GLOSSARY

[A][B][C][D][E][F][G][H][I][J][K][L][M][N][O][P][Q][R][S][T][U][V][W][Y][Z]

A

Ab

(Heb., “father [of]”). Used in numerous phrases and constructions, such as ab bet din (lit. “father of/in the house of judgment”) for one of the presiders in the Jewish sanhedrin (see also bet/beit).

Abelut

(Heb., “mourning”). See shiva.

Abraham

(adj. Abrahamic). The patriarch who is acknowledged as a special early figure in the histories and folklore of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Presumed to have lived sometime in the period 2000-1700 B.C.E.; father of Ishmael by Hagar and of Isaac by Sarah. See Bible Genesis 12-25; New Testament Galatians 3-4; Quran 37.83=113, 2.124-140.

Acacia Tortilis

A tree prevalent in the southern wadis (valleys) of Israel.

A.D.

anno domini (“year of the Lord”). See CE.

Adam (and Eve)

(Hebrew for “t;human, man”). Name given to the first created male (with Eve as female) in the creation story in the Jewish scriptures (Genesis 1). Has been interpreted over the centuries both literally (as an actual historical person) and symbolically (as generic humankind; see allegory).

Aggada(h)

(adj. aggadic; Heb., “telling, narration”). Jewish term for non-halakic (nonlegal) matter, especially in Talmud and Midrash; includes folklore, legend, theology/theosophy, scriptural interpretations, biography, etc.; also spelled haggada(h), not to be confused, however, with the Passover manual called “the Haggada(h).”

Agnostic, Agnosticism

(from Greek, “not knowing”). A general term to indicate suspension of judgment regarding the existence of God/deity (compare atheism, theism).

Agunah

(lit. “t;chained”) A woman who cannot remarry; usually because her husband refuses to give her a get (divorce), because there is no way to verify whether or not he is dead, or because he is incompetent to give a divorce (i.e., mentally ill).

Ahdut ha-Avodah

Zionist Socialist Labor Party founded in Palestine in 1919; in 1930 merged with Ha-Po'el ha-Za'ir and formed Mapai; seceded from Mapai in 1944 and was reunited in 1968 as part of the Israeli Labor Party.

Ahnenerbe

(Ger., ancestral heritage), The Institute for the Scientific Study of Ends and Purposes, located in Berlin.

Ahuzat Bayit

In 1907, Jewish residents of Jaffa formed a society by the name of Ahuzat Bayit, with a view towards establishing a neighborhood outside the congested city. With funds lent by the Jewish National Fund, land was purchased near Jaffa. The parcels were drawn by lot, and the foundations of the first building were laid in 1909. Ahuzat Bayit merged with two other new neighborhoods, Nahalat Binyamin and Geula, and they were together named "Tel Aviv," the title of Nahum Sokolow's Hebrew translation of Herzl's utopian novel, Altneuland.

Akiba (Aqiba, Akiva) ben Joseph

Famous Jewish rabbi (c. 50-135 CE) in ancient Palestine; a major legal scholar, who established an academy in B'nai Brak, and was also a legendary mystic and martyr. He was tortured and killed by the Romans in 135 CE.

Aktion

(Ger.). The code name of the operation that had as its goal the annihilation of the entire Jewish population of the Generalgouvernement, the portion of Poland occupied by Germany. The operation was dubbed "Aktion Reinhard" by SS men in honor of Reinhard Heydrich, the main architect of the Final Solution, who was assassinated by members of the Czech underground in June 1942. Three death camps were built to accomplish the mass murder: Belzec, Sobibor, and Treblinka. Aktion Reinhard began in mid-March 1942 and ended in November 1943, during which more than two million Jews were killed.

Aktion Erntefest

(Ger.). “Operation Harvest Festival” (German)—Code name for the liquidation and mass killings of the remaining Jews in the Lublin area that occurred on November 3, 1943. An estimated 42,000 people were shot while loud music was played to drown out the shootings. Last Aktion of Aktion Reinhard.

Aktion Reinhard

(Ger.). Code name for the annihilation of European Jewry. Named after Reinhard Heydrich.

Aktion T-4 (Tiergarten Strasse 4)

(Ger.). Code name for the Euthanasia program. Name taken from the Reich Chancellery building's address.

