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HH
Glossary
Achitophel: Ahitophel; an advisor to King David who
joined a revolt against him
Akum: The pagan gentiles
Amah: A unit of measurement, by one estimation 21.25
inches (53.98 centimeters)
Amidah: The silent devotion of primary importance in
daily prayer services
Anochi: I
Apikores: An
atheist; a person with an orthodox Jewish education who becomes an apostate
Aravis: The evening prayer service
Ari: Rabbi Yitzchak Luria ben Shlomo Ashkenazi,
5294-5332 (1534-1572); the Kabbalist whose works form the basis of most
Kabbalistic teachings today
Arichas apayim: Literally lengthening of the nose;
patience, forbearance
Asiyah: Literally action; the material world, the
lowest of the five universes
Atik: Literally ancient; short for Atik Yomin
Atik Yomin: Literally the Ancient of Days; when the
Sferahs are manifested in the form of Partsufim [see the teachings of the holy
Ari]; the Sferah of Keter is termed Atik Yomin
Avinu: Our father; the patriarch
Avraham: Abraham; the first of the three founding
Patriarchs of the People of Israel
Avrech: Title of Yosef [Joseph] in Egypt; today, a
married student in a yeshiva
Aychah: The Book of Lamentations
Ayeh: Where; a word with connotation of yearning
Ayheyeh: Literally I will be; a name for God
Ba’al Davar: The forces of evil
Ba’al teshuvah: Literally, the master of return; a
nonobservant Jew who becomes observant; a Jew who becomes more pious or
improves his ethical conduct
Baheres: White marks on the skin caused by tsara'at [a
form of leprosy]
Bamidbar: The book of Numbers
Barechu: The Call to prayer in the morning and evening
daily prayer service
Beis HaMikdash: The Temple in Jerusalem
Beis Midrash: Literally the house of study; a study
hall for studying Torah
Bereshis: The Book of Genesis; the phrase “in the
beginning”; the Creation of the world
Bikurim: The
first agricultural produce of the year (following the holiday of Shavuos [the
Festival of Weeks]) which is given to a Cohen in Jerusalem. The mitzvah applies
to the Seven Types of Produce for Which the Land of Israel is Praised.
Bilaam: Balaam; in the Torah, a gentile mystic with
great spiritual power who desired to curse the People of Israel, but was forced
by God to bless them
Chanah: Hannah; the mother of the Prophet Shmuel
[Samuel] whose prayer at the Tabernacle was used as a model for the method of
prayer used in the Amidah
Chanukah: Literally dedication; the eight-day festival
on which candles are lit commemorating the miracle of a day's worth of lamp oil
lasting eight days which occured after the expulsion of the Seleucid Greeks
from the Beis HaMikdash
Chariot: Certain spiritual powers which, when working
in unison, allow for a full revelation of the Divine presence in the world
Chasid: A pious person; a member of the movement which
developed from the teachings of the Ba’al Shem Tov
Chesed: Benevolence, giving, loving kindness; one of
the Sferahs
Chinuch: Education;
to make a dedication
Cohen: A descendent of the High Priest Aaron who are
charged with sacrificial tasks in the Tabernacle and Beis HaMikdash
Counting of the Omer: The fifty-day period from the
holidays of Pesach to Shavuos in which the quantity of an omer of grain was
counted each day during the time of the Beis
HaMikdash
Da’at: Inner knowledge acquired when one's intellect is
in proper connection with one's emotions
Deen: literally judgement; a decreed from Heaven that
one must be held accountable for a sin
Devarim: The book of Deuteronomy
Diknah Kadishah: Literally the Holy Beard; certain
spiritual powers relating to the Thirteen Rectifications of the Beard (which
parallel the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy) that are symbolized by and embodied
in the beard [see the teachings of the holy Ari]
Divrei HaYamim: The Book of Chronicles
Do’eg: An advisor to King Shaul [Saul] involved in the
persecution of David by King Shaul
Eeyov: The Book of Job
Elul: The Hebrew month preceding the High Holidays of
Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukos
Emunah: Faith; nonintellectual knowledge similar to the
aesthetic sense
Esav: Esau, the evil brother of the Patriarch Yaakov
[Jacob]
Four Kingdoms: Four kingdoms mentioned in The Book of
Daniel which rule over the People of Israel in their exile: (1) Babylonia, (2)
Persia, (3) Greece, and (4) Rome (i.e. including their Christian successors)
Gett: A bill of divorce
Gevald: An interjection denoting a passionate crying
out
Gevurah: Inner strength or stamina, forcefulness; the strict aspect of Divine providence; one
of the Sferahs
Ha’azinu: The song sung by Moshe (Moses) at the end of
his life
Halachah: Literally going forward, figuratively Jewish
law
Halel: A collection of Psalms sung on some holidays
Haramah: lifting
up
Hashem:
Literally the name; a term for
God
Hashem Yisborach: Literally the Blessed Name; a term
for God
Havayah: Term for the Tetragrammaton which highlights
God's association with the concept of being
Heh: A Hebrew letter equivalent to “h”
Hitbodedus: Literally being alone; spontaneous informal
personal prayer recommended by Rabbi Nachman
Hoshea: The Book of Hosea
Itarutah de'la'ayla: Literally awakening from above;
the service of God which one does after receiving a strong inspiration from
Above
Itaruta de’latata: Literally awakening from below; the
service of God which one does without receiving a strong inspiration from Above
Kadish: The Aramaic prayer said after Torah study,
prayer services, etc.
