AdamIn the Bible, Adam was the name of the first human and is also the generic Hebrew word for humans in general.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
Ani Ma’aminDuring these pre-election days in Israel, one hears many politicians declaiming his or her “ani ma’amin”, by which they mean their credo.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
ApocryphaApocrypha refers to books not included in the biblical canon, which was closed around 100 CE.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
BagelAccording to New York Times columnist William Safire, the Yiddish beigel was shortened and anglicised to bagel around 1932.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
BechorBechor means firstborn, referring both to children and livestock in the Bible.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
Bekarov etzlechBekarov etzelch literally means “soon with you”. It is a wish for the recipient of such a salutation to get married in the near future.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
Ben HametzarimThe three weeks between the fasts of Tammuz 17 and Av 9 next week are called the period of bein hametzarim, between the straits or narrow places.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
BenoniBenoni is the word you would use in Israel to ask for a medium-sized cup of coffee.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
CharifCharif means hot and spicy, not for the faint-hearted. It also means intelligent and insightful.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
Chatzi HamalkutChatzi hamalchut comes from Megillat Esther. Ahasuerus tells Esther three times that he would do anything for her "even to half the kingdom, it shall be granted you".By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
ChayalThe modern Hebrew word for soldier is chayal, coined by Eliezer Ben Yehuda.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
Chol HamoedChol Hamoed is the name for the days during Succot and Pesach that fall in between the Yomtovim at the beginning and the end.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
DugriIn Arabic, dugri means truthfulness to the facts, the opposite of a lie.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
EshtonotTo "lose it" in English means lose one's temper. In Hebrew we say "labed (to lose) eshtonot".By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
EtnachtaEtnachta is one of the biblical cantillation symbols first developed in talmudic times and codified by the 10th century.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
Fadicha / FashlaAn Arabic word that has made its way into Hebrew, fadicha describes much more than a faux pas. It is a slip-up that verges on the pathetic.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
HechsherA hechsher is a stamp, symbol or label denoting that a product is kosher.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
Hogen"An educated person must know the wisdom of higayon for the sake of his Torah study."By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
JerusalemJerusalem has more than 70 names. That's not a myth or a midrash. You can actually count them.By Anonymous
KapparahIf you lose some money or cut your finger, someone might say to you in a comforting tone, "It should be a kapparah."By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
KatontiKatonti is a pithy and elegant way to express a sense of inadequacy before an honour or responsibility.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
Kimcha d’Pascha“It is a tradition to buy wheat and distribute it to the poor for Pesach.” So writes Rabbi Moshe Isserlis (the Rema), a 16th century rabbinic leader of Ashkenazi Jewry.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
KlezmerIn Yiddish, klezmer denotes the musician; however it derives from the Hebrew, kli zemer, which means musical instrument.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
Kliachar yadKliachar yad literally means by means of the back of the hand and is a talmudic term referring to the performance of actions in a manner that is different from the normal way of doing things.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
KoheletKohelet can mean the assembler of an audience who will listen to his sayings.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
L’Shem ShamayimWhen you act l’shem shamayim, you have no ulterior motive, no ego involved.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
LeviathanLevyatan in Hebrew means “whale” and in biblical Hebrew refers to a great sea-creature.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
Lo naimLo naim means more than "unpleasant" and has no exact English equivalent.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
Ma'apilimOn the shores of Israel’s Mediterranean coast lies a defunct detention camp that now serves as a museum of the legacy of the Ma’apilim.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
MagevetA prosaic word but it provides us with a brilliant example of the development of modern HebrewBy Rabbi Julian Sinclair
Mah PitomLiterally, “What suddenly”, mah pitom can be translated as “No way” or “Don’t be daft.”By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
MalachMalachi is an angel in Hebrew. It derives from the verb lech, to go and literally means a messenger.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
MeredChanucah celebrates the success of the Hasmonean Revolt, in Hebrew Mered.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