Al-Amal

(“Hope”). A Shi'ah political movement cum-militia. It developed originally as the military arm of the Movement of the Disinherited, the radical organization formed by Imam Musa al-Sadr, the religious leader who transformed Lebanon's Shi'ah politics in the 1970s. After his disappearance, he was replaced by Nabih al-Beri and the movement was taken over by al-Amal.

Alawis (or Nusayris)

A Muslim sect, an offshoot of Shia Islam. Most of the Alawis live in Syria, where they form some 12 percent of the population. Once a marginal, rural, underprivileged community, Syrian Alawis have undergone a dramatic transformation in the past twenty years as members of the community advanced through the army and the Ba'thi party to positions of dominance (including the current President Hafez Assad).

Aleph-Bet

The Hebrew alphabet.

Aliy(y)a(h)

A term used in modern Judaism especially for migration (Heb., "going up") to the land of Israel. Aliya can also be used for "going up" to the altar (bema) to read from Torah.

Aliya Bet

"Illegal immigration" (Heb.)—Jewish immigration into Palestine (later, Israel) without the official immigration certificate nor with British approval - most often by ship. During the Third Reich, Zionist movements set up organizations to plan and implement these flights from Europe.

Allegory

(Greek, adj. allegorical, vb. allegorize). Usually used in reference to symbolic interpretation of scriptures or other authoritative materials, in Judaism and Islam as well as in Christianity. See midrash, tafsir.

Alliance Israelite Universelle

International Jewish organization, founded in Paris, 1860, to protect Jewish rights as citizens and to promote education and professional development among Jews around the world.

Allies

The nations, including the United States, Britain and the Soviet Union, as well as the Free French of Charles De Gaulle, that joined in the war against Germany and the other Axis nations. The Soviet Union was an ally of the Nazis between August 23, 1939, when the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was signed, and June 22, 1941, when Hitler attacked Russia. Britain became an ally of the Soviet Union only after Stalin and Hitler went to war. The United States became an ally of the Soviet Union only after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Hitler, allied to Japan, declared war on the United States.

Altalena

Ship carrying immigrants and ammunition from France to Israel in June, 1948 under the command of Etzel and in direct challenge to authority of Tzahal. Destroyed by the IDF, Tzahal, killing 21 on board.

Altar

Historically, it usually refers to a raised surface (like a table) or platform on which sacrifices were performed. Thus it came to designate the central location for liturgical functions such as reading Torah (Jewish; see bima) or administering the Eucharist (Christian). Compare minbar.

Alteshul

The Cracow synagogue was built in the 1500s. It is the oldest synagogue in Poland and second oldest in Europe. It was rebuilt so many times, it became known as the “Old-New Shul.” The Gestapo used it for headquarters during the War. It is now a museum.

Am Haaretz

(pl. ammeyhaaretz, “people of the land”). A term used in Jewish scriptures for citizens, or some particular class of citizens; in rabbinic literature, for persons or groups that dissented from or were uninstructed in rabbinic halaka and rigorous purity and tithing norms. It sometimes signifies the unlearned, sometimes is used condescendingly (boor). It was also used to describe the broad mass of Jewish people of the 1st century CE, who cannot be categorized into any of the sub-groups of the time. See also Pharisees.

Am Yisrael

The people of Israel.

Amen

“Agreed.”

American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee

(popularly known as the JDC or the “Joint”). American Jewry's overseas relief and rehabilitation agency founded in 1914.

Amida(h)

(Heb., “standing”; pl. amidot). The main section of rabbinic Jewish prayers, recited in a standing posture; also known as tefillah or shemoneh esreh (“eighteen benedictions”).

Amora

(pl. amoraim; “speaker”). Rabbinic Jewish teachers of the 3rd and 4th centuries CE who produced the gemara for the Babylonian and Palestinian Talmuds.

Angel

(Greek, lit. “messenger”). Came to be used specifically for a class of extrahuman (“spiritual”) beings, both good (usually) and bad (“demons”) who become involved in human affairs; common to Judaism, Christianity and Islam. A leader or special functionary among the angels is sometimes called an "archangel" (e.g., Michael, Gabriel).

Anglo-American Committee

Committe formed shortly after World War II, following disclosure of the horrors of the Holocaust and the problem of refugees and displaced persons. It concluded that no country other than Palestine was ready or willing to help find homes for Jews wishing to leave Europe, but Palestine alone could not solve their emigration needs.

Anielewicz, Mordecai (1919-1943)

Major leader of the Jewish resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto; killed May 8, 1943.

