Terminology

Abraham:
The first of the patriachs, the father of Isaac and the founder of the Hebrew people.
(Genesis 11-23)

Aggadah:
1. (a) A homiletic passage of the Talmud.
1. (b) Collectively, the homiletic part of traditional Jewish literature, as contrasted with Halacha, consisting of elaborations on the biblical narratives or tales from the lives of the ancient Rabbis.
2. Any traditional homiletic interpretation of scripture.

almemar:
The raised platform in a synagogue in which the reading desk stands.
Also called: bema, bimah, bima
From Hebrew, from Arabic al-minbar the pulpit, platform.

Amidah:
The central prayer in each of the daily services, recited silently and standing.
Also called Shemona Esrei.

Ark/Holy Ark:
The cupboard at the front of the synagogue, usually in the eastern wall, in which the Torah scrolls are kept.
Ark of the Covenant: The most sacred symbol of God's presence among the Hebrew people, carried on the journey from Sinai to the Promised Land (Canaan) and eventually enshrined in the holy of holies of the Temple in Jerusalem.

Aron ha-Kodesch/Ark/Holy Ark/Torah Ark:
The cupboard at the front of the synagogue, usually in a raised position on the eastern wall, in which the Torah scrolls are kept.

Ashkenazi:
A Jew of German and East European descent and the pronunciation of Hebrew used by these Jews.
From Hebrew Ashkenas the son of Gomer (Genesis 10:3; I Chronicles 1:6) a descendant of Noah through Japheth, and hence taken to be identified with the ancient Ascanians of Phrygia and, in the medieval period, the Germans.

Bar-:
Prefix (before Jewish patronymic names) son of: Bar-Kochba.

Bar Mitzvah:
The occasion, ceremony, or celebration of a jewish boy having assumed full religious obligations, being at least thirteen years of age.
The boy himself on that day.

barett:
A flat, round or square shaped head covering of soft material worm by Jewish men and women at the end of the 15th and during the 16th centuries.

Bat Mitzvah/Bas Mitzvah:
Introduced in the 19th century among Reform Jews:
1. Of a girl having attained religious maturity at the age of 12.
2. The date of, or in some congregations, a ceremony marking this event.
3. The girl herself on that day.

Berit Mila:
Circumcision. A basic religious duty is circumcision (Berit Mila) a sign of the bond between God and the people of Israel (Genesis, Chapter17, 10-14).
It takes place on the 8th day after the birth of a boy, i.e. the cicumcisor (mohel) removes the foreskin of the penis with a knife. The circumcision may take place at home, in a hospital or in the Synagogue. Before the ceremony the festively dressed child is placed on the "Chair of Elijah", who in his role as prophet is symbolic guest of honour and witness of the circumcision. During the circumcision the godfather (Sandak) holds the child in his lap. Subsequently the father says a prayer of thanks for the reception of the child into Abraham's bond. This is followed by a festive meal during which the guests hand over their presents.
Linked to the circumcision is the name-giving. If the boy is a firstborn he must be "ransomed", since God is entitled to the first fruits of the earth and the firstborn of man and animals.
During the banquet the father presents the child to a member of the Rabbi's family (Kohen) and pays a sum of money defined by tradition.

Girls are not circumcised; they are given their name usually on the first Sabbath after birth.

Bet(h) Chalutz/Halutz:
A member of an organisation of immigrants to Israeli agricultural settlements. (literally: pioneer, fighter). Following the 1st World War young Jewish men emigrated to Palestine with the idea of renewing their lives through (physical) work.

Bet(h) Din: (House of Judgement)
A rabbinical court, consisting of at least three dayanim, and having authority over such matters as divorce and conversion and other communal ecclesiastical matters such as Kashruth. It may also try civil disputes with the consent of both parties.

beth hachajim:
Relating to a cemetery, meaning House of Life.

beth olam:
Relating to a cemetery, meaning House of Eternity.

B'nai B'rith:
A Jewish fraternal organization founded in New York in 1843, by Heinrich Jonas/Henry Jones, having moral, philanthropic, social, educational, and political aims.
I.O.B.B. Independent Order B'nai B'rith.
In Germany in 1935 there were over 100 individual lodges with circa 12,000 members. From Hebrew benê brîth sons of the covenant.

cab(b)ala/kab(b)ala:
An ancient Jewish mystical tradition based on an esoteric interpretation of the Old Testament.
From Hebrew qabbbâlâh tradition, what is received, from qâbal to receive.

cantor/chazan:
A man employed to lead synagogue services especially to traditional modes and melodies.

cemetery:
In the cemetery, in Hebrew called the House of Eternity and the House of Life, the dead are to have eternal rest. It must never be dissolved.
The oldest Jewish cemetery in Hamburg is located in Königstraße in Altona and dates back to 1611.
The burial usually takes place on the day after the death but not on a Sabbath or any other of the Jewish holy days. Cremation is only permitted in Reform Judaism. Those present at the burial throw three shovels of sand onto the coffin. The Kaddish, which praises the name of God, is the most important prayer on the occasion. On the first anniversary of the death (Season) the gravestone is placed in the cemetery.
Sephardic Jews preferred gravestones lying flat on the ground with rich ornamentation, whereas Ashkenazi Jews usually placed them standing upright.
It is a traditional custom to deposit a small stone when visiting a grave.

Chacham:
The title given to the rabbi by the Sephardi Jews, meaning "wise" or "learned".

chametz/chometz:
Leavened food which may not be eaten during Passover.

