Religious glossary

Also called: Bat Mitzvah

The coming of age at which a Jewish boy (13) or girl (12) becomes responsible for the commandments.

Services & rites

Also called: tevah, almemar

The raised platform with a reading desk from which the Torah is read.

Architecture & spaces

Also called: Festival of Lights, hanukkiah

An eight-day winter festival commemorating the rededication of the Temple; one more candle is lit each night.

Feasts & fasts

Also called: cantor

The singer who leads prayers in the synagogue using traditional melodies.

Clergy & community

Also called: List of Historic Monuments

A building protected by law for its historic or artistic value; it has a code in the national List of Historic Monuments.

Other

Also called: yarmulke

The small skullcap worn by Jewish men as a sign of respect for God.

Vestments

Also called: kashrut

Food permitted under Jewish dietary law.

Other

Also called: Jewish gravestone

A gravestone in a Jewish cemetery, inscribed in Hebrew with symbols such as blessing hands or a ewer.

Art & iconography

Also called: seven-branched candelabrum

The seven-branched lampstand of the Temple in Jerusalem, one of the oldest Jewish symbols.

Sacred objects

The small case fixed to the doorpost of Jewish homes and synagogues, containing the "Shema" prayer.

Sacred objects

Also called: minyan

The quorum of ten adults required for public prayer in the synagogue.

Clergy & community

Also called: Neolog Judaism

A modernising current of 19th-century Hungarian and Transylvanian Judaism; Neolog synagogues are large, sometimes with an organ or choir.

Other

Also called: eternal light

The lamp that burns continuously before the Torah Ark.

Sacred objects

Also called: Paștele evreiesc, Pessach

The feast of the Exodus from Egypt; for eight days no leavened bread is eaten, only matzah.

Feasts & fasts

Also called: pilgrim

A journey of faith to a holy place: a monastery, the relics of a saint, Jerusalem, Mecca or the tomb of a tzaddik.

Services & rites

Also called: Book of Psalms

The book of the 150 Psalms of the Old Testament, read and sung in every tradition.

Books & texts

Also called: rav, chief rabbi

The teacher and spiritual leader of a Jewish community.

Clergy & community

Also called: Law 489/2006

A religious community officially recognised by the Romanian state; Romania has 18 under Law 489/2006.

Other

Also called: Jewish New Year

The Jewish New Year in autumn, with the sounding of the shofar and apples with honey.

Feasts & fasts

Also called: Sabbath

The Jewish day of rest, from Friday sunset to Saturday night.

Feasts & fasts

Also called: temple, beit knesset

The Jewish house of prayer and study; large Neolog synagogues are often called "temple".

Architecture & spaces

Also called: prayer shawl

The white striped prayer shawl with fringes at the corners, worn by men at morning prayer.

Vestments

Also called: phylacteries

Two small leather boxes containing Torah verses, bound on the arm and forehead at weekday morning prayer.

Sacred objects

Also called: Pentateuch, Sefer Torah

The first five books of the Bible, handwritten on a parchment scroll; the Torah reading is the heart of the Sabbath service.

Books & texts

Also called: Holy Ark

The ornate cabinet on the Jerusalem-facing wall of the synagogue in which the Torah scrolls are kept.

Sacred objects

Also called: ezrat nashim

The separate area for women in traditional synagogues, usually a balcony.

Architecture & spaces

Also called: Day of Atonement

The holiest day of the Jewish year: a 25-hour fast, prayer and repentance.

Feasts & fasts