Aninut

The period of mourning between the time of death and the time of burial.

Anschluss

(Ger. “annexation”). Annexation of Austria to Germany on March 13, 1938.

Anthropomorphism

Greek term for the attribution of human behavior or characteristics to inanimate objects, animals, natural phenomena or deity. With regard to deity, anthropomorphism became a point of theological discussion in Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Antinomian

(from Greek, “opposing law”). A general term for persons or positions that consciously take a stand against the established rules and laws. In Christian tradition, a name given to those who felt that salvation by grace excused them from obeying temporal law(s).

Anti-Semitism (antisemitism)

Literally means opposed to Semites (which would include Arabic and other semitic peoples as well), but usually applied specifically to opposition to Jews (anti-Judaism).

Apikoros

Unbeliever, heathen.

Apocalypse

(adj. apocalyptic). From the Greek, meaning “revelation.” A genre of literature (attested in Jewish, Christian and Muslim traditions) in which the author claims to have received revelation(s), usually about the end-time, and expresses them in vivid symbolism. The intertestamental Jewish and the early Christian apocalypses are often pseudepigraphical. The final book of the Christian New Testament is sometimes called (in accord with its Greek title) “the Apocalypse” (it is also known as “the book of Revelation”).

Apocrypha

(adj. apocryphal). From the Greek, meaning “to hide” or “to uncover.” It is used in a technical sense to refer to certain Jewish books written in the Hellenistic-Roman period that came to be included in the Old Greek Jewish scriptures (and thus in the Eastern Christian biblical canon) and in the Latin Vulgate Roman Catholic canon, but not in the Jewish or Protestant biblical canons. See also Bible, Septuagint.

Appell

(Ger., “Roll call”) Within the camps, inmates were forced to stand at attention for hours at least twice a day while they were counted. This was always carried out no matter what the weather and often lasted for hours. Often accompanied by beatings and punishments.

Appellplatz

(Ger., “Place for roll call”). Location within the camps where the Appell was carried out.

Aqedah/Akedah

(Heb., “binding” [of Isaac]). The Jewish biblical account of God's command to Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice (Genesis 22).

Arab Boycott

Formally declared by the newly formed Arab League Council on December 2, 1945. The boycott consists of the primary boycott, which prohibits direct trade between Israel and the Arab nations, the secondary boycott, which is directed at companies that do business with Israel and the tertiary boycott, which involves the blacklisting of firms that trade with other companies that do business with Israel.

Arab Higher Committee

Radical group established in 1945 by Arab League that represented Palestinian Arab interests, rejecting all compromise on rights of Jews to Eretz Yisrael.

Arab League

Organization of Arab states, founded 1945, works for common political and economic goals, often as pan-Arab opposition to Israel.

Aramaic

A Semitic language known since the ninth century B.C.; official language of the Persian empire; used extensively in southwest Asia and by the Jews after the Babylonian exile; the cursive script replaced the ancient paleo-Hebrew script for secular writing as well as for holy scriptures.

Arava

(“steppe," “desert”). a stretch of depressed ground between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Eilat.

Arbah Minim

Lit. four species. Fruit and branches used to fulfill the commandment to “rejoice before the L-rd” during Sukkot.

Arbeit Macht Frei

(Ger. “Work Brings Freedom”). The sign over the gates of Auschwitz. It was placed there by Major Rudolf Hoss, commandant of the camp.

Arbeitskommando

Forced labor detachment of prisoners of war.

Aristotle, Aristotelianism

Aristotle was a famous Greek thinker (died in 322 B.C.E.), a student of Plato, whose interpretation of what constitutes reality (metaphysics, ontology) and of how reality is organized was widely influential both in ancient times and in the “medieval” period of Judaism and Christianity, influenced by the “classical” period of Islamic learning. See e.g., scholasticism.

Ark

An acronym of aron kodesh, lit., holy chest. The cabinet where the Torah scrolls are kept. The word has no connection with Noah's Ark, which is “teyvat” in Hebrew.

Aron Hakodesh

The Hebrew term for the Holy Ark.

Aryan

“Aryan” was a 19th-century linguistics term used to describe the Indo-European languages. The term was subsequently perverted to refer to the people who spoke those languages, which the Nazis deemed superior to those people who spoke Semitic languages. Thus, Aryan came to describe people of "proven" non-Jewish and purely Teutonic "racial" background.