Chas(s)id/Has(s)id:
A sect of Jewish mystics founded in Poland around 1750, characterised by religious zeal and a spirit of prayer, joy and charity.
A Jewish sect of the 2nd-century B.C. formed to combat Hellenistic influences.

chazan/haz(z)an:
A person who leads synagogue services, especially as a profession; cantor.

cheder/heder:
In western countries elementary religious education classes, usually outside normal school hours. More traditionally, a full-time elementary religious school.

Chevra Kadisha:
A Jewish burial society, usually composed of unpaid volunteers who provide funerals for members of their congregation.
Literally: Holy Company.
The washing of the corpse, the clothing in a plain shroud, the lying out, and the burial are generally undertaken by the burial fraternity.
The relatives of the deceased are dispensed of all religious duties until the burial.

Chief Rabbi:
The religious minister of a national Jewish community.
He was earlier responsible for the taxes payable by the Jews.
He had the position of a Land (state) rabbi.

Chol Hamoed:
The middle days of the festivals of Passover and Sukkoth, on which necessary work is permitted. (literally: the weekdays of the festival.)

chumash:
A printed book containing one of the Five Books of Moses. (literally: a fifth (part of the Torah).

chuppah/huppah:
The canopy under which a marriage is performed.
The wedding ceremony as distinct from the celebration.

Churban/Hurban:
The destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, first by the Babylonians in 587 B.C., and again by the Romans in 70 A.D.
Another name for holocaust.

Conservative Judaism:
A movement reacting against the radicalism of Reform Judaism, rejecting extreme change and advocating moderate relaxations of traditional Jewish Law, by an extension of the process by which its adherents claim traditional orthodox Judaism evolved.

dayan:
A senior rabbi especially one who sits in a religious court.

Deutsch-Israelitische Gemeinde in Hamburg/German Israelite Community in Hamburg:
Following the Decree of the Hamburg Senat of 1821 the Jewish community adopted the title of Deutsch-Israelitische Gemeinde in Hamburg, which it retained until 1.01.1938.
Prior to this the community referred to itself either as the Israelitische Gemeinde/ Israelite Community in Hamburg or the Hamburgische Judengemeinde/Hamburg Jewish Community. Its area included the city of Hamburg and its suburbs e.g. St. Pauli.
Private individual Jews living in Hamburg were forced to join the community.
The small Jewish communities in Bergedorf and Ritzebüttel, including Cuxhaven, which belonged to Hamburg up until 1937, were not a part of the community.
The Act of 7.11.1864, which was a consequence of the Hamburg Constitution of 28.09.1860, had a decisive influence on the character of the community. This Act ended compulsory membership of the community; the compulsory membership of the Portuguese Jewish Community was also ended.
The statutes of the German Israelite Community in Hamburg of 1876, 1900, and 1908 made changes in reference to the Act of 1864. The statute of 1908 determined the administrative structure of the Community i.e. a Board consisting of 7 members, each with a 4 year term of office, and a council of representatives consisting of 15 members, whose function was, among others, to approve the finances, to advise and decide on all policy drafted by the Board, and whose individuals could also table motions. There were additionally committees concerned with social welfare, burial, and widows and orphans.
The two (later three) religious associations, which were entirely independent of the Community administration, provided for the religious welfare. These were the Deutsch-Israelitische Synagogen-Verband/German Israelite Synagogue Association, the Israelitische Tempel-Verband/Israelite Temple Association, and the Neue Dammtor-Synagoge/New Dammtor Synagogue.

Diaspora:
The dispersion of the Jews after the Babylonian and Roman conquests of Palestine.
The Jewish communities outside Israel.
From Greek: a scattering, from diaspeirein to disperse, from DIA + speirein to scatter, sow.

Einheitsgemeinde/integrated community:
A term denoting a Jewish community whose members belong to different Jewish religious denominations, e.g. Orthodox, Conservative, Liberal etc.. The members of these separate religious associations belong administratively to one community.
The Jüdische Gemeinde in Hamburg/Hamburg Jewish Community is an Einheitsgemeinde/ integrated community.

Elijah/Elias:
A Hebrew prophet of the 9th century B.C. who was persecuted for denouncing Ahab and Jezebel.
(I Kings 17-21:21; II Kings 1-2:18).

Elohim:
A Hebrew word for God or gods.
From Hebrew Elôhim plural of Elôah God.

Elohist:
The supposed author or authors of one of the four main strands of text of the Pentateuch, identified chiefly by the use of the word Elohim for God instead of YHVH (Jehovah).

"Exodus" ship:
The name of the Haganah ship that brought "illegal" immigrants to Palestine in 1947. The Exodus was a small ship and when it left its French port, about 4,500 people, survivors of the Holocaust, were crambed into it. The British fleet discovered the Exodus and stopped it illegally outside the teritorial waters of Palestine on 18 July 1947, and towed it to Haifa. A fierce struggle broke out between the people on board and the British sailors in which three refugees were killed and 30 injured. The British transferred the refugees to another ship, which took them back to France. When they reached France, they refused to disembark despite the terrible crowding and poor health conditions on board, and only 130 sick and elderly people were put ashore. The ship then left France for Hamburg, Germany, and there the refugees were disembarked by force. They were interned in camps in Lübeck.
This deed showed the callousness of the British authorities, publicized the stubborn anti-Zionist policy of Ernest Bevin, the British foreign minister, and enraged world public opinion. It ultimately lead to the establishment of Israel.

Falasha:
A member of a tribe of Black Ethiopian Jews.

Freiwohnung (subsidized accommodation usually in housing trust property):
Flats granted to needy families or individuals at a very low rent.

