I reference a number of Hebrew words and Jewish terms in my posts. I am attempting to define or translate them in this glossary. Please help me notice what is missing here and feel free to ask me questions.
Adonai - A commonly used name for God, meaning Master or Lord.
Ahavah - Hebrew for love.
Beit - Hebrew for house. Also the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Also sometimes spelled "beth" or "bet."
BlogElul is the creation of Rabbi Phyllis Sommer at Ima (on and off) the Bima. She offers a one-word prompt for each day of the month of Elul and invites us to post our responses in various formats on-line.
Brachot - Hebrew word for "blessings." The singular is "bracha."
Cheshvan - A Hebrew month that is falls in the autumn. It follows Tishrei and comes before Kislev.
Days of Awe (Hebrew: Yamim Noraim) - A term for the ten-day period that begins with Rosh Hashanah and ends with Yom Kippur.
Elul - Jewish month that precedes the High Holidays. It is a time of reflection and renewal, a spiritual warm-up for the Days of Awe.
High Holidays - The High Holidays are Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and ten days later Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
Hineini - Hebrew meaning "Here I am." Also spelled Heneni, it appears often in the Torah, especially at crucial moments when God calls upon people such as Abraham and Moses.
Kavanah - Hebrew for intention. Usually used to described an intention for prayer, an inner and holy intention.
Kislev - A Hebrew month that comes at the end of autumn or the beginning of winter. Chanukah begins on the 25th of Kislev.
L'Shanah Tovah - Hebrew greeting to wish others a Good New Year. Literally "for a good year."
Rabah - Hebrew meaning a lot, very much. For example, "Todah raba" is thank you very much, and "Ahavah rabah" is translated as abundant love.
Rosh Chodesh - New month, beginning of the month, or literally "Head of the Month." Rosh Chodesh is observed on the first day of each Hebrew month as a minor holiday. Jewish months are tied to the lunar cycle, and each month begins with the sighting of the new moon.
Rosh Hashanah - The Jewish New Year. Literally translated "Rosh" means "head" and "Shanah" means "year," (the prefix "ha" means "the") -- or Head of the Year.
Shabbat - Hebrew for Sabbath, observed starting from sundown Friday until one hour after sundown on Saturday. One of the ways I try to observe Shabbat is by abstaining as much as possible from the computer and smart phone, so I will not be posting to this blog on Shabbat.
Teshuvah - Hebrew for return. Teshuvah is a major theme during the High Holidays. It can also be understood as repentence or a return to God.
Tishrei - The Hebrew month that begins with Rosh Hashanah. For reasons I do not understand, it is not the first month (Nisan) but the seventh, despite the fact that Rosh Hashanah marks the new year.
Torah - Technically, the five Books of Moses, but the term Torah can also refer to the entire Hebrew Bible or more broadly to all teachings and learning.
Yom Kippur - The Day of Atonement. "Yom" is the Hebrew word for "day", and "Kippur" is atonement. Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the year.