Aryanization

The expropriation of Jewish businesses, enterprises and property, by German authorities and their transfer to “aryan” ownership or control.

Ascetic (asceticism)

(from Greek, to hold oneself under control). A general term for one who follows rigorous bodily and spiritual discipline to enhance spiritual experiences and rewards. Often connected with mysticism.

Asefat ha-Nivharim

Representative assembly elected by Jews in Palestine during the period of the British Mandate (1920-48)

Ashkenazi(m)

(adj. Ashkenazic). The term now used for Jews who derive from northern Europe and who generally follow the customs originating in medieval German Judaism, in contradistinction to Sephardic Judaism, which has its distinctive roots in Spain and the Mediterranean (see Sephardim). Originally the designation Ashkenaz referred to a people and country bordering on Armenia and the upper Euphrates; in medieval times, it came to refer to the Jewish area of settlement in northwest Europe (northern France and western Germany). By extension, it now refers to Jews of northern and eastern European background (including Russia) with their distinctive liturgical practices or religious and social customs.

Asocial

One of several categories of people targeted by the Nazi regime. People in this category included homosexuals, prostitutes, Gypsies (Roma), and thieves.

Assimilation

The process of becoming incorporated into mainstream society. Strict observance of Jewish laws and customs pertaining to dress, food, and religious holidays tends to keep Jewish people separate and distinct from the culture of the country within which they are living. Moses Mendelssohn (1729-86), a German Jew, was one of the key people working for the assimilation of the Jews in the German cultural community.

Assur

Something prohibited.

Atheism

(from Greek, “no deity“). A general term for the position that there is no God/deity (compare agnosticism, theism).

Atlit

Detention camp on the Mediterranean shore established by the British to house “illegal Jewish immigrants” from Europe after WWII..

Atonement

(Heb., kaparah). In Judaism, atonement or reconciliation between God and humanity is achieved by the process of repentance (teshuvah), seeking forgiveness and making amends with our fellow human beings.

Aufruf

The ceremony in which a couple is called up to the Torah on the Shabbat before their wedding.

Auschwitz

Concentration and extermination camp in upper Silesia, Poland, 37 miles west of Krakow. Established in 1940 as a concentration camp, it became an extermination camp in early 1942. Eventually, it consisted of three sections: Auschwitz I, the main camp; Auschwitz II (Birkenau), an extermination camp; Auschwitz III (Monowitz), the I.G. Farben labor camp, also known as Buna. In addition, Auschwitz had numerous sub-camps.

Authoritarianism

Believing in or characterized by unquestioning obedience to authority, as that of a dictator, rather than individual freedom of judgment and action.

Autoemancipation

An essay by Dr. Judah Leib (Leon) Pinsker, Autoemancipation was published in the aftermath of the pogroms that swept Russia in 1881-82. Published in 1882, it dealt with the causes of antisemitism and offered a possible solution for the Jews. Pinsker argued that the Jews were foreigners everywhere, and that even if they managed to assimilate, antisemitism would remain an incurable illness, fueled by the peculiar condition of the Jewish people, which has no language, no country and no government. The emancipation given to Jews by Gentiles was, to Pinsker, a coup de grâce. The Jews, Pinsker argued, must regain their national dignity and security and establish for themselves a land of refuge. Even more urgently needed, he argued, was a national awakening and self-liberation ("autoemancipation"), the components of the process of national renaissance. Pinsker's work became one of the basic writings on the Jews and Zionism.

Av or Ab

A month in the Jewish calendar; the 9th of Av is a day of mourning for the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 586 B.C.E. and again in 70 CE.

Avelut

The year of mourning after the burial of a parent.

Avenue of the Righteous Among the Nations

A tree-lined path (and forest> at Yad VaShem (Jerusalem, Israel) memorializing those non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust.

Averah (aveira)

Sin, transgression of God's will.

Avoda Ivrit

Jewish labour: slogan adopted during pioneering days in the Land of Israel, i.e., to do physical work, not to hire others to do it.

Avodah

Worship, service.

Axis

The Axis powers originally included Nazi Germany, Italy, and Japan who signed a pact in Berlin on September 27, 1940. They were later joined by Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, and Slovakia.

B

B’chor

Firstborn status.

B’deken

The ritual veiling of the bride by the groom. This custom developed from the biblical story of Jacob, who married Leah by mistake, instead of Rachel, the woman he loved.

B’nai B'rith

World's oldest and largest Jewish organization, founded in 1843 in New York, concerned with protecting Jewish interests around the world.