Mezeg avirThe Talmud speaks of “yayin hamazug bemayim, wine blended with water”.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
Mikdash Me'atSynagogues, study houses, and even homes are called mikdash me'at, a small temple.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
Moshav LaitzimThe term moshav laitzim comes from Psalms 1:1. “Happy is the man that has not walked in the counsel of the wicked, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in a place of scoffers.”By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
MugmarMugmar is a talmudic term that refers to the spices put over the coals at the end of a meal in order to fragrance the room.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
NeilahThe overriding theme of Neilah is God's readiness always to accept and forgive all who turn in repentance.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
Netilat YadayimBefore eating bread, we wash our hands and say the blessing al netilat yadayim, which literally means “on the taking of hands”.By Anonymous
NimusimThe word nimusim is of Greek origins and entered Hebrew in talmudic times.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
NudnikA nudnik is someone who is constantly asking you for something or otherwise taking up your time.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
Oferet YetzukahThe term oferet yetzukah means a solid mould of lead and conjures up images of families playing dreidl, with Chanucah candles shining on the window sill.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
OrayachAn orayach is a guest. It derives from the biblical word orach, meaning “way”.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
PashkevilA pashkevil may announce the release of a new scholarly work or a lecture by a great sage.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
PekelehPekel is the original Yiddish form of the word, deriving from the German word pack.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
PerushA parashah is a section, a distinct unit. A perush makes something distinct, clear.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
Ploni AlmoniRashi explains ploni to mean covered and hidden, deriving from a word looked at recently in this column - peleh.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
Ramach and shesahAccording to the Mishnah (Ohalot 1), we have 248 limbs (evarim), the numerical equivalent of the word ramach.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
Rechev KilayimRechev is the standard word for car and comes from the biblical verb lirkov, which means to ride.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
Safra VesaifaA midrash (Deuteronomy Rabba 4:2) on the giving of the Torah describes safra vesaifa descending from the heavens.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
SambatyonThe Sambatyon is a mythical river separating the Ten Lost Tribes from the rest of Israel.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
SandakThe sandak (sandek in Yiddish) is the person who holds a baby boy on his knees during a circumcision.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
SheitlA prominent word in "Yinglish" and refers to a woman's wig, worn for religious purposes as a form of head-covering.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
Shivi'imToday, shivi’im is trifling amount compared to the reigning big numbers of billion and trillion.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
Shulchan AruchThe Shulchan Aruch is accepted today as the authoritative code of Jewish law.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
SimanA siman is a mark, sign or omen. The root is the verb soom, which means to put or place and so also to mark or distinguish.By Anonymous
SprauncySprauncy (pronounced "shprauncy") is one of those unusual Jewish words that appears to be a genuinely original invention of British Jews.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
TalOn Pesach we switch from mentioning rain in the Amidah to speaking of tal, dew.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
TecheletTechelet is the sky-blue dye colour that was familiar in ancient Israel, best known from the Shema’s command to “put upon the fringe of each corner a thread of blue”.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
TefillinTefillin are the black boxes attached with leather straps that Jewish men wear for morning weekday prayers.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
Tikkun Leil ShavuotA tikkun is a correction. In kabbalistic circles it refers to a spiritual correction for some fault.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
Tinok ShenishbahTinok shenishbah means a small child who was kidnapped by non-Jews.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
TzedekTzedek meaning justice, has been a mark and aspiration of the Jewish people since its beginning.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
UshpizinThe Ushpizin are the seven mystical visitors whom we welcome to our succot throughout the holiday, They are Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron and David.
Wandering JewA phrase that can describe the most trivial situations such as having to change tables at a wedding.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
YodIodine derives from the Greek iota, the smallest letter in the Greek alphabet.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair
ZimunZimun is the mishnaic Hebrew for invitation. In modern Hebrew, we say hazmanah.By Rabbi Julian Sinclair