All asterisk indicates a cross-reference within this Glossary.

All non-English entries are Hebrew unless otherwise indicated.

Aggadah	the portions of the *Talmud and *Midrash which deal with ethics, the stories of our Sages, and stories of Biblical figures not included in the Bible
ahavas yisrael	(lit., "the love of Israel"): the love for one's fellow Jews
akeidah	(lit., "the binding"): Abraham's preparation of Isaac as a sacrifice
alef-beis	the Hebrew alphabet
anus	prevented by forces beyond one's control
AriZal	(lit., "the lion of blessed memory"): R. Isaac Luria (1534-1572), one of the leading Kabbalistic luminaries
Asiyah, the World of	(lit., "the World of Action, or Making"): the lowest of the four spiritual worlds, the realm of spiritual existence which relates directly to our material world
Atzilus, the World of	(lit., "the World of Emanation"): the highest of the four spiritual worlds
baal teshuvah	(lit. "master of return"; pl. baalei teshuvah): a person who turns to G-d in repentance
Beis HaMikdash	The Temple in Jerusalem
benoni	(lit., "intermediate one"): a person who is judged as neither wicked or righteous; in Talmudic terms, one whose scales are equally balanced between merits and transgressions; according to Tanya, a person who does not sin, but must battle against his evil inclination
Beriah, the World of	(lit., "the World of Creation"): the second (in descending order) of the four spiritual worlds
Binah	(lit., "understanding"): the second of the Ten *Sefiros, or divine emanations; the second stage of the intellectual process, the power that develops abstract conception, giving it breadth and depth
bnei Noach	(lit. "descendants of Noah"): non-Jews, individuals not obligated to observe the Torah's laws
bittul	self-nullification, a commitment to G-d and divine service that transcends self-concern.
bris	circumcision
Chabad	(acronym for the Hebrew words meaning "wisdom, understanding, and knowledge"): the approach to Chassidism which filters its spiritual and emotional power through the intellect; a synonym for Chabad is Lubavitch, the name of the town where this movement originally flourished
chassid	a pious, kind-hearted person, whose commitment extends beyond the requirement of the law; alternatively, an adherent of the Chassidic movement, and/or the follower of a Rebbe
Chassidus	the body of Chassidic teachings
cheder pl. chederim	(lit. "room"): a school where young children are taught Torah
Chesed	(lit. "kindness," or "grace"): a term used to refer to the Divine attribute which parallels the abovementioned human qualities and thus is associated with the dispersion of G-dly light and energy to lower levels of existence.
chinuch	education
Chochmah	(lit., "wisdom"): the first of the Ten Sefiros, or divine emanations; the first stage of the intellectual process (cf. *Chabad); reason in potentia
chukim	(lit. "statutes"): mitzvos whose rationale transcends the limits of knowledge
Daas	(lit., "knowledge"): the third of the Ten Sefiros, or divine emanations; the third stage of the intellectual process (cf. *Chabad), at which concepts, having proceeded from seminal intuition (cf. *Chochmah) through meditative gestation (cf. *Binah), now mature into their corresponding dispositions or attributes of character (middos)
daven, davenen	(Yid.): praying, prayers
dor haflagah	the generation which was dispersed after building the Tower of Babel
dor hamabul	the generation destroyed by the Flood
Elokim	one of the Names of G-d, signifying (variously) power, judgment and *tzimtzum (the latter attribute referring to His being concealed in nature)
eglah arufah	the calf decapitated as penitence for an unsolved murder
Eretz Yisrael	(lit., the land of Israel)
farbrengen	(Yid.): (a) an assemblage addressed by a *Rebbe; (b) an informal gathering of chassidim for mutual edification and brotherly criticism
Gehinom	the dimension of the after-life where the soul suffers punishment to expiate its sins
Gemara	one of the portions of the *Talmud; the elucidation of the *Mishnah, and the discussion of related concepts by the Sages
gemillus chassadim	deeds of kindness
Gevurah	(lit. "might"): a term used to refer to the Divine attribute which parallels the abovementioned human quality and thus is associated with the holding back Divine revelation and restricting the dispersion of Divine light to lower levels of existence