B’nai Noach

Sons of Noah; refers to non-Jews who strive to live by the basic laws for humanity derived from the Torah.

B'nai Yisrael

The children of Israel.

B’nei Akiva

Religious Zionist youth movement, founded 1929, emphasizing the religious importance of life and work in Israel.

B’shaah Tova

Congratulations to an expectant mother (lit. “in a good hour,” means “at an auspicious time,” i.e., “may whatever time your child is born be a good time.”) Also the correct response to the announcement of a marriage engagement. In both cases, it is in anticipation of a “mazel tov” for something hoped for, that has not yet occurred.

B’Shalom

In peace.

B’Shira

In song.

Ba’al Shem Tov

(BeSHT; lit. “Master of the Good Name”). Founder of mid-18th century Jewish Hasidism (proper name was Israel).

Ba’al Teshuvah

(lit. “master of return”) A penitent; a Jew who returns to a traditional observant Jewish lifestyle (also known by the acronym BT).

Ba’th

(“renaissance”). A Pan-Arab socialist party with branches in several Arab countries, most notably Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and Jordan. The party emerged during World War II, was formally established in 1947 and has been influential in Arab politics since the early 1950s.

Baal Tefillah

Prayer leader.

Babi Yar

A ravine in Kiev, where tens of thousands of Ukrainian Jews were systematically massacred.

Badge

Symbols worn by Jews and others targeted by the Nazi regime for easy identification. Jews were ordered to wear a yellow Star of David; political prisoners a red triangle; criminals a green triangle; "Asocials" a black triangle; Gypsies a brown triangle; Jehovah's Witnesses a purple triangle and Homosexuals a pink triangle.

Baeck, Leo (1873-1956)

Rabbi, philosopher, and community leader in Berlin. In 1933, he became president of the Reich Representation of German Jews, an organization responsible to the Nazi regime concerning Jewish matters. Despite opportunities to emigrate, Baeck refused to leave Germany. In 1943, he was deported to the ghetto of Terezin (Theresienstadt), where he became a member of the Council of Elders and spiritual leader of the Jews imprisoned there. After the liberation of the ghetto he emigrated to England.

Bahad

A religious youth organization founded in Germany in 1928.

Baleboss

The man of the house.

Baleboosteh

The lady of the house, and usually an especially praiseworthy one.

Balfour Declaration

Statement issued by the British Government, 1917 recognizing the - Jewish people's right to a national home in the land of Israel, named for Lord Balfour who signed it on Britain’s behalf.

Bamidbar

(Heb., “in the desert”). From Numbers, the fourth book of the Torah.

Bank Ha-Poalim

The central financial institute of the Histadrut founded 1921.

Banyas

The headwaters of the Dan and Jordan Rivers. A major archeological site and picnic grounds.

Baptism

In earliest Christianity, the rite of ritual immersion in water that initiated a person (usually as an “adult”) into the Christian church. Very soon, pouring or sprinkling with water came into use in some churches, and the practice of baptizing infants. See also initiation, circumcision.

Bar Kokhba

(Aramaic: “Son of a Star”). Simeon ben Kosiba, the leader of the last and most successful Jewish rebellion against Rome in 132-135 CE. He died in battle when the rebellion was defeated. Rabbi Akiba believed he was the Moshiach (Messiah).

Bar (Bat) Mitzvah

(Heb., “son (daughter)-of-the-commandment(s)”). The phrase originally referred to a person responsible for performing the divine commandments of Judaism; it now refers to the occasion when a boy or girl reaches the age of religious majority and responsibility (thirteen years for a boy; twelve years and a day for a girl). In Christianity, compare confirmation.

Baruch Habah

(masc.) Welcome.

Bat

(Heb., “daughter,” “daughter of”). Used frequently in “matronymics” (naming by identity of mother); see also ben.

Baum Gruppe (Herbert Baum Group)

Small, clandestine anti-Nazi organization founded in Berlin at the beginning of the Nazi regime by Herbert and Marianne Baum. It was composed of young people, primarily Jewish members of the Communist party, as well as a number of Zionists. Its activities centered around increasing education, political, and cultural awareness, but it also engaged in one act of spectacular sabotage: The bombing of an anti-Soviet exhibit in Berlin. Most of the members were denounced, tried, and executed between July 1942 and June 1943.

Bavli

Jewish shorthand term for the Babylonian Talmud.