Gemara:
The main body of the Talmud, consisting of a record of ancient rabbinical debates about the interpretation of the Misha(h) and constituting the primary source of Jewish religious law.

ghetto:
An area in a European city in which Jews at first chose freely to live together and then during the Middle Ages until the acquisition of civil rights, essentially following the Revolution of 1848, were required to live.
Large ghettos existed in Augsburg (Bavaria), Frankfurt am Main (Hesse), Nuremburg (northern Bavaria), Worms (Rhineland-Palatinate), Vienna and Prague.

goy:
A Jewish word for a gentile i.e. a non-Jew.
From Yiddish, from Hebrew goi people.

Ha'avarah Agreement:
Manipulating the Nazis' own exaggerated fear of an international "Jewish" boycott of German products, the Jewish Agency established a seies of financial instruments under the Ha'avarah agreement which enabled about 20,000 German Jews with capital to order German-manufactured goods which were delivered to Palestine along with the investors, whose presence there would facilitate the emigration of poorer people.

Hakhsharah = preparation
The intellectual and physical training, aspecially the training in physical labour, such as farming, of pioneers (chaluzim), for settlement in Palestine.
The He-Halutz Conference, 14.-16.12.1922 in Berlin, set the agenda for the Hakhsharah movement in Germany. It was to:
1. establish a central employment bureau.
2. assist in the choice of occupation and specialization through regular information from Palestine.
3. run courses to further the pioneers (chaluzim) in their subject and in Hebrew.
4. procure loans for those without means.

Haggadah/Haggodoh:
1. (a) A book containing the order of service of the traditional Passover meal.
1. (b) The narrative of the Exudus from Egypt that constitutes the main part of that service.
2. Another word for Aggadah.
From Hebrew haggâdâh a story, from hagged to tell.

Halacha/Halaka/Halakha:
1. (a) A Jewish religious law.
1. (b) A ruling on some specific matter.
2. (a) That part of the Talmud which is concerned with legal matters as distinct from homiletics.
2. (b) Jewish legal literature in general.
From Hebrew hâlâkhâh way.

The "Hamburg System"
On 4. November 1864 the law relating to the German-Israelite and Portuguese-Jewish communities was promulgated and made effective from 1. February 1865. All previous conditions relating to the Jews were abolished. The law explicitly abolished compulsory community membership and thereby allowed the possibility of withdrawal from the Jewish community. The hitherto existing responsibilities of the community to provide for its poor and sick, and to provide a school system were rescinded. The community Board, together with elected officials, were given the task of writing the new community of withdrawal from the Jewish community. The hitherto existing responsibilities of the community to provide for its poor and sick, and to provide a school system were rescinded. The community Board, together with elected officials, were given the task of writing the new community statutes, and of submitting them for the approval of the Hamburg Senat.

A new Jewish community was created. The statutes embodied an ambitious concept of tolerance, and the constitution was unique within German Jewish communities. It remained the administrative structure until the dissolution of the community by the National Socialist State in 1938. The constitution allowed the two Jewish religious denominations, i.e. Orthodox and Reform Judaism, and later the Zionists, to coexist under one roof and both to practice their individual forms of worship. This necessitated the strict delineating of the secular and religious spheres. The statutes of the constitution specified that the community was to be responsible for school and education, social welfare, and burial, all to be financed by the membership. The statutes also specified that, accepting internal community differences, a unified line should be quickly found for the sake of community affairs. The existing orthodox, reform and non-religious sections of the community were to find a common path. The administration, i.e. Board (executve) and council of representatives (parliament), was to reflect the heterogeneity of opinion. In addition there were committees concerned with various subject areas who were responsible for the formulation and implementing policy. The goal of the "Hamburg Sytem" was to achieve an integrated community through a sytem of checks and balances.

The "Hamburg System" was unique in that legally, administratively, and membership were independent of religious denomination. Each member was free to join the religious denomination of his choice; there was no obligation to do so. It was legally possible to be member of a religious association without being a member of the community. This rarely occured but was so fundamental to the self image of the religious associations that they conformed to it over the following decades. It was a bold idea that a Jew could as non-believer be a member of the Jewish community.

The new statutes demanded the creation of religious associations. At this time only the Temple Association of the Reform Jews existed. The orthodox Jews founded a synagogue association with the post of senior rabbi. There occured a serious dispute between the orthodox membership and the the administratively secular community. The dispute was settled in 1873 with arbitration by the Hamburg Senat.

HaShem:
A periphrasic way of referring to God in contexts other than prayer, scriptural reading, etc. Because the name itself is too holy for such use this expression is substituted for it.
From Hebrew, literally: The Name.

havdalah or havdoloh:
The ceremony marking the end of the sabbath or of a festival, including the blessings over wine, candles and spices.

Hebraic/Hebraical/Hebrew:
Of, relating to, or characteristic of the Hebrews, or their language or culture.

Hebraism:
A linguistic usage, custom, or other feature borrowed from or particular to the Hebrew language, or to the Jewish people or their culture.

Hebraist:
A person who studies the Hebrew language and culture.

Hebraize/Hebraise:
To become or cause to become Hebrew or Hebraic, e.g. part of the synagogue service which was previously predominantly in German being held in Hebraic.

Hebrew:
1. The ancient language of the Hebrews, revived as the official language of Israel.
It belongs in the Canaanitic branch of the Semitic subfamily of the Afro-Asiatic family of languages.
2. A member of an ancient Semitic people claiming descent from Abraham; an Israelite.
3. Of, or relating to the Hebrews or their language.
From Hebrew: `ibhrî one from beyond (the river).

