| bar mitzvah |
a Jewish ceremony that celebrates a boy becoming an adult and the beginning of his religious duties. The bar mitzvah usually takes place when the boy is thirteen years old. |
| bat mitzvah |
a Jewish ceremony that celebrates a girl becoming an adult and the beginning of her religious duties. The bat mitzvah usually takes place when the girl is thirteen years old. |
| commandment |
in the Jewish or Christian Bible, one of the Ten Commandments or laws given to Moses by God. [1/2 definitions] |
| gentile |
(sometimes capitalized) a person who is not Jewish. |
| Hanukkah |
a Jewish festival that runs for eight days in December in which a special candle is lit each night. Hanukkah celebrates the anniversary of the dedication of the temple at Jerusalem and the miracle of the lamp. |
| Hebrew |
a member of the group of people who descend from the Jewish tribes written about in the Old Testament of the Bible. [1/3 definitions] |
| Israel |
a country in southwestern Asia on the Mediterranean Sea. Israel was formed as a Jewish state in 1948. Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. [2 definitions] |
| Judaism |
the religion of the Jewish people. It is based on the belief in one God and on two holy books, the Old Testament of the Bible and the Talmud. |
| kosher |
prepared according to Jewish laws of food. [2 definitions] |
| menorah |
a candlestick with seven or nine branches, used in Jewish worship. |
| Passover |
a Jewish holiday that celebrates the escape of the ancient Hebrews from Egypt. |
| rabbi |
a teacher of the Jewish religion who is usually the leader of a Jewish congregation. |
| Rosh Hashanah |
a high holy day that celebrates the beginning of the New Year according to the Jewish calendar. Rosh Hashanah takes place on the first day or the first and second days of Tishri. |
| Talmud |
the collection of writings on Jewish civil and religious law |
| temple1 |
a Jewish synagogue. [1/2 definitions] |
| Ten Commandments |
the ten laws handed down by God to Moses on Mount Sinai, according to the Old Testament of the Bible. The Ten Commandments are laws of moral conduct in the Jewish and Christian religions. |
| torah |
(sometimes capitalized) the whole body of recorded Jewish law and wisdom, in particular the Old Testament and the Talmud. [1/2 definitions] |
| Yom Kippur |
the holiest day in the Jewish religion, observed by praying, not eating, and asking forgiveness for sins. Yom Kippur comes ten days after Rosh Hashanah, the first day of the Jewish year. |