B.C.E. or b.c.e.

(“before the common era”). An attempt to use a neutral term for the period traditionally labeled “BC” (before Christ) by Christians. Thus 586 B.C.E. is identical to 586 BC.

Beit Hillel

(Lit. “House of Hillel”). A school of thought during the Talmudic period, generally contrasted with the stricter, more legalistic views of Beit Shammai.

Beit Knesset

(Lit. “house of assembly”). A Hebrew term for a synagogue.

Beit Midrash

(Lit. “house of study”). A place set aside for study of sacred texts such as the Torah and the Talmud, generally a part of the synagogue or attached to it.

Beit Shammai

(Lit. “House of Shammai”). A school of thought during the Talmudic period, generally contrasted with the more lenient, humanistic views of Beit Hillel.

Belzec

One of the six extermination camps in Poland. Originally established in 1940 as a camp for Jewish forced labor, the Germans began construction of an extermination camp at Belzec on November 1, 1941, as part of Aktion Reinhard. By the time the camp ceased operations in January 1943, more than 600,000 persons had been murdered there.

Ben

(Heb., “son,” “son of”; Aramaic bar). Used frequently in “patronymics” (naming by identity of father); Rabbi Akiba ben Joseph means Akiba son of Joseph. See also bat, bint.

Bentsh

To bless, say a blessing. Usually refers to the birkat ha-mazon (Grace after Meals).

Berak(h)ah

(Heb., “blessing,” pl. berakot). In Judaism, an offering of thankfulness that praises God for a benefit conferred or a great event experienced. See also shemonah esreh.

Bereshit

(Heb. “in the beginning”). Genesis, the first book of the Torah.

Bergen-Belsen

Nazi concentration camp in northwestern Germany. Erected in 1943. Thousands of Jews, political prisoners, and POWs were killed there. Liberated by British troops in April 1945, although many of the remaining prisoners died of typhus after liberation.

Berihah

(“flight”). Name of organized underground operation moving Jews out of Eastern Europe, USSR, Balkan, and Baltic countries, into central and Southern Europe between 1944 and 1948, as a step toward their—mostly “illegal”—immigration to Palestine: also name of spontaneous mass movement of Jewish survivors from Europe toward Eretz Israel.

Berit or Brit

(Heb., “covenant”). Used in Judaism especially for the special relationship believed to exist between God and the Jewish people.

Bermuda Conference

Anglo-American Conference on refugees held in Bermuda April 19-30, 1943.

Bernheim Petition

Petition against Nazi anti-Jewish legislation in German Upper Silesia, signed by Franz Bernheim, a warehouse employee in Upper Silesia and submitted to the League of Nations on May 17, 1933.

Bet Din

Court of Jewish law.

Bet Lohamei Haghettaot

Israeli museum established by survivors of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising.

Bet/Beit Midrash

(Hebrew; bayt); see also midrash, synagogue. In Judaism, a place ( beit = “house”) of study, discussion, and prayer; in ancient times a school of higher learning (see, for example, “house of Hillel”). Similarly, bet am ("house of people”), bet knesset (“house of assembly”) and bet tefillah (“house of prayer”) are designations for locations/functions that came to be included in the general term synagogue; bet din (“house of judgment”) refers to a halakic law court (see also sanhedrin).

Betar

Youth movement of the Zionist Revisionist party (now of the Herut movement).

Bible

(adj. biblical; from Greek biblos meaning “book”). Designation normally used for Jewish scriptures (TaNaK = Protestant Christian “Old Testament”; plus the Apocrypha in classical Christianity) or Christian scriptures (“Old Testament” plus the Christian “New Testament”). See also Septuagint.

Bikkur Cholim

Visiting the ill or hospitalized.

BILU

(1882) Student organization for aliya. Name consists of initials of the words (1883) in verse in Isaiah II:5, “House of Jacob, come, let us go up.”

Bimah

(from beema, “altar”). Location in a synagogue from which worship (see liturgy) is led. See also minbar.

Binah

Intuition, understanding, intelligence. A quality that women supposedly have in greater degree than men. Also, in kabbalistic thought, one of the Ten Sephirot.

Birkat Haminim

(Heb., “(bene)diction concerning heretics”). A prayer that invoked divine wrath upon Christian Jews and other heterodox Jewish groups. Twelfth section of the shemoneh esreh.

Birkat Hamazon

Grace after meals.

