Adonai: The Hebrew word for G-d. Many Jews choose not to include the “o” in G-d as a sign of respect.
Ashkenazi: Jews of central or eastern European descent.
Babka: A braided yeast-leavened dough that is typically filled with chocolate and cinnamon, fruit, or cheese.
Buñuelos: A fried dough fritter covered in cinnamon sugar typically eaten by Sephardic Jews who reside in Southwest Europe, Latin America, and parts of Africa and Asia.
Chamsa: an amulet symbolizing the Hand of G-d which brings its owner happiness, luck, health, and good fortune. Hamsas are also used in other cultures. Jewish hamsas typically are inscribed with Chai (חי, meaning “life”), the Evil Eye (believed to give the owner success, harmony, and protection), or Mazal (מזל, meaning “good luck”).
Dreidel: A four-sided spinning top, played during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. Each side of the dreidel bears a letter of the Hebrew alphabet: נ (nun), ג (gimel), ה (hei), ש (shin). These letters are translated in Yiddish to a mnemonic for the rules of a gambling game played with a dreidel: Nun stands for the Yiddish word nisht ("nothing"), Gimel for gants ("all"), Hei for halb ("half"), and Shin for shtel arayn ("put in"). However, they represent the Hebrew phrase nes gadol hayah sham ("a great miracle happened there"), referring to the miracle of the oil lasting eight days.
Gelt: Money used for gambling in a dreidel game.
Kippah: A small cloth cap worn by Jewish people typically within a synagogue since covering your head is required when praying inside a synagogue.
Kugel: A sweet, egg noodle casserole popular among Ashkenazi Jews. The noodles are boiled and then baked with some sugar, eggs, sour cream and cottage cheese. Kugels can also be made with potatoes.
Laziji: A stir-fried dish from the Sichuan Province of China, which consists of marinated then deep-fried pieces of chicken, dried Sichuan chili peppers, spicy bean paste, Sichuan peppers, garlic, and ginger.
Maccabees: a group of Jewish people leading a revolt over religious persecution.
Menorah: a candelabrum used in Jewish worship, especially one with eight branches and a central socket used at Hanukkah. Candles are placed in the sockets for each night of Hanukkah. The center socket called the Shamash (meaning “helper”)is typically higher or lower than the other sockets
Mitzvah: literally means “commandment.” Jewish tradition recognizes 613 mitzvot (plural of mitzvah) from the Torah. An alternate use of mitzvah is to describe a good deed such as an act of human kindness.
Neyyappam: a sweet rice-based fritter fried in ghee. Neyyappam has its origins in the southern Indian state of Kerala.
Sephardic: Jews of Iberian Peninsula, modern Spain and Portugal descent.
Shabbat or Sabbath: Jewish day of rest. Since Jews use the lunar calendar, the Sabbath begins on Friday night and lasts until Saturday night.
Shekel: generally means “money” or “wealth”. Shekels are the currency used in Israel. Historically, shekels were silver coins and a unit of weight used in ancient Israel and the Middle East.
Sheyd/Sheydim: A Jewish “demon”. See Sheyd/Sheydim section on page XXX.
Sufganiyot: A Jewish jelly filled donut that is typically covered in powdered sugar.
Torah: The first five books of the Jewish Hebrew Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, also known collectively as the Five Books of Moses) that is typically handwritten scroll on parchment and wrapped on two scroll handles. The scroll must be written entirely in Hebrew with no vowels or indication of how the words are pronounced.
Wimple: Traditionally a decorated ritual cloth that binds Torah scrolls. In modern tradition, wimples are built using fabric squares from a collection of people to build a quilt that represents the communities. Wimples can be made to celebrate significant life events such as a b'nai mitzvah (the Jewish coming of age ceremony when a child turns 13).