High Holidays/Days of Awe/Yamim Nora'im:
The festivals of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the period of repentance in the first ten days of the Jewish New Year.

high priest:
The priest of highest rank who alone was permitted to enter the holy of holies of the tabernacle and Temple.

Hilfsverein der deutschen Juden, later Hilfsverein der Juden in Deutschland/Relief Organization of German Jews/Jews in Germany:
The pupose of this national organization was the promotion of Jewish spiritual, moral and economic development, as well as assistance for emigrants. The name was later changed as the Nazis did not accept the status of German Jew.

holocaust:
The mass murder by the Nazis of the Jews of continental Europe between 1940 and 1945.
Also called: Churban, Shoah.

Holocaust Day:
A day of commemoration observed in Israel on Nissan 27, and elsewhere on April 19 or 20. The date is considered the anniversary of the beginning of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of April 19/20, 1943.

Israelitischer Tempel-Verband/Israelite Temple Association:
The former association of liberal Jews in Hamburg, that was founded in 1817 as the Neuer Israelitischer Tempel-Verein/New Israelite Temple Society. In 1868 the society was registered as an association and adapted its statutes accordingly. Its administative organs comprised a Board (executive) of 7 male members who were elected by the council of representative (parliament). All members above the age of 30 were eligible for election to the Board. The council of representatives consisted of 12 members. All male members above the age of 30 were eligible for election to the council.

Jehovah:
The personal name of God, revealed to Moses on Mount Horeb (Exodus 3).
From Hebrew YHVH: the original vocalization was considered to be too sacred to be pronounced and the vowels of the Eloah (God) were therefore substituted in the Masoretic text, whence Yetto Vah.

Jew:
The Jewish religion considers someone to be a Jew if born to a Jewish mother or converted to the Jewish faith.

Jewish Autonomous Region/Birobidzhan:
An administrative division of South-East Russia in Eastern Siberia: colonized by Jews in 1928; largely agricultural.
Capital: Birobidzhan.
Population: 211,000 (1986).
Area: 36,000 sq. km.

Jewish Holidays:
The most important Jewish holidays are:
Rosh Hashana(h): (New Year Festival)
Yom Kippur: (Day of Atonement)
Sukkoth/Succoth: (Feast of Tabernacles)
Sim(c)hat Torah/Simchas Torah: (Celebration of the Torah)
Chanukah/Hanukkah: (Feast of Dedication/Feast of Lights)
Purim: (Feast of the casting of lots- the deliverance from the massacre planned by Haman)
Pesa(c)h: (Passover Festival/Feast of the Unleavened Bread)
Shavnot/Shabuoth: (Pentecost/Feast of Weeks)

Jüdische Gemeinde in Hamburg/Jewish Community in Hamburg
The name of the Jewish Community since the end of the 2nd World War.
The inaugural meeting took place on 18.09.1945 at No. 38 Rothenbaumchaussee at which a Board of 5 members and an Advisory Committee of 16 members were voted into office.
The Community was once again conferred the status of a public body by the Hamburg Senat in October 1948.

Jüdischer Religionsverband Hamburg/Jewish Religious Federation Hamburg
This name was given to the amalgamation of the four former independent Jewish communities in Hamburg i.e. Hamburg, Altona, Wandsbek, and Harburg-Wilhelmsburg, on 1.01.1938, following the creation of a greater Hamburg i.e. Hansestadt Hamburg on 1.04.1937.
Together with the three former religious associations i.e. Synagogue Association, Temple Association, and Dammtor Synagogue, the Altona Religious Association also joined.
The Portuguese Jewish Community remained independent of the new amalgamated community until 1941.
The Jewish Religious Federation Hamburg lost its status as a public body in an Act passed on 31.03.1938, as did all Jewish religious associations within the Reich.
It was demoted to the status of a registered society which had the effect that its income was inevitably further reduced.
Following the 1942 deportations the independence of the Jewish Religious Federation Hamburg could no longer be maintained. By order of the Reich Security Main Office it was incorporated into the "Reichsvereinigung der Juden in Deutschland"/"Reich Society of Jews in Germany", directly under the supervision of Adolf Eichmann. This took place on 1.08.1942. The Hamburg area was now administered by the "Bezirksstelle Nordwestdeutschland der Reichsvereinigung der Juden in Deutschland"/ Northwest German District Office of the Reich Society of Jews in Germany" with its office in Hamburg. The Northwest district included the former Jewish communities of Braunschweig, Bremen, Hamburg, Mecklenburg, Oldenburg, Hannover excluding Osnabrück, and Schleswig-Holstein including Lübeck.

Kaddish:
1. An ancient Jewish liturgical prayer largely written in Aramaic and used in various forms to separate sections of the liturgy. Mourners, principaaly the son, have the right to recite some of these in public prayer during the year after, and on the anniversary of, a death i.e. "Yahrzeit"
Principaaly the concluding prayer of the daily service.
2. say Kaddish: to be a mourner; girls are not permitted to say Kaddish.
From Aramaic qaddîsh holy.

kasher:
To make fit for use; render kosher.

Kashrut(h):
The condition of being fit for ritual use in general.
In particular the system of dietary laws which require ritual slaughter, the removal of excess blood from meat, and the complete separation of milk and meat, and that prohibit such foods as pork and shellfish.

Ketubba:
The marriage contract which is draw up and signed before the ceremony, freqently lavishly adorned, is read out after the bridegroom places the ring on the second finger of the right hand. The contract also lays down the regulations concerning assets and wealth.

kibbutz:
A collective agricultural settlement in modern Israel, owned and administered communally by its members and on which children are reared collectively.
From qibbûtz/quibbûs: gathering.

kippa:
A skullcap worn by orthodox Jews at all times and by others for prayer.