Kadosh Baruch Hoo: Literally The Holy One blessed be
He; a term for God
Kedushah: A recitation said in unison during group
prayer which includes verses from the revelation of Yishiahu [Isaiah] and
Yechezkel [Ezekiel]
Kedushin: The legal process of marriage
Keesay Demitkasaya: Literally the covered throne; a
silent state linking one to the unfathomable (see Likutei Moharan I 6:3)
Knesset Yisrael: Literally the congregation of the
People of Israel; the entirety of the souls of Israel which are an aspect of
the Shechinah
Keter: Literally crown, or surrounding; the highest of
the Sferahs; a superconscious level of mind
Ketorehs: Literally incense; incense of the Beis
HaMikdash
Ketubah: Marriage contract enumerating the rights of
the bride
Kitrug: Accusation from Heaven declaring that a person
or group should soon be punished for some sin
Klal Yisrael: The totality of the People of Israel
Klipah: Literally sheath peel or shell of seeds or
fruit; forms of evil
Koheles: The Book of Ecclesiastes
Lachem: to you
Lavan: Laban, the deceitful father-in-law of the
Patriarch Yaakov [Jacob]
Levite: Members of the Israelite tribe of Levi charged
with doing non-sacrificial tasks in the Tabernacle and Beis HaMikdash
Likutei Halachos: Main commentary on the Likutei
Moharan written by Rabbi Nachman's most important disciple Rabbi Nosson of
Nemerov
Likutei Moharan: Rabbi Nachman’s main book of Torah teachings
Mah: Literally what; the name of God whose
numerological sum is 45; the name is derived by calculating the numerological
sum of the Tetragrammaton when the letters are written out as words using the
letter Aleph
Makif: Literally something which surounds; the aspects of one's own mind which lie
beyond one's awareness and potentially can enter into one’s mind
Malachim: The Book of Kings
Malchus: Literally kingship; the lowest Sferah
characterized by a complete capacity to receive
Mashiach: The Messiah
Mashiach ben David: Literally the Messiah who is the
son (i.e. descendent) of King David, i.e. the primary Messiah (see Mashiach ben
Yosef [Joseph])
Mashiach ben Yosef: Literally the Messiah who is the
son (i.e. descendent) of Yosef (Joseph); the Messiah who precedes the main
Messiah (Mashiach ben David); Mashiach ben Yosef's role is to make changes in
the world that are preparatory to the arrival of Mashiach ben David
Micha: the prophet Micah
Midrash Rabbah: An important compendium of Midrashes
Midrash: Ancient commentaries on Biblical texts in the
form of stories
Minchah: Literally a present; the daily afternoon
prayer service named after the afternoon offering in the Beis HaMikdash
Minyan: A prayer quorum of ten men aged thirteen years or
older
Mishley: The Book of Proverbs
Mitsraymah: To Egypt
Mitzvah: Literally, one of the 613 commandments of the
Torah; a good deed
Mochin: The mind; one’s mental state
Moshe Rebeinu: Moses our Rabbi
Musar: Literally ethics; self-improvement teachings which contain
criticism of wrongdoing
Nechemiah: Nehemiah
Olah: A sacrifice which was entirely burnt on the altar
Olas Tamid: A sacrifice offered twice daily in the Beis
HaMikdash
Oreita De-Atika: Literally Torah From Ancient Times;
the hidden depths of the Torah
Pagam habris: Literally defiling the covenant; denoting
a man's spilling of the seed in any situation other than conjugal relations;
any unclean thoughts
Pesach: The holiday of Passover
Pirkei Avos: Section of the Mishnah with ethical
sayings
Rashi: Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, 4800-4865 (1040 -1105
CE), a sage who wrote the most widely
used commentaries on the Torah and Talmud
Rebeinu: Our rabbi; our teacher
Reshis: The beginning; first of all
Reshus harabim:
Open space used by the public
Reshus hayachid: Literally a private enclosure; a
closed in area
Rosh Chodesh: Minor holiday celebrated at the beginning