halachah (adj. halachic)	the body of Jewish Law; alternatively a single law
Havayah	the Four-Letter Name of G-d (with its letters transposed, as pronounced in the study of *Chassidus), signifying His transcendence of nature's finite bounds of time and space
Havdalah	(lit., "distinction"): the prayer recited at the conclusion of a Sabbath or a festival to distinguish that holy day from the weekdays which follow
Hilchos Talmud Torah	the laws of Torah study
ikvesa diMeshicha	the last generation before the Redemption, when *Mashiach's approaching footsteps can be heard
Kabbalah	(lit., "received tradition"): the Jewish mystical tradition
kabbalas ol	(lit., "the acceptance of [G-d's] yoke"): an unswerving, selfless commitment to carrying out the will of G-d
kashrus	the requirements of kosher food
kelipah	(lit., "rind" or "shell"; pl. kelipos): used figuratively (on a personal or universal level) to signify an outer covering which conceals the light within; hence, the unholy side of the universe
Kiddush	(lit., "sanctification"): the prayer recited on Sabbath and festivals to mark the advent of that holy day
Kiddush HaShem	the sanctification of G-d's Name, i.e. martyrdom
Likkutei Torah	one of the fundamental texts of *Chabad *Chassidus containing maamarim of the Alter Rebbe as recorded and prepared for printing by the Tzemach Tzedek
lulav	the palm branch taken during the holiday of Sukkos
maamar	a formal chassidic discourse
Malchus	(lit., "sovereignty"): the last of the seven Divine middos, or attributes, and of their corresponding mortal qualities
Mashiach	(lit., "the anointed one"): the Messiah
mazal, pl. mazalos	a medium to convey spiritual influence to created beings in this world; in its more common Talmudic usage, this term is used to refer to the celestial constellations, for they were conceived of as serving such a purpose
Melaveh Malkah	(lit., "accompanying the Queen"): the meal eaten on Saturday night after *Havdalah as a final token of honor for the Shabbos Queen
memale kol almin	(lit., "fills all worlds"): the G-dly light which enclothes itself within created existence and gives it life
menorah	the candelabrum in the Sanctuary and Beis HaMikdash
mesirus nefesh	(lit., "sacrifice of the soul"): the willingness to sacrifice oneself, either through martyrdom, or through a selfless life, for the sake of the Torah and its commandments
Midrash	the classical collection of the Sages' homiletical teachings on the Bible
mikveh	a ritual bath
Mishnah	the first compilation of the Oral Law authored by Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi (approx. 150 C.E.); the germinal statements of law elucidated by the *Gemara, together with which they constitute the *Talmud; when not capitalized, a single statement of law from this work
Mishneh Torah	the *Rambam's magnum opus which serves as a compendium of the entire Oral Law
mitzvah	(lit., "commandment"; pl., mitzvos): one of the 613 Commandments; in a larger sense, any religious obligation
Nassi, pl. nesi'im	(a) in Biblical times, the head of any one of the Twelve Tribes; (b) in later generations, the civil and/or spiritual head of the Jewish community at large
neshamah	the soul
Nigleh	(lit., "the revealed [knowledge]"): the study of Jewish law as reflected in the *Talmud, and in the works of the subsequent commentators and codifiers
Onkelos	a convert during the Talmudic period whose Aramaic translation of the Torah was universally accepted and is printed in most chumashim
Parshah (possessive, Parshas)	(lit., "portion"): the portion of the Torah read on a particular week
Pnimiyus HaTorah	(lit. "the inner dimension of the Torah"): the Torah's mystic dimension
Rambam	(acronym for Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon; 1135-1204): Maimonides, one of the foremost Jewish thinkers of the Middle Ages; his *Mishneh Torah is one of the pillars of Jewish law, and his Guide to the Perplexed, one of the classics of Jewish philosophy
Rashi	(acronym for Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki; 1040-1105): the author of the foremost commentaries to the Torah and the Talmud
Rebbe	(common Yid. "my teacher [or master]"; pl., Rebbeim): *tzaddik who serves as spiritual guide to a following of chassidim revealed powers: our powers of intellect and emotion which our under our conscious control
Seder HaHishtalshelus	the chainlike progression of spiritual realms