Kohen/Cohen:
A member of the priestly family of the Tribe of Levi, descended from Aaron, who has certain ritual privileges in the synagogue service.
From Hebrew, literally: priest.

Kol Nidre:
1. The evening service with which Yom Kippur begins.
2. The opening prayer of that service, declaring null in advance any purely religious vows one may come to make in the coming year.
Aramaic kôl nidhrê all the vows; the prayer's opening words.

kosher:
Conforming to religious law; fit for use; especially of food prepared in accordance with the dietary laws.

Marrano:
A Spanish or Portuguese Jew of the late Middle Ages who was converted to Christianity, especially forcibly converted, but secretly adhering to Judaism.
From Spanish, literally pig, with reference to the Jewish prohibition against eating pig meat.

megillah:
Scroll of the book of Esther, read on the festival of Purim.

menorah:
1. A seven branched candelabrum used in the Temple and now an emblem of Judaism and the badge of the state of Israel.
2. A candelabrum having eight branches and a shammes that is lit during the festival of Chanukah.

Messiah:
The awaited king of the Jews, to be sent by God to free them.

mezuzah (doorpost):
The parchment scroll folded sheathlike, affixed to the right-hand doorpost in Jewish dwellings. It contains the first two paragraphs of the Shema (Deut. 6:4-9, 11:12-21). On the back of the parchment, the Hebrew word Shaddai, "Almighty", is written. That word is also the acronym of shomer daltot Israel, "Guardian of the doors of Israel". The mezuzah commemorates the Israelites' smearing of the blood of the Paschal lamb on the doorposts, signaling to the Angel of Death to bypass their homes in implementing the tenth plague in Egypt (Ex. 12:7-13). The mezuzah parchment is protected in a container before fixing it to the door. On affixing a mezuzah, a benediction is related, "Blessed Art Thou ... who commanded us to affix the mezuzah". In most circles, it is placed in a diagonal position, as a compromise between Rashi's opinion that it should be vertical and Rabbenu Tam's that it should be horizontal. The diagonal position is also believed to originate in medieval Europe, where Christians would sometimes place a crossbar on the mezuzah to give it a crucifix appearance.

midrash:
1. A homily on a scriptural passage derived by traditional Jewish methods and consisting usually of embellishment of the scriptural narrative.
2. One of a number of collections of such homilies composed between 400 and 1200 A.D.
From Hebrew: commentary, from darash for search. - midrashic adj.

mikvah/mikveh
A pool used especially by women for ritual purification after their monthly period.

Mincha:
The afternoon service.

Minhag:
Religious custom or practice. One distinguishes between Ashkenazi custom and Sephardi custom.

minyan:
The number of persons required by Jewish law to be present for a religious service, namely, at least ten males over thirteen years of age.
Literally: number.

Mishna(h):
A compilation of precepts passed down as an oral tradition and collected by Juda ha-Nasi in the late second century A.D. forming the earlier part of the Talmud.

Mittleren Beth Chauz/Hostel for Young Chaluzim:
A hostel for youths of the Mittleren-Hachschara i.e. an occupational training for 15-17 year old Jewish youths, in European countries, that prepared them for a life in Palestine.

mitzvah:
1. A commandment or precept, especially one found in the Bible.
2. A good deed.
From Hebrew: commandment.

mohel:
A man qualified to conduct circumcisions.

Mosaic law:
The Laws of the Hebrews ascribed to Moses and contained in the Pentateuch.

moshav:
A cooperative settlement in Israel, consisting of a number of small farms.

Neue Dammtor-Synagoge/New Dammtor Synagogue:
This was a (conservative) religious association of the former Deutsch-Israelitische Gemeinde/German Israelite Community. The former Neue Dammtor-Synagoge/New Dammtor Synagogue was founded as a private religious society in 1894. In 1912 it became a registered association. For years the society was not recognized as a religious organization by the Deutsch-Israelitische Gemeinde/German Israelite Community. It was not until 1924, following difficult negotiations, that it was so recognized. Its administration consisted of a Board (executive) of 3 of the 7 member administrative committee, and a council of representatives (legislative) consisting of 11 members.
The synagogue of the association was situated behind the former No. 6 Beneckestraße. Today this is Von-Melle-Park, in the Rotherbaum district.
A plaque commemorates the site.

Orthodox Judaism:
The form of Judaism characterised by allegiance to the traditional interpretation and a strict observance of the Mosaic Law as interpreted in the Talmud, etc., and regarded as divinely revealed.

Paschal Lamb (offering):
According to the book of Exodus, chapter 12, prior to the tenth and final plague inflicted on the Egyptians before the Exodus from Egypt, the Israelites were commended to take a lamb, one for each family or group, to slaughter it and to sprinkle some of its blood on the doorposts of their houses as a sign to the angel of death, who would then "pass over" their house on his way to slay the Egyptian first-born. The lamb was to be roasted whole and eaten as the final meal prior to the Exodus on the night before their departure.
Thereafter, the law of the preparation and consumption of the paschal lamb remained as part of the Passover celebration and continued right up to the end of the Second Temple. With the destruction of the Temple, it became customary to place a roasted bone (zero'a) on the ceremonial plate during the Passover Seder observance, as a symbol and reminder of the paschal lamb. After the Seder meal, a separate piece of matzah called afikoman is eaten to sybolize the eating of the meat of the lamb as the final meal.
The Paschal lamb was in the category of a sacred food which could be eaten only in a state of ritual purity. Biblical law permitted those who were unable to partake of the paschal lamb at the proper time i.e. the 14th of Nissan, to observe the rite one month later (Pesah Sheni) on the 14th of Iyyar (Num. 9:9-15)
The Samaritans in ERsetz Israel still observe the biblical rites of the paschal lamb on Mount Gerizim, near the modern town of Nablus.

patriach:
1. Any of a number of persons regarded as the fathers of the human race, divided into the antediluvian patriarchs, from Adam to Noah, and the postdiluvian, from Noah to Abraham.
2. Any of the three ancestors of the Hebrew people: Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob.
3. Any of Jacob's twelve sons, regarded as the ancestors of the twelve tribes of Israel:
Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issacher, Zebulun, Joseph, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad and Asher.
Genesis 36:23-36.