Birkenau

The death camp of Auschwitz II and III. Auschwitz II is mostly destroyed; Auschwitz III is destroyed except for a few barracks.

Blasphemy

(Greek, “speak ill, defame”). A general term for speaking against the deity or things associated with the deity. See sacrilege.

Blood Libel

An allegation, recurring during the thirteenth through sixteenth centuries, that Jews were killing Christian children to use their blood for the ritual of making unleavened bread (matzah). A red mold which occasionally appeared on the bread started this myth.

Blut und Boden

(Ger., “Blood and soil”). Phrase used by Hitler to mean that all people of German blood have the right and duty to live on German soil (i.e. in the German Fatherland).

Bormann, Martin (June 17, 1900 - 1945?)

Adolf Hitler's personal secretary. One of the most powerful men in the Third Reich since he controlled access to Hitler. Known as “the Brown Eminence” and “the man in the shadows.” Helped the Führer with his personal finances. Hitler viewed him as an absolute devotee, but he had high ambitions and kept his rivals from having access to Hitler. Was in the bunker during Hitler's last days. Left the bunker on May 1, 1945, and is believed to have died shortly thereafter either by a Soviet shell or by suicide. He was sentenced to death in absentia by the Nuremberg tribunal. The West German government officially declared him dead in 1973.

Bounty

A reward, premium or subsidy, especially when offered or given by a government. A payment for the capture of an “outlaw.” The Gestapo offered a bounty to those who turned in Jews in hiding.

Boycott (anti-Jewish)

Organized activity in Nazi Germany directed against the Jews to exclude them from social. economic and political life.

Bracha

(pl. brachot). Blessing.

Brit Ha-Hayim

Ritual developed by Reform Judaism to celebrate the birth of girls.

Brit (or Berit) Milah

(Heb., “covenant of circumcision”).

Brunnlitz

Brunnlitz was the industrial town in German-occupied Czechoslovakia where Oskar Schindler relocated his Krakow factory in late 1944 as the Soviet Red Army advanced towards Krakow from the east. The weapons factory that Schindler established in Brunnlitz was a sub-camp of the Gross-Rosen concentration camp. Labor camps exploiting Jewish and foreign labor like Brunnlitz were located throughout the Greater German Reich. Brunnlitz, under Schindler, was one of the few camps where Jews were not treated brutally.

Bubeleh

Dear, sweetheart, etc.

Bund

Jewish socialist party founded in Russia (1897), devoted to Yiddish, autonomism, secular Jewish nationalism, and sharply opposed to Zionism.

Bunker

Ghetto slang word for Jews' hiding places within the ghettos.

Burgermeister

German for mayor.

Bystanders

Individuals, or governments, who were indifferent to the plight of the Jews, and other victims of the Nazis. Bystanders did not come to the aid of Jews and other persecuted groups. The great majority of the European populace were bystanders to the destruction of Jews.

C

Cairo Agreement

An agreement reached in November 1969 between the Supreme Commander of the Lebanese Army and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in an effort to regulate the relationship between the Lebanese government and the PLO, and the latter's activity in and from Lebanon.

Calendar

In general, Christianity operates on a "solar" calendar based on the relationship between the sun and the earth (365.25 days per year). The main Christian observances are Easter, Pentacost, and Christmas. The Islamic calendar is "lunar," based on the relationship of earth and moon (354 days in a year). Thus, every 100 solar years are equal to about 103 lunar years. Muslim calendric observances include fasting during the month of Ramadan, followed by the feast of fast breaking (id al-fitr), and the time for pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj) and associated practices such as the Feast of Sacrifice. Judaism follows a lunar calendar adjusted every three years or so to the solar cycle (by adding a second 12th month)—thus “lunisolar.” The oldest Jewish annual observances are Passover/Pesach, Shavuot, Yom Kippur and Sukkoth; other ancient celebrations include Rosh Ha-Shana, Simhat Torah, Hanukkah and Purim. See also B.C.E., CE.

Camp David Accords

Peace agreement reached between Israel and Egypt, the first between Israel and an Arab neighbor, signed March, 1979. Called for normalization of relations and return of the Sinai to Egypt.

Canada

A Nazi euphemism for the storage areas as such camps as Auschwitz.

Candle Shul

Rabbi Nathan Shapiro's Cracow “shtibl” is a three-story white renovated building, built in the 17th century. Legend says that Rabbi Nathan Shapiro, author of “Megