Feature from awordinyoureye.com

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Glossary of Yiddish and Hebrew Terms

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Aliyah: To be called up to read a portion of Torah scroll in synagogue; the immigration of Jews to Israel.

Bar Mitzvah: Religious ceremony marking coming of age of thirteen-year-old Jewish boy.

Baruch Ha-Shem: Blessed be name of the Lord - used like 'God willing'.

Blintzes: Pancake, usually spread with cream cheese or, jam or strawberries rolled within a thin dough pancake.

Beshayrt: Intended (fiancé(e)).

Borsht: Beetroot soup.

Bris (pl. Brisses): Circumcision ceremony, performed on a boy on the eighth day after birth.

Broyges: Angry.

Bubbeh: Grandma.

Bubbeleh: Term of endearment (like dear, pet, honey).

Bupkes: Nothing; something trivial, worthless.

Challah: Braided white Sabbath bread made with egg, eaten on the Shabbes (q.v.).

Chanukah: The Festival of Lights, a Jewish festival that falls in December.

Chasid; Chassidic: (Lit. pious) Member of an orthodox religious sect.

Chazan: Cantor, the singer who leads synagogue services.

Cholent: Potted meat and vegetables simmered overnight.

Chozzerai: Junk, trash; awful food; anything disgusting or loathsome.

Chutzpah: Insolence, impudence, unmitigated cheek, effrontery.

Daven(ing): Pray(ing), or lead(ing) prayers, often with strong swaying from the hips.

Dreck: (vulgar) Excrement.

Farmisht: Mixed up, befuddled, confused.

Flanken: Brisket.

Frum: Religious.

Frummer: Very religious person.

Gabbai: Synagogue warden.

Gantzeh megillah: Big deal (sarcastic); a long, boring story or speech.

Gatkes: Underpants

Gay kakken af en yam:  (vulgar) Go sh*t in the sea.

Gefilte fish: Fish, ground, seasoned with spices and made into balls or patties, then shaped into fishcakes and boiled or fried. Often made from carp.

Gefilter: Play on words - gefilte, filled, stuffed.

Gelt: Money.

Get: A Jewish religious divorce.

Goy; goyim (pl): Non-Jew.

Goyisher kop!: Gentile brains!

Ha-Shem: God; literally 'The Name'. Jews consider that saying the name of God is blasphemy.

Havdalah: Ceremony marking the end of Shabbes (q.v.).

Kabbalah: Jewish mysticism.

Kabbalat shabbat: An early evening service welcoming shabbes.

Kichel: Small round plain biscuit.

Kiddush: A special blessing said before a meal on Shabbes (q.v.) and festivals, and after the Shabbes synagogue service, usually including the blessing for over the wine or and bread.

Kin-a-hora: Expression used to ward of evil eye.

Kippa: Skullcap; see also yarmulka.

Kol Nidre: Prayer said just before sunset on eve of Yom Kippur. The name is that of the first two words of the prayer beginning 'All our vows'.

Kol Nidre Appeal: On Kol Nidre evening in the synagogue, an appeal is made for charity, and the members make pledges but they cannot write cheques as it is forbidden to write on festivals, so they have to send the cheque subsequently.

Koorveh: Trollop, a prostitute, a woman who trades on her sexuality for money, gifts or position.

Kosher: Food that complies with the Jewish dietary religious laws which can be found in Leviticus, chapter XVI. By extension, anything that is pure, good, whole, prepared according to Jewish dietary laws; legitimate; genuine.

Kunyehlemel: A naïve, gullible man.

Kvell: To gush with pride.

Kvetch(ing): Complain(ing).

Latke: Potato pancake, a sort of hash brown made from raw, grated potatoes.

Levoyah: Funeral.

Lox: Smoked salmon.

Maariv: Daily evening religious service.

Matzo: Unleavened bread eaten during week of Passover; a matzo ball is a dumpling made from ground matzos.

Mazel: Luck

Mazeltov: Congratulations; good luck.

Mekheiyeh: A pleasure

Mensh: Man of fine qualities, a real man.