Pentateuch:
The first five books of the Old Testament, regarded as a unity.

phylactery:
Also known as Tefillah.
Either of the pair of blackened square cases containing parchments inscribed with biblical passages, bound by leather thongs to the head and left arm, and worn by Jewish men during weekday morning prayers.

Portugiesisch-Jüdische Gemeinde/Portuguese Jewish Community:
In 1612 the Hamburg Senat (executive) gave the Portuguese Jews protection by entering into a contract with them. In 1710 the legal position of the Portuguese Jews was newly established.
The Hamburg Act of 1864 established the conditions for the founding of the Portuguese Jewish Communty, as with the Deutsch-Israelitische Gemeinde/German Israelite Community. The statute of 1867 was an extention of the Hamburg Act; this was revised in 1907. After 1907 the administrative organs of the Portuguese Jewish Communty consisted of a Board of 3 members and an assembly of members in which mature males (14+) who had been members of the community for 5 years, and who had lived in the community during this time, were entitled to vote.
The sysnagogue of the Portuguese Jewish Communty was situated at No. 6 of the former second Marktstraße in the Neustadt district. From 1935 until the disbanding of the community the synagogue was situated at No. 37 Innocentiastraße in the Harvestehude district.
Initially the Portuguese Jewish Communty remained independent of the 1.01.1938 founded Jüdische Religionsverband Hamburg/Jewish Religious Federation. It joined on 1.01.1941.

rabbi:
1. (in Orthodox Judaism) A man qualified in accordance with traditional religious law to expound, teach and rule in accordance with this law.
Roughly equal to the position of bishop in the Christian church.
The title was awarded by the heads of religious schools.
2. The religious leader of a congregation; the minister of a synagogue.
3. The Rabbis, the early Jewish scholars whose teachings are recorded in the Talmud.

rabbinate:
1. The position, function, or tenure of office of a rabbi.
2. Rabbis collectively.

rabbinic(al):
Relating to the rabbis, their teachings, writings, views, language, etc.

Rabbinic/Rabbinical Hebrew:
The form of the Hebrew language used by the rabbis in the Middle Ages.

rabbinics:
The study of rabbinic literature of the post-Talmudic period.

rabbinism:
The teachings and traditions of the rabbis of the Talmudic period.

Rav:
1. A rabbi who is a person's religious mentor, or one to whom questions are addressed for authorative decisions.
2. The title preferred by many orthodox rabbis to distinguish them from the clergy of other brands of Judaism.

Reform Judaism:
A movement in Judaism originating in the 19th century, which does not require strict observance of Jewish Law, but adapts the historical forms of Judaism to the contemporary world.

Reichsvertretung der deutschen Juden, after 1933 known as Reichsvertretung der Juden in Deutschland/Reich Organization of German Jews/Jews in Germany:
This organization existed up until 1933 and was an association of Jewish provincial organizations. The 1933 founded new organization additionally included large Jewish communities and large Jewish organizations in order to officially represent the entire German Judaism.
Rabbi Leo Baeck (1873-1956) was the president of the "new" Reichsvertretung der Juden in Deutschland. The name was changed as the Nazis did not accept the status of German Jew.

ritual:
The Jewish ritual, in contrast to the ritual of other confessions, requires one to live according to Jewish religious law e.g. dietary laws etc.
Within Judaism there are two main distinctive rituals, that of the Ashkenazi (west and east) and the Sephardi (oriental).

Sabbat/Sabbath:
The seventh day of the week, Saturday, devoted to worship and rest from work. The celebration of Sabbath begins on Fridays, 45 minutes before sunset, with the lighting of candles and the general prohibition of work, and comes to an end at sunset on Saturday.

Sabbatical:
Of, relating to, or appropriate to the Sabbath as a day of rest and religious observance.

Sabbatical Year:
A year during which the land was to be left uncultivated, debts annulled, etc., supposed to be observed every seventh year by the ancient Israelites according to Leviticus 25.

sandak:
Godfather.

Seder:
A ceremonial meal with prescribed ritual reading of the Haggadah observed in Jewish homes on the first night or first two nights of Passover.
From Hebrew sêdher order.

Sefer Torah:
The scrolls of the law.

Semite/Shemite:
1. A member of the group of Caucasoid people who speak a Semetic language, including the Jews and Arabs as well as the ancient Babylonians, Assyrians, and Phoenicians.
2. Another word for a Jew.
From New Latin sêmîta descendant of Shem, via Greek Sêm, from Hebrew Shem.

Semitic/Shemitic:
1. Branch or subfamily of the Afro-Asiatic family of languages that includes Arabic, Hebrew, Aramaic, Amharic, and such ancient languages as Akkadian and Phoenician.
2. Denoting, relating to, or belonging to this group of languages.
3. Denoting, belonging to, or characteristic of any of the peoples speaking a Semitic language especially the Jews or the Arabs.
4. Another word for Jewish.

