Page 68 of Delayed Intention
Glossary of Terms
Here’s an alphabetized list of terms and definitions that the reader may not be familiar with. The definitions provided may be simplified to fit the context of the story.
B:
- Bedeken – A Jewish wedding custom where the groom veils the bride before the ceremony.
- Blessing over candles at Hanukkah – The special prayers recited while lighting the Hanukkah candles, thanking God for the commandment to kindle the Hanukkah lights.
- Baccala – Salted codfish, commonly eaten in Sephardic Jewish cuisine, including during Passover.
C:
- Charoset – a sweet mixture of nuts and fruits served during the Passover Seder, meant to symbolize the mortar the Jews used as building material in Egypt. Sephardic/Mizrahi recipes vary. My Egyptian family serves a version with dates, walnuts, grape juice, and spices like ginger.
D:
-Dyspraxia – A neurological disorder affecting movement and coordination.
G:
- Groggers – Noisemakers used during Purim to drown out Haman’s name when the Megillah is read.
H:
- Hanukkah Sameach, Chag Sameach– Hebrew phrases meaning “Happy Hanukkah” and “Happy Holiday.”
- Haman– The villain in the Purim story who plotted to destroy the Jews in ancient Persia.
K:
- Ketubah – A Jewish marriage contract outlining the husband's obligations to his wife.
- Kibbeh – A Middle Eastern dish made of ground meat, bulgur, and spices, often eaten by Sephardic Jews.
- Kippot – Plural of kippah, aka yarmulke. A skull cap worn by some Jewish men in deference to G-d.
- Kitniyot – A category of food (including legumes, rice, and corn) traditionally avoided by Ashkenazi Jews during Passover, but are enjoyed by Sephardic Jews.
L:
- Lashon Hara – The Jewish concept prohibiting gossip or harmful speech.
M:
- Mabrouk – Arabic word meaning congratulations
- Matzah – cracker-like bread eaten for Passover
- Mazal Tov – Hebrew phrase meaning congratulations
- Megillah – The scroll of Esther read during Purim.
- Minyan – Technically, a quorum of ten Jewish adults required for communal prayer. Here and colloquially used to refer to going to a Jewish service
- MI (Myocardial Infarction) – A heart attack, caused by a blockage in the blood supply to the heart.
P:
- PA (Physician Assistant) – A licensed medical professional who diagnoses and treats illnesses with a doctor’s supervision.
- Passover– The Jewish holiday commemorating the Israelites' exodus from Egypt.
- Sephardic traditions for Passover– Customs followed by Sephardic Jews, including eating kitniyot and specific symbolic foods.
- Pesah (Pesach) – The Hebrew word for Passover, the festival of freedom, used interchangeably
- PHS (U.S. Public Health Service) – A federal agency focused on public health and disease prevention.
- Purim – The Jewish holiday celebrating the salvation of the Jewish people from Haman’s plot in Persia.
- Purim Carnival or Festival – A festive event with games, costumes, and celebrations during Purim. The one on the scale in this book is really only seen areas with large Orthodox populations, but it’s fun to imagine.
R:
- Rosh Hashanah – The Jewish New Year, a time of reflection and repentance.
S:
- The Sages – Jewish scholars and religious leaders from historical times, including those who wrote the Talmud
- Sambousek – A filled pastry, often stuffed with meat or cheese, popular in Sephardic Jewish cuisine.
- Sephardic Jews – Diaspora Jews from North Africa, Middle East, Spain, and Portugal. There are a number of traditions, particularly around holidays, that are distinct from European/Slavic descent Jewish populations
- Seder – Hebrew for ‘order.’ It is the ritual ceremony and food that precedes dinner on the first night of Passover (first two nights for the Orthodox outside of Israel).
The seder continues and concludes after dinner as well.
Many call it a ‘ritual meal’ but there is not enough food to call it that.
- Shabbat – The day of rest. It has a variety of observances attached to it. It is from sundown Friday night until sundown Saturday night.
- Shamash – The helper candle used to light the Hanukkah menorah.
- Shomer Shabbat – A person who observes the Sabbath according to Jewish law (think Walter in The Big Lebowski… IYKYK)
-Siddur – A Jewish prayer book containing daily prayers.
- Sukkot/Sukkah – A Jewish festival commemorating the Israelites' time in the desert, celebrated by eating all meals in temporary structures (each structure is individually a sukkah but in Hebrew the plural is not an s but adding and - ot, hence the holiday is called sukkot).
T:
- Tehillim – The Book of Psalms in the Hebrew Bible, often recited in prayer.
U:
- URI– Upper Respiratory Infection (like a head cold or bronchitis)
V:
- Verklempt – a Yiddish word for being overcome with emotion and since there is no good Sephardic or English word for that, it has become a common loan word
Y:
- Yom Kippur – The Jewish Day of Atonement, the holiest day of the year, dedicated to fasting and repentance.
- Yom Tov – A Jewish holiday or festival.