Meshugga: Crazy, mad.

Mezuzah: A passage from the Torah (q.v.) written on a small piece of parchment and placed inside a wooden or metal case that is attached to the doorpost of a Jewish home. It is customary for an Orthodox Jew to touch her/his fingers to his lips, then to the mezuzah, each time she/he passes the doorpost.

Mincha: Daily afternoon religious service.

Minyan: The quorum of ten men required for holding public prayers.

Mishegass: Madness, absurdity. The abstract noun from 'meshugga' (q.v.).

Mishpocheh: The entire family network of relatives by blood or marriage.

Mitzvah: Good deed.

Mohel,  moil: The religious man who performs ritual circumcisions according to rabbinic regulations and customs.

Momzer: A bastard.

Naches: Pride, pleasure, good fortune.

Nu: Well, so.

Oy: Exclamation to denote pain, rapture, awe, astonishment, surprise, delight.

Oy gevalt: Exclamation to denote fear, terror, astonishment.

Oy vay [iz meer]: Oh, woe is me!

Passover: Jewish festival commemorating liberation of Jews from their bondage in Egypt.

Pisher: One who urinates; an inexperienced or insignificant person.

Polkeh: Drumstick.

Potch: Smack.

Putz: (Vulgar) A penis.

Rebbetsin: Rabbi's wife.

Rosh Hashana: The Jewish New Year.

Saychel: Common sense.

Schlep: To drag, carry; haul, a long journey.

Schmooze: To gossip, chat up, blarney.

Seder: The traditional evening home service and meal during of Passover.

Sfirah: Short for Sfirat Ha-Omer, the Counting of the Omer, the seven weeks from end of Passover to Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks, when cutting of certain kinds is forbidden.

Shabbes: The Sabbath, which lasts from sundown on Friday to sunset on Saturday.

Shadchen: A professional marriage broker.

Shammes: Synagogue sexton or caretaker.

Shema Yisrael: A Hebrew prayer recited three or four times daily by Orthodox Jews, and the last prayer she/he utters on her/his deathbed.

Shiksa: A non-Jewish woman.

Shivah: The seven-day period of mourning after a person's death.

Shlemazel: An unlucky person / clumsy oaf.

Shlong: (Vulgar) Male organ.

Shmatta: A rag.

Shmo: Fool.

Shmuck: A stupid person; a penis.

Shnorrer: Cheapskate, professional  beggar.

Shofar: A ram's horn blown in a synagogue during services for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

Sholom aleichem: Hebrew for 'peace be unto you'. Used as a greeting like 'hello' or 'goodbye'.

Shtup, shtupping: Vulgar Yiddish term for having sex.

Shul: Synagogue.

Shyster: Unscrupulous person.

Siddur: The daily and Sabbath prayer book.

Simcha: A joyous celebration.

Tallis: A prayer shawl, usually in white silk with fringes, and worn over clothes.

Talmud: A massive compilation of writing that forms the basic body of Jewish laws and traditions.

Tefillin: Two small, black leather boxes with straps attached, that contain passages of Hebrew script. The boxes are strapped on (one on the head and one on the arm) by Orthodox Jewish men each weekday morning.

Tisha B'av: A Jewish day of fasting and mourning.

Toches: The rear end, bottom, buttocks.

Torah: The Five Books of Moses, or the scroll containing them and read in the synagogue; it can also imply all sacred Jewish literature.

Trayf: Non-kosher foods.

Tsimmes: A side-dish of carrots and fruit; big deal; fuss.

Tsoures: Troubles.

Yahrtzeit: The anniversary of someone's death.

Yarmulka: Skullcap; see also kippa.

Yenta: A gossipy woman.

Yeshiva: A Jewish school theological college.

Yeshiva bucher: A yeshiva student; a gullible or inexperienced person.

Yom Kippur: Jewish festival - the Day of Atonement.

Zaydeh: Grandpa.
 

If you have any jokes, comments or suggestions, email me at david@awordinyoureye.com