Sephardi:
A Jew of Spanish, Portuguese, or North African descent (or loosely any Oriental Jew) and the pronunciation of Hebrew used by these Jews, and the modern Hebrew as spoken in Israel.
Or pertaining to their liturgy and ritual, or pertaining to the liturgy adopted by certain European, especially Chassidic, communities who believe it to be more authentic but nonetheless differing from the genuine Oriental liturgy .
From Hebrew sepharad a region mentioned in Obadiah 20, thought to be Spain.

Shacharis/Shaharith:
The morning service.

Shalom aleichem:
"Peace be with you": used by Jews as a greeting or farewell. Often shortened to "shalom".

shammes/shammash:
1. An official acting as a beadle, sexton, and caretaker of a synagogue.
2. The extra candle used in the Feast of Hanukkah to kindle the lamps or candles of the menorah.
From Hebrew shãmmãsh, from Aramaic shemãsh to serve.

Shechina/Shekinah:
1. The radiance in which God's immanent presence in the midst of his people, especially in the Temple, is visibly manifested.
2. The divine presence itself as contrasted with the divine transcendence.
From Hebrew shekhînâh, from shâkhan to dwell.

shechita:
The Jewish method of killing animals for food.
From Hebrew, literally slaughter.

shekel:
The standard monetary unit of Israel, divided into 100 agorot.
From Hebrew sheqel.

Shema:
1. The central statement of Jewish belief, the sentence "Hear, O Israel: the Lord is your God; the Lord is One" (Deuteronomy 6:4)
2. The section of the liturgy, consisting of this and related biblical passages, Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and 11:13-21 and Numbers 15:37-41, recited in the morning and evening prayers and on retiring at night.
From Hebrew, literally: hear.

Shemite:
Another name for semite.

Shemona Esrei:
Another name for Amidah.
literally: eighteen (blessings).

Sheol:
The abode of the dead.
From Hebrew she'õli.

Sheva Brachoth/Sheva Brochos:
1. The seven blessings said during the marriage service and repeated at the celebration thereafter.
2. Any of the celebratory meals held on the seven days after a wedding.
Literally seven blessings.

shidduch:
An arranged marriage.
The arrangement of a marriage.
Any negotiated agreement.

shiksa:
Often derogatory.
1. A non-Jewish girl.
2. A Jewish girl who fails to live up to traditional Jewish standards.
Yiddish shikse, from Hebrew sheqes defect.

shiur, plural shiurim
A lesson, especially one in which a passage of the Talmud is studied together by a group of people.

shivah:
1. The period of formal mourning lasting seven days from the funeral during which the mourner stays indoors and sits on a low stool. Sh(e)loshim follows this period.
2. sit shivah: to mourn.
From Hebrew, literally: seven (days).

sh(e)loshim:
The second less intensive period of mourning, following shivah, lasting thirty days.
From Hebrew, literally: thirty (days).
When one of the parents dies this is followed by a year of mourning.

Shoah:
A Hebrew word for holocaust.

shofar/shophar:
A ram's horn sounded in the synagogue daily during the month of Elul and repeatedly on Rosh Hashanah, and by the ancient Israelites as a warning, summons, etc.
From Hebrew shõphãr ram's horn.

shul/schul:
Yiddish word for synagogue.

Shulchan Aruch:
The main codification of Jewish Law and ritual derived from the Talmud, compiled by the 16th-century rabbi, Joseph Caro.

Star of David/Shield of David/Magen David:
An emblem symbolizing Judaism and consisting of a six-pointed star formed by superimposing one inverted equilateral triangle upon another of equal size.

synagogue/temple:
A building for Jewish religious services and usually also for religious instruction.
The direction of prayer is towards Jerusalem.

tallith:
A white shawl with fringed corners worn over the head and shoulders by Jewish males during religious services.
A smaller form of this worn under the outer garment during waking hours by some Jewish males.

Talmud:
The primary source of Jewish religious law consisting of the Mishna(h) and the Gemara. It is after the Bible the primary work of Hebraism. It developed from many hundreds of years of oral tradition and was completed in 500 A.D.
There are two forms:
1. A shorter, older form completed in Palestine (the Palestine or Jerusalem Talmud).
2. A more comprehensive, more recent form from Babylon (the Babylonian Talmud).

Talmudist:
1. A scholar specializing in the study of the Talmud.
2. Any of the writers of, or contributors to, the Talmud.

tefillah/tephillah:
Another name for phylactery.

Tetragrammaton:
The Hebrew name for God revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai (Exodus 3) consisting of the four consonants Y H V H or Y H W H and regarded by Jews as too sacred to be pronounced.
It is usually transliterated as Jehovah or Yahweh.
Sometimes shortened to Tetragram.
From Greek, from tetragrammatos having four letters.

Torah:
The Pentateuch i.e. the whole body of traditional Jewish teaching, including the Oral Law, written on a parchment scroll used in synagogue services. It is furnished with devices and decoration, and is kept in the Torah shrine, the cupboard at the front of the synagogue, usually in a raised position on the eastern wall.
Torah scrolls that have become unusable through use are buried.

Vaterstädtische Stiftung (vom Jahre 1876)/Vaterstädtische Charity Foundation (of 1876):
The title of a charity foundation, in existence today, that evolved from the 1849 founded "Schillingsverein für Freiwohnung". The aim of the original society was to provide subsidized flats for needy families of the Jewish and of the Christian faith. In 1851 the name of the foundation was changed to "Stiftung zum Andenken an die bürgerliche Gleichstellung der Israeliten".
In 1876 the charity decided to end the restriction of tenancy according to faith and to allocate tenancy according to "merit and need". The name of the charity was accordingly changed to Vaterstädtische Stiftung vom Jahre 1876. In 1935 the Board decided to delete the suffix "vom Jahre 1876".

