally involves a course of study culminating in being ceremonially called up to bless and/or read from the Torah.
Bereishit Rabbah (aka Genesis Rabbah) - a classical work of midrash on the book of Genesis, probably compiled between the 6th-8th centuries CE.
BCE and CE - "Before the Common Era" and "Common Era" (ie before and after the year 0 by the Gregorian count). For example: it's currently 2024 CE. King David fought the battle of Shilo in 1066 BCE.
Bracha - blessing. Many sacred practices, such as study, are preceded by a blessing which serves to sanctify the occasion and connect us with the Divine intelligence recommending it.
Chagigah - a tractate of the Talmud / Gemarah. From the name, which refers to a certain type of festival offering, one might assume the contents to be rather banal, but in fact a lot of discussion of mysteries is found within this section of the Talmud.
Chaza"l - The sages, of blessed memory. (An acronym for chachamim zichronam li'vracha). Usually refers to the ancient rabbis, the teachers who are quoted in the mishna and talmud.
Dibarti - I have spoken. Can indicate that a person has finished sharing what they have to say. Response: shamati, I have heard.
Dvar Torah - lit. "matter of Torah." Usually means a spoken teaching or sermon.
Ein Sof - see Ayn Sof.
Elohim - lit. "Divine powers." Although the word itself is plural in form, it takes a singular verb. Elohim is one of the two main God-names used in the Bible, the other being Y-H-V-H. Usually it refers to God, but occasionally the term is used to refer to "gods" (false powers or non-God).
Evn - stone.
Evn shtiyah - foundation stone.
Halakhah - Jewish religious law. Lit. the Way.
Hallel - a sequence of psalms of thanksgiving said on holidays and special occasions.
HaShem - The Name. A way of referring to God. Sometimes written as the letter heh 'ה
Hevruta - Study partner, study partnership. From the word "haver," friend.
High Holy Days - Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, the Jewish New Year and Day of Atonement celebrated in the fall season. Aka Days of Awe or Yamim Noraim.
Ivrit - Hebrew.
Kabbalah - Jewish mystical tradition, literally "the receiving."
Kavod - honour, respect.
Kohenet - Hebrew Priestess (plural Kohanot).
Malchut - "Governance" or "the Kingdom." One of the most common names given to the 10th sefirah - the most immanent expression of the Godhead. (Aka Shechinah, and a lot of other things, as we shall see).
Mashpia(h) - Spiritual counselor.
Midrash - literary legend discussing and amplifying scripture. Much midrash is ancient, but it continues to be created to this day.
Mishkan
Mishnah - foundational stratum of rabbinic Judaism, edited together and organized into six tractates around 150 CE.
Mitzva (pl. mitzvot) - commandment(s), divine enjoinders. Mystically seen as effecting rectification on a cosmic scale.
Nefesh - Life-force, person. Biblically, this word means "individual" (and, interestingly, is grammatically feminine). In later Jewish thought it often denotes the most basic level of the soul, one shared at the least with other mammals: something like the animal life-force.
Neshamah - soul. Closely related to the word breath, neshimah. In Genesis 2:7, God breathes the breath of life, nishmat chayyim, into the newly formed human. The neshamah is understood to be something like the soul or higher intelligence.
Omer - A period of 49 days between Passover and Pentecost (usually April-June) during which practitioners focus on self-rectification using the map of the Tree of Life as a guide.
Parsha (pl. parshiot) - Torah portions. While Jews do recognize and use the enumeration of chapters that you'll find in, say, the King James Bible, our most foundational way of dividing the Pentateuch, or Five Books of Moses, is into 54 parshiot. One (or sometimes a double) is studied and read publicly each week of the year, starting and ending in the fall, just after the High Holy Day cycle.
Pentateuch - lit. "Five books." The Greek name for the Torah or Five Books of Moses.
Pirkei Avot - A famous somewhat freestanding section of the Mishnah consisting of various lists and handy precepts. The name can be translated as "Ethics of the Fathers" or as "Foundation Principles."
Rosh Chodesh - New moon. A minor holiday, traditionally celebrated in particular by women.
Ruach - "Spirit" or "wind." The word is grammatically feminine. Ruach is also a name for one part of the soul or life-force, perhaps what we could call the emotional body.
Sefer Yetzirah - Book of Creation. Work of kabbalah probably pre-dating the medieval period by at least a few hundred years.
Sefirot - "spheres" or "dimensions" of divine expression or emanation. The Hebrew root word is related to both book, telling and number, as well as our Greco-English "sphere" and "sapphire."
Shaar - Gate.
Shaarei Orah - Gates of Light. Kabbalistic work written by Rabbi Yosef Gikatilia in 13th century Castille, expounding on the names of God and how these map onto the 10 Sefirot.
Shabbat - Sabbath, lit. "sitting, resting." Primarily refers to the day of rest, celebrated by Jews during the 25 hours from Friday at sundown through Saturday at nightfall.
Shamati - "I have heard." Good response if someone says "dibarti."
Shechinah - "In-dwelling presence": the most immanent face of the Divine. The word Shechinah is grammatically female, and Shechinah is usually imagined as an explicitly female face of God; indeed, this term is frequently used by contemporary Jewish Goddess-worshippers to refer to God in general.