Sefirah, pl. Sefiros	the kabbalistic term for the attributes of G-dliness which serve as a medium between His infinite light and our limited framework of reference
shaatnez	the combination of wool and linen, a Jew is forbidden to wear clothes which are shaatnez
Shabbos	the Sabbath
Shehechiyanu	(lit., "who has kept us alive"): the blessing recited at a fortuitous occasion, when hearing good tidings, or upon the performance of a mitzvah that one observes infrequently thanking G-d for keeping us alive until this occasion
Shema	the fundamental Jewish prayer which we are obligated to recite each day, in the evening and in the morning
Shemini Atzeres	(lit., "the eighth day of assembly"): the eighth day of the holiday of Sukkos, in *Eretz Yisrael, this holiday is also celebrated as Simchas Torah, in the diaspora, in most communities, some but not all of the Simchas Torah celebrations are held on Shemini Atzeres and then repeated on the following day
Shir HaMaalos	(lit., "Song of Ascents"): Psalms 120-134 which begin with that phrase
Shulchan Aruch	(lit., "a set table"): the standard Code of Jewish Law compiled by R. Yosef Caro in the mid-sixteenth century
sichah (pl., sichos)	an informal Torah talk delivered by a *Rebbe
sovev kol almin	(lit., "encompassing all worlds"): G-d's infinite and transcendent light which cannot be enclothed within the limits of created existence, and is thus referred to as "encompassing"
sukkah	(lit., "booth"; pl., sukkos): a temporary dwelling in which we are commanded to live during the festival of Sukkos
taharas hamishpachah	(lit. "family purity"): the system of laws which govern Jewish marital life
Talmud	the basic compendium of Jewish law, thought, and Biblical commentary, comprising *Mishnah and *Gemara; when unspecified refers to the Talmud Bavli, the edition developed in Babylonia, and edited at end of the fifth century C.E.; the Talmud Yerushalmi is the edition compiled in *Eretz Yisrael at end of the fourth century C.E.
Tanya	the classic text of Chabad chassidic thought authored by the Alter Rebbe
tefillin	small, black leather boxes each containing four Biblical passages which the Torah commands adult males to wear daily
Tehillim	the Book of Psalms, alternatively, several psalms
terumah	(lit., "the elevated portion"): a portion to be separated from agricultural produce and given to the priests; this portion must be guarded from ritual impurity and eaten in a state of purity
teshuvah	(lit., "return [to G-d]"): repentance
Tiferes	(lit., "beauty"): a term used to refer to the Divine attribute -- and the corresponding quality within our souls -- which fuses together *Chesed and *Gevurah thus resulting in the expression of mercy
Tikkunei Zohar	(lit., "the songs of the *Zohar): a collection of mystical hymns
Tishrei	the seventh month of the Jewish year when counting from Nissan, or the first month when counting from Rosh HaShanah, the month which contains the holidays of Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkos, Shemini Atzeres, and Simchas Torah
Tohu	(lit., "chaos"): an elevated realm of spiritual existence which lacked the balance and order that characterizes our frame of reference and which therefore "collapsed"
Tosafos	(lit., "supplements"): classical commentaries on the *Talmud beginning to appear in the mid-twelfth century
tzaddik	righteous man
tzedakah	charity
tzniyus	(lit., "modesty")
ushpizen	("honored guests"): seven leading figures in Jewish history who make noncorporeal visits to our sukkos on the holiday of that name
yahrzeit	(Yid.): the anniversary of a person's passing
yeshivah (pl. yeshivos)	Torah academy for advanced students
yesod	(lit., "foundation"): the ninth of the Ten Sefiros -- and the corresponding quality within our souls -- which is associated with the potential to establish connection with those on a lower level
yetzer tov	the good inclination
yetzer hora	the evil inclination
Yetzirah, the World of	(lit., "the World of Formation"): the third (in descending order) of the four spiritual worlds
Yiddishkeit	Judaism
yud	the tenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet
Yud-Tes Kislev	the nineteenth of Kislev; the date marking the release of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi from prison in Czarist Russia, a Chabad holiday known as "the Rosh HaShanah of Chassidus"
Zohar	(lit., "radiance"): The title of the classic mystical work embodying the teachings of the *Kabbalah