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The History of the Jews in New Zealand
Glossary
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Glossary
| Ab Beth Din | Presiding judge of an ecclesiastical court. |
| Aliyah | To be called to the Reading of the Law. |
| Aliyoth | Callings to the Reading of the Law. |
| Almemah | The raised dais in the synagogue. |
| Ashkenazi(m) | Eastern European Jew(s), or those who pray according to their rites. German(s). |
| Atuas | Gods. |
| Bameh Madlikin | "With what does one light?" An extract from the Talmud recited in some synagogues at the Friday evening services. |
| Bate Din | Ecclesiastical courts. |
| Barmitzvah | Literally "a son of the commandment". A lad who becomes thirteen years of age; the ceremony associated with it. |
| Ba'al Koreh | The Reader of the Law. |
| Beth Din | An ecclesiastical court. |
| Beth El | The House of God. |
| Bimah | The raised dais in the synagogue. |
| Brith | A covenant. A circumcision. |
| Chevra Kadishah | Burial Society. |
| Choveve Zion | Lovers of Zion. |
| Eben Sappir | Sapphire stone. |
| Eretz Israel | The Land of Israel. |
| Ethrog | A citron. |
| Gabbai d'Beth Almin | Treasurer or supervisor of the cemetery. |
| Gere Zedek | Righteous proselytes. Those who convert to Judaism because of belief. |
| Get | A Jewish divorce. |
| Habonim | The builders. A society of that name. |
| Hagesher | The Bridge. |
| Haka | A native Maori dance. |
| Hathan Bereshith | "The Bridegroom of the Beginning". The person called to read the first portion of Genesis on the Festival of the Rejoicing of the Law. |
| Hathan Torah | "The Bridegroom of the Law". The person called to read the last portion of the Pentateuch on the Festival of the Rejoicing of the Law. |
| Haphtorah | The selection from the prophets read in the synagogues on Sabbaths and Festivals. |
| Hazzan | Cantor. Reader. |
| Hevra Kadishah | Burial Society. |
| Kaddish | A mourner's prayer. |
| Kashered | Made fit to be consumed or used according to Jewish dietary laws. |
| Kashruth | Appertaining to Jewish dietary laws.page 240 |
| Kehilah | Congregation. Community. |
| Knesseth Israel | The Assembly of Israel. |
| Ketubah. Ketuboth | Compulsory Jewish marriage maintenance agreement(s). |
| Kiddush | Sanctification prayer recited over wine on Friday and Festival nights and on Sabbath and Festival mornings. |
| Kosher | That which is fit to be consumed according to Jewish dietary laws. |
| Kol Nidre | The Day of Atonement evening service. |
| Lulav | A branch of the palm tree. |
| Matzah | Unleavened bread. |
| Megilah | A scroll. The scroll or the Book of Esther. |
| Metahar House | Mortuary Chapel. The place where a dead body is cleansed. |
| Mezuzah. Mezuzoth | The prayer(s) affixed to the right door posts of Jewish homes. |
| Minyan(im) | A quorum of ten men over thirteen years of age, necessary if a service is to be considered a public service. A group (s) who conduct services in a room. |
| Minhag Polen | The Polish custom. The Polish rite. |
| Mikvah | A ritual bath. |
| Mizrahi | Of the east. A society of that name. |
| Mohel(im) | Circumcisor(s). |
| Morenu | Our Teacher. |
| Neveh Zedek | A righteous habitation. A name usually given to an orphanage. |
| Pa | A fortified Maori village. |
| Padraos | Portuguese coins. |
| Pakeha | White man. |
| Purim | The Feast of Lots. The Feast of Esther. |
| Rangatira no Uropi | A gentleman from Europe. |
| Rosh Hashanah | The Jewish New Year. |
| Sandek | The person who holds the child during the circumcision ceremony. |
| Seder | Order. The service at home on the first and second nights of the Passover. |
| Sedra | The portion of the Law read in the synagogues on Sabbaths. |
| Sefer Barmitzvah | The Barmitzvah Book of the Jewish National Fund. |
| Sefer Hamdinah | The State Book of the Jewish National Fund. |
| Sefer Hayeled | The Children's Book of the Jewish National Fund. |
| Sefer Torah | The Scroll of the Law. |
| Sephardi(m) | Spanish and Portuguese Jews and those who follow their ritual. |
| Sgan | Vice. A person who stands next to the Reader of the Law and elects who should be called to the Torah. |
| Shehitah | The act of ritual slaughtering. |
| Shema | Hear. A prayer recited in the evening and morning which commences with that word. |
| Shivah | The seven days of mourning for a close relative. |
| Shmud | Conversion to Christianity. |
| Shofar | A ram's horn. |
| Shohet(im) | Ritual slaughterer(s). |
| Shool ganav | Synagogue thief.page 241 |
| Sifre Torah | Scrolls of the Law. |
| Simhas Torah | The Festival of the Rejoicing of the Law. |
| Succah | A booth used during the Tabernacle Festival. |
| Succoth | The Tabernacle Festival. |
| Talith | A praying shawl. |
| Torah | The Law. The Scroll of the Law. |
| Trefah | Unfit for consumption according to the Jewish dietary laws. |
| Tu B'Shvat | The 15th of the Hebrew month of Shvat. Arbour Day. The New Year for Trees. |
| Utu | Compensation, revenge (Maori). |
| Whare | A Maori dwelling. |
| Yahrzeit | The anniversary of a death. |
| Yeshivah. Yeshivoth | Talmudical college(s). |
| Yekum Purkon | May salvation be granted. A prayer recited on Sabbath mornings. |
| Yom Kippur | The Day of Atonement. |