of every month, on or close to the appearance of the new moon
Rosh Hashanah: The New Year holiday observed in solemn
communal prayer
Rosh Yeshiva: The Rabbi with chief authority at a
yeshiva
Rut: The Book of Ruth
Sachar: Payment; reward
Samech Mem: Satan
Segulah: Hebrew vowel written as a three-dot triangle
pointed upwards which denotes /ɛ/; a
charm whose source of power is mysterious
Seraph: A type of angel
Sever: Literally explanation; it connotes the good will
received by someone offering an explanation
Sferah: In Kabbalah, one of the categories by which all
being and awareness is categorized
Shacharis: The morning prayer service
Shechinah: The Divine presence in the world which is a
feminine revelation of Divinity
Shema: The declaration said in the morning and evening:
Hear O [People of] Israel, God is our Lord, God is one
She’ol Tachtios: The lowest level of the Underworld
She’ol: The Underworld
Shet: Seth, the son of Adam
Shever: Broken, breakage
Shir HaShirim: The Song of Songs, Canticles
Shlomo: King Solomon
Shmonah Esray: The Amidah
Shmos: Numbers in the Pentateuch
Shmuel: The Book of Samuel
Shoftim: The Book of Judges
Shulchan Aruch: The most widely used compendium of
Jewish law
Sipurei Ma’asios:
Rabbi Nachman’s book of stories, Tales From Ancient Times
Sitra Achera: The force or forces of evil
Sukah: A hut roofed by branches built for the holiday
of Sukos; a tractate of the Talmud dealing with that subject
Tablets of the Testimony: The two stone tablets of the
Ten Commandments given to Moshe
Tamar: A date; a date tree
Tchum: Boundary beyond which traveling is forbidden on
Shabbas
Tefilin: Two black leather boxes with leather straps.
The boxes contain parchment with portions of the Torah. During prayer, one is
attached to the forearm and the other set on the forehead.
Tehilim: Psalms
Temorah: Exchange, transformation
Teshuvah: literally, return; repentance and return to
the proper path in the service of God
Tetragrammaton: The most exalted name of God written
with the letters yud, heh, vav, and heh.
Today the name is not said out loud. The letters are an acronym for an
esoteric name of God.
Thirteen Attributes of Mercy: God's words to Moshe
(Vayikra 34:6-7) which correspond to God's thirteen traits of compassion, and
which are said in prayer services to evoke God's mercy
Thirteen Rectifications of Diknah Kadishah: see Diknah
Kadishah
Tolah: Literally a worm, used also to designate all the
insects which Jews are prohibited to eat
Tzadik: In Chasidism, a person who has achieved an
extraordinarily high spiritual level
Tzadikah: A female tzadik
Tzedakah: Charity
Tzitzis: Tied threads worn on the corners of garments
with four corners
Vayikra: The book of Leviticus
World of Asiyah: The least spiritual of the five levels
of the world; it constitutes the material plane
Yaakov: Jacob, the third patriarch of the People of
Israel, also called Yisrael
Yechezkel: Ezekiel
Yehoshua : Joshua; the Book of Joshua
Yeshiva: Literally sitting; a men's Torah seminary
Yetzer ha’ra: The urge to do wrong
Yetzer: Abbreviation of Yetzer ha’ra
Yirmiahu: The Book of Jeremiah
Yishiahu: The Book of Isaiah
Yishmael: Ishmael, the son of Avraham and the brother
of Yitzchak
Yisrael: The Jewish people
Yitro: Jethro, the father-in-law of Moshe
Yitzchak: Isaac, the second patriarch of the People of
Yisrael
Yom Kippur Katan: Literally, the Small Yom Kippur; A
day of fasting and repentance observed by some on the eve of Rosh Chodesh
Yom Kippur: The Day or Repentance; by fasting and
repenting on this day God forbids Jews for all sins other than those committed
against other people
Yonah: The Book of Jonah
Yud: A Hebrew letter equivalent to “y” or “e”
Vav: A Hebrew letter equivalent to “v” or “u”
Na Nach Nachma Nachman MayUman!
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