Aliyah (pl. aliyot) - Recitation of the blessings before and after torah chanting, assigned as an honor during the celebrant’s service

 

Bat mitzvah (pl. b’not mitzvah) - literally, "daughter of the covenant" - describes a female participating more fully in the adult community as an adolescent; bat mitzvah is something you become, not something you have; the plural refers to a group that includes only females

 

Bar mitzvah (pl. b’nei mitzvah) - literally, "son of the covenant" - describes a male participating more fully in the adult community as an adolescent; bar mitzvah is something you become, not something you have; the plural refers either to a group that includes only males, or to a mixed group that includes at least one male and one female

 

B'mitzvah - expansive, inclusive term to refer to a "child of the covenant" without invoking gender - the term may be used to describe either a non-binary or gender-fluid individual, or the category of coming-of-age celebrations that includes b'mitzvah plus bar and bat mitzvah

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Bima - Podium or platform from which the Torah is read

 

Challah - Delicious, lovingly braided Shabbat egg bread

 

D’var (drash) - Explication of either the assigned Torah or Haftarah portion

 

Elul  - Sixth month of the Jewish year

 

Erev - Night before (e.g., erev Shabbat is the night before Shabbat, or Friday evening)

 

Haftarah - Series of selections from the books of Nevi'im ("Prophets") of the Hebrew Bible (TANAKH) that is publicly read in synagogue as part of Jewish religious practice

 

Kashrut - The body of Jewish religious laws concerning the suitability of food, the fitness for use of ritual objects, etc.

 

Kiddush - Ceremony of prayer and blessing over wine; refers both to the blessing itself and to the act of reciting the blessing, drinking wine and, typically, eating a little nosherei among friends

 

Kippa (pl. kippot) - Ceremonial head covering; aka, ‘skullcap’ or yarmulke

 

Kosher - Describing food prepared in accordance with Jewish law

 

Mazel tov - “Congratulations!”

 

Oneg - Light post-service reception typically consisting of cookies and other baked goods and fruit

 

Shabbat - The Jewish sabbath, or day of rest; begins at sundown on Friday; ends (and frequently marked by Havdalah) at sundown on Saturday

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Simcha - Celebration

 

Tallit - Prayer shawl

 

Torah -  Scroll containing the law of G-d as revealed to Moses and recorded in the first five books of the Hebrew scriptures (the Pentateuch)

 

Tzedakah - Charitable giving viewed as ethical obligation