In 1935 the Vaterstädtische Stiftung had a total of 506 flats in 11 buildings:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Martin Brunn-Stift Julius Ernst Oppenheim-Stift (Gustav Kaemmerer-Stift S. S. Rosenthal-Altenhaus Alfred and Otto Beit-Stift Max and Mathilda Bauer-Stift Theodor Wohlwill-Stift

Eichholz 43 (Neustadt) Grabenstraße 30,31 (St. Pauli-Nord) Baustraße (Borgfelde) Tornquiststraße 19 b (Eimsbüttel) Frickestraße 24 (Eppendorf) Frickestraße 26 (Eppendorf) Schedestraße 2 (Eppendorf) Kielortallee 23 (Eimsbüttel) Schedestraße 4 (Eppendorf) Kielortallee 25 Kielortallee 26

built 1851 acquired 1878 renovated 1899 acquired 1905 acquired 1905 built 1906 renovated 1909 built 1909 built 1927 built 1930

In 1938 firstly the "Jewish" members of the Board were forced to resign, and secondly the individual buildings were determined as "Aryan" and "Jewish" (3 of the 11 became "Jewish").
Following the deportation of the Jewish tenants occupying the three "Jewish" buildings these reverted once again to the Vaterstädtische Stiftung. These buildings were the Martin Brunn building, the Mendelson building and the Warburg building.
The buildings at No. 43 Bundesstraße (Warburg-Stift), Baustaße, and Nos. 30,31 Grabenstraße were destroyed during the war.

Wailing Wall:
Another name for Western Wall.

Western Wall/Wailing Wall:
A wall in Jerusalem, the last extant part of the Temple of Herod, held sacred by Jews as a place of prayer and pilgrimage.

Wilhelminenhöhe
The rest centre and children's home Wilhelminenhöhe was established in 1923 by the brothers John and Herbert Gotthold, in honour of their mother Wilhelmine. It was located in Blankenese. From the early ninteen-thirties the home and the adjacent grounds served as a vocational training centre for Jewish youths prior to their emigration to Israel.

Yahrzeit/Season:
On the first anniversary of death (Season) the gravestone is placed in the cemetery.
At each of the following anniversaries (Seasons) of the death of a close relative it is customary to kindle a light and recite the kaddish and also, in some communities, to observe a fast.
Yiddish, from Middle High German jârzît anniversary.

Yahweh/Jahweh or Yahveh/Jahveh:
A vocalization of the Tetragrammaton.
From Hebrew, from YHVH, with conjectural vowels; perhaps related to hâwâh to be.

Yahwism/Jahwism:
The use of the name Yaweh as the personal name of God.

Yahwist/Jahwist or Yahvist/Jahvist:
The conjectured author or authors of the earliest of four main sources or strands of tradition of which the Pentateuch is composed and in which God is called Yahweh throughout.

Yahwistic/Jahwistic or Yahvistic/Jahvistic:
Of or relating to Yahwism, the Yahwist, or Yahweh.

Yamin Nora'im/Yamin Noro'im:
Another name for High Holidays.
Hebrew, literally: Days of Awe.

yarmulke:
A scullcap worn by orthodox male Jews at all times, and by other Jews during prayer.
From Yiddish, from Ukranian and Polish yarmulka cap.

yeshiva:
1. A traditional Jewish school devoted chiefly to the study of rabbinic literature and the Talmud.
It provides training for scholars and rabbis.
Rosh Yeshiva is the title of the principal.
2. A school,run by orthodox Jews for children of elementary school age, providing both religious and secular instruction.
From Hebrew: yêshîbhâh a sitting seat, hence, an academy.

YHVH, YHWH, JHVH or JHWH:
The letters of the Tetragrammaton.

Yiddish:
1. A language spoken as a vernacular by Jews in Europe and elsewhere by Jewish emigrants, usually written in the Hebrew alphabet.
Historically, it is a dialect of High German with an admixture of words of Hebrew, Romance, and Slavonic origin, developed in central and eastern Europe during the Middle Ages.
2. In or relating to this language.
From German judisch, from Jude, Jew.

Yiddisher:
1. In or relating to Yiddish.
2. Jewish.
3. A speaker of Yiddish; Jew.

Yizkor:
A memorial prayer included in the liturgy for certain festivals.
From Hebrew, literally: let him remember.

yom tov:
A festival, especially that of Passover, Shabuoth, Sukkoth, or Rosh Hashana.

Zion/Sion:
The hill on which the city of Jerusalem stands.
The ancient Israelites of the Bible.
The modern Jewish nation.
Israel as the national home of the Jewish people.

Zionism:
A political movement for the establishment and support of a national homeland for Jews in Palestine, now concerned chiefly with the development of the modern state of Israel.
A policy or movement for Jews to return to Palestine from the Diaspora.
The movement began in the 19th century and must be seen in connection with the advent of National Socialism and the emergence of modern racial antisemitism in Europe.
A movement based on the assumption that the Jews are a nation. It was assumed that the "Judenfrage"/"Jewish Question" would only be solved when the Jews obtained their own state (territory) i.e. national home.
In 1897 Theodor Herzl (1860-1904) convened the 1st Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland. The 9th Zionist Congress, the only one to be held on German soil, took place in Hamburg in 1909. Otto Warburg (1859-1938) was President of the Zionist World Organization between 1911 and 1920.