Shefa - lit. influence or emanation, the word refers to the flow of divine life-force that animates existence.
Shemot Rabbah (aka Exodus Rabbah) - a classical work of midrash on the book of Exodus, probably compiled between the 10th-12th centuries CE.
Shoham - iridescent stone.
Siddur - prayer book, lit. "ordered" [document], since it contains the order of the liturgy.
Sod - mystery, esoteric understanding.
Tanach - Hebrew Bible [an acronym of Torah, Neviim (prophets) and Ketuvim (writings), its three sections].
Talmud - The core of rabbinic Judaism, the Babylonian Talmud was edited into its current form around 650 CE. The Talmud (aka the Gemara) is structured as a commentary on an earlier set of rabbinic laws, the Mishna, which was edited in Palestine around 150 CE.
THVH - The feminized from of the tetragrammaton or four-letter-Name of God.
Torah - the entirety of scriptural revelation and ongoing discussion around it, but also specifically the five books of Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy).
Tree of Life - a representation of an intersecting pattern or series of sephirot first explicated in medieval kabbalah. The phrase "tree of life" references Proverbs 3:18, where it refers to Wisdom or to Torah herself.
Trop - cantillation. Jewish scripture and liturgy have ancient systems of cantillation by which the text is learned and chanted.
Tzaddik - righteous person. According to tradition, such a one sustains the world. Proverbs 10 says the tzaddik is the yesod or foundation of the world; kabbalistically, tzaddik is another name for the sefirah of yesod. Yesod is figured as the phallus, and the tzaddik is someone whose relationship with sexuality is exemplary.
Tzedek - justice, righteousness.
Tzedakah - right giving, charity.
Tzimtzemai - a name for God/dess, referencing the divine power of creative contraction on behalf of expansion.
Yesod - foundation.
Y-H-V-H - English transliteration of God's most holy and unpronounceable name, aka the tetragrammaton or four-letter-Name. Sometimes also rendered as H' or ה׳ for HaShem - The Name.
Yotzer/et - Creator/Creatrix
Zohar - Book of Splendor. A kabbalistic work written in roughly the same time and place as Shaarei Orah, but by different people and in a different language (Aramaic).
Ayn Sof - lit. Without End. The Infinite - God which is beyond any conceptualization or reification. In many kabbalistic systems, Keter, the Crown, is understood as being the portal through which the unknowable and ungraspable Infinite begins to emanate into the world through the sefirot.
Bat / Bar / Bnai Mitzvah - lit. "Daughter / Son / Children of Commandment." Classically celebrated as a coming of age ceremony when a person reaches the age of majority at adolescence, but can be observed at any point after this. Many Jewish adults who did not celebrate becoming bnai mitzvah at puberty choose to become bnai mitzvah later in life. Doing so generally involves a course of study culminating in being ceremonially called up to bless and/or read from the Torah.
Bereishit Rabbah (aka Genesis Rabbah) - a classical work of midrash on the book of Genesis, probably compiled between the 6th-8th centuries CE.
BCE and CE - "Before the Common Era" and "Common Era" (ie before and after the year 0 by the Gregorian count). For example: it's currently 2024 CE. King David fought the battle of Shilo in 1066 BCE.
Bracha - blessing. Many sacred practices, such as study, are preceded by a blessing which serves to sanctify the occasion and connect us with the Divine intelligence recommending it.
Chagigah - a tractate of the Talmud / Gemarah. From the name, which refers to a certain type of festival offering, one might assume the contents to be rather banal, but in fact a lot of discussion of mysteries is found within this section of the Talmud.
Chaza"l - The sages, of blessed memory. (An acronym for chachamim zichronam li'vracha). Usually refers to the ancient rabbis, the teachers who are quoted in the mishna and talmud.
Dibarti - I have spoken. Can indicate that a person has finished sharing what they have to say. Response: shamati, I have heard.
Dvar Torah - lit. "matter of Torah." Usually means a spoken teaching or sermon.
Ein Sof - see Ayn Sof.
Elohim - lit. "Divine powers." Although the word itself is plural in form, it takes a singular verb. Elohim is one of the two main God-names used in the Bible, the other being Y-H-V-H. Usually it refers to God, but occasionally the term is used to refer to "gods" (false powers or non-God).
Evn - stone.
Evn shtiyah - foundation stone.
Halakhah - Jewish religious law. Lit. the Way.
Hallel - a sequence of psalms of thanksgiving said on holidays and special occasions.
HaShem - The Name. A way of referring to God. Sometimes written as the letter heh 'ה
Hevruta - Study partner, study partnership. From the word "haver," friend.
High Holy Days - Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, the Jewish New Year and Day of Atonement celebrated in the fall season. Aka Days of Awe or Yamim Noraim.
Ivrit - Hebrew.
Kabbalah - Jewish mystical tradition, literally "the receiving."
Kavod - honour, respect.
Kohenet - Hebrew Priestess (plural Kohanot).
Malchut - "Governance" or "the Kingdom." One of the most common names given to the 10th sefirah - the most immanent expression of the Godhead. (Aka Shechinah, and a lot of other things, as we shall see).
