A Brief Jewish-American Glossary
Jews descended from communities in Northern, Central, and Eastern Europe. The majority of Jews in the United States are Ashkenazi; most depictions and understanding of Judaism stateside is more specifically an understanding of this breed of white Jewishness.
Benching
Part of Jewish dietary custom, benching refers to saying the prayer after the meal, Birkat Ha'mazon. Observant Jews will also pray before every meal, featuring specific adaptations to blessings over specific types of food. Contemporary forms of benching are a great example of Yiddishkeit and camaraderie – think yelling out blessings from cafeteria tables at Jewish summer camps.
Hadassah
Literally, the Hebrew word for myrtle. Also the Hebrew name for Esther, the Biblical heroine who played a critical role in precluding the genocide of Persian Jews. She is the namesake of Hadassah, The Women's Zionist Organization of America, the largest Jewish women’s group in the United States. Founded in 1912, Hadassah chapters are community engagement and Israel-affinity vehicles for Jewish women.
Hanukkah/Chanukah
The Jewish festival of lights which celebrates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem after the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire. Eight days of holiday celebration represent the eight days of olive oil lighting the sacred menorah in the Temple. Hannukah isn't a big deal holiday in the way that Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement; angst and fasting) or Passover (see below) are. It just happens to be a fun winter holiday.
Kahal
Leadership within a Jewish community – an informal council, typically led by rabbis and other visible community members. There’s probably a link we can establish between this form of governance and Jewish immigrants’ quick adoption of socialist ideologies.
Kashrut/Kosher
Kashrut is the set of dietary laws that Jews are supposed to follow. Some of these regulations are mitzvot, commandments from the Torah, but most are rabbinically interpreted. Kosher refers to the status of a food item itself as well as to the way the food was prepared. Additionally, there are kosher patterns of eating. Perhaps one of the most significant kosher acts is separating meat and dairy, a law that comes from the Torah: "Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk." For most of Jewish diasporic history, rules of kashrut were determined by local rabbis. It wasn’t until the late 19th and 20th centuries in the United States where kosher status became standardized alongside the industrialization of food. Today, one of the most obvious ways to determine a kosher product is to look for a “U” or "K" in a circle on a package – that means the producer has been certified kosher by a reputable agency. Roger Horowitz’s book Kosher USA gives a phenomenal overview to the development of the Kosher industry in the United States – highly recommend as further reading.
Passover/Pesach
A springtime holiday - and my personal favorite! - that celebrates the Exodus, the liberation of Jews from slavery in Egypt. Passover is celebrated for eight days outside of Israel, and two key elements underlie Passover observance today: the Seder and keeping kosher for Passover. The Seder is a ritual meal featuring a fourteen-step order of operations, including storytelling, song, grieving and feasting. “Kosher for Passover” refers to the practice of avoiding leavened foods - no bread, pasta, rice - in favor of matzo, the "bread of affliction" that didn’t have time to rise and cooked in the desert sun while Jews walked through the Sinai. It's relatively common to see Jews who do not keep kosher day-to-day go gluten-free during Passover.
Rabbi
Spiritual leaders and scholars in the Jewish community. They’re more than just preachers, having historically been community authorities and serving as generational resources.
Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox
From newest to oldest and from least to most traditionally observant, this continuum of American Jewish observance sects warrants several master's projects worth of inquiry on its own. There are true theological differences separating these schools of Judaism, but more practically, their followers experience Judaism differently. Orthodox Jews are more likely to keep Kosher and observe the Sabbath; reform Jews more likely to engage in English-language services and have women and queer rabbis; conservative Jews fall somewhere in the middle. My own Judaic belief is most closely associated with the Reconstructionist and Humanist Jewish movements, smaller, newer streams of Judaism that emphasize an evolving tradition and non-theistic practice, respectively.
Schmaltz
Rendered chicken fat. A frequent ingredient in Jewish cooking. The object of Crisco’s condemnation.
Sephardi
Jews descended from the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean, North Africa, and the Middle East.
Shabbat/Sabbath/Shabbos
The Jewish Sabbath, observed from Friday evening through Saturday evening. “The culmination of the week, as if days functioned merely to hoist up this great day so it can be honored. a day of joy and tranquility. And it must be provided for.” Shabbat is a holiday - one that actually takes precedence over most others of the Jewish calendar. And one that happens every week. It’s brought in by lighting candles, drinking wine, and eating challah, all with blessings. Shabbat is a day of rest: observant Jews will avoid work in all its forms, including driving and cooking. Jewish life over generations has revolved around Shabbat: communities settling around synagogues so you can walk to services, or the development of dishes like cholent, a stew that sits on the stove for hours on end.
Shtetl
A small town or village in Central or Eastern Europe where Ashkenazi Jews settled.
Sisterhood
Women’s organizations housed at synagogues that gained popularity as Jewish communities suburbanized and synagogue affiliation became a defining element of Jewish life.
Synagogue
A Jewish house of worship. Especially in early 20th century America, it has functioned as the centerpiece of Jewish life: the “synagogue-center,” coins Jewish historian David Kaufman. Colloquially interchangeable with shul - derived from Yiddish word for school - and temple. Notably, “temple” is not used in some sects of Judaism, which reserve that use for the messiah and rebuilding of Temple of Jerusalem. Reform and reconstructionist houses are called temples, however, for exactly that reason - to embody the lost sacred space.
Talmud
The compilation of rabbinical thought that serves as a primary basis of Jewish theology and practice, acting as case law and its commentary as well as a guide to daily life. The Talmud is considered oral law and the source of Rabbinic Judaism.
Tanakh/Torah
The Jewish Bible and the Five Books of Moses, respectively. The Tanakh includes the Torah, Nevi'im (Prophets), and Ketuvim (Writings), telling Jewish lore from creation to the end of the Babylonian exile. The Tanakh is considered written law and the source of Biblical Judaism.
Trayf
Not kosher – pork, shellfish, mixed meat and dairy.
Yiddish
The daily language of Ashkenazi Jews, written in Hebraic letters and closely linked to German. Until the State of Israel was created in 1948, Hebrew was used only in ritual settings; Yiddish was the primary means of communication in everyday life.
Yiddishkeit
Essentially, Jewishness, but with more Old World and religious a connotation than “Jewishness” conveys now. I also read it as a bit kitsch - indulgent and campy and Jewish, all wrapped together.