Mashpia(h) - Spiritual counselor.
Midrash - literary legend discussing and amplifying scripture. Much midrash is ancient, but it continues to be created to this day.
Mishkan
Mishnah - foundational stratum of rabbinic Judaism, edited together and organized into six tractates around 150 CE.
Mitzva (pl. mitzvot) - commandment(s), divine enjoinders. Mystically seen as effecting rectification on a cosmic scale.
Nefesh - Life-force, person. Biblically, this word means "individual" (and, interestingly, is grammatically feminine). In later Jewish thought it often denotes the most basic level of the soul, one shared at the least with other mammals: something like the animal life-force.
Neshamah - soul. Closely related to the word breath, neshimah. In Genesis 2:7, God breathes the breath of life, nishmat chayyim, into the newly formed human. The neshamah is understood to be something like the soul or higher intelligence.
Omer - A period of 49 days between Passover and Pentecost (usually April-June) during which practitioners focus on self-rectification using the map of the Tree of Life as a guide.
Parsha (pl. parshiot) - Torah portions. While Jews do recognize and use the enumeration of chapters that you'll find in, say, the King James Bible, our most foundational way of dividing the Pentateuch, or Five Books of Moses, is into 54 parshiot. One (or sometimes a double) is studied and read publicly each week of the year, starting and ending in the fall, just after the High Holy Day cycle.
Pentateuch - lit. "Five books." The Greek name for the Torah or Five Books of Moses.
Pirkei Avot - A famous somewhat freestanding section of the Mishnah consisting of various lists and handy precepts. The name can be translated as "Ethics of the Fathers" or as "Foundation Principles."
Rosh Chodesh - New moon. A minor holiday, traditionally celebrated in particular by women.
Ruach - "Spirit" or "wind." The word is grammatically feminine. Ruach is also a name for one part of the soul or life-force, perhaps what we could call the emotional body.
Sefer Yetzirah - Book of Creation. Work of kabbalah probably pre-dating the medieval period by at least a few hundred years.
Sefirot - "spheres" or "dimensions" of divine expression or emanation. The Hebrew root word is related to both book, telling and number, as well as our Greco-English "sphere" and "sapphire."
Shaar - Gate.
Shaarei Orah - Gates of Light. Kabbalistic work written by Rabbi Yosef Gikatilia in 13th century Castille, expounding on the names of God and how these map onto the 10 Sefirot.
Shabbat - Sabbath, lit. "sitting, resting." Primarily refers to the day of rest, celebrated by Jews during the 25 hours from Friday at sundown through Saturday at nightfall.
Shamati - "I have heard." Good response if someone says "dibarti."
Shechinah - "In-dwelling presence": the most immanent face of the Divine. The word Shechinah is grammatically female, and Shechinah is usually imagined as an explicitly female face of God; indeed, this term is frequently used by contemporary Jewish Goddess-worshippers to refer to God in general.
Shefa - lit. influence or emanation, the word refers to the flow of divine life-force that animates existence.
Shemot Rabbah (aka Exodus Rabbah) - a classical work of midrash on the book of Exodus, probably compiled between the 10th-12th centuries CE.
Shoham - iridescent stone.
Siddur - prayer book, lit. "ordered" [document], since it contains the order of the liturgy.
Sod - mystery, esoteric understanding.
Tanach - Hebrew Bible [an acronym of Torah, Neviim (prophets) and Ketuvim (writings), its three sections].
Talmud - The core of rabbinic Judaism, the Babylonian Talmud was edited into its current form around 650 CE. The Talmud (aka the Gemara) is structured as a commentary on an earlier set of rabbinic laws, the Mishna, which was edited in Palestine around 150 CE.
THVH - The feminized from of the tetragrammaton or four-letter-Name of God.
Torah - the entirety of scriptural revelation and ongoing discussion around it, but also specifically the five books of Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy).
Tree of Life - a representation of an intersecting pattern or series of sephirot first explicated in medieval kabbalah. The phrase "tree of life" references Proverbs 3:18, where it refers to Wisdom or to Torah herself.
Trop - cantillation. Jewish scripture and liturgy have ancient systems of cantillation by which the text is learned and chanted.
Tzaddik - righteous person. According to tradition, such a one sustains the world. Proverbs 10 says the tzaddik is the yesod or foundation of the world; kabbalistically, tzaddik is another name for the sefirah of yesod. Yesod is figured as the phallus, and the tzaddik is someone whose relationship with sexuality is exemplary.
Tzedek - justice, righteousness.
Tzedakah - right giving, charity.
Tzimtzemai - a name for God/dess, referencing the divine power of creative contraction on behalf of expansion.
Yesod - foundation.
Y-H-V-H - English transliteration of God's most holy and unpronounceable name, aka the tetragrammaton or four-letter-Name. Sometimes also rendered as H' or ה׳ for HaShem - The Name.
Yotzer/et - Creator/Creatrix
Zohar - Book of Splendor. A kabbalistic work written in roughly the same time and place as Shaarei Orah, but by different people and in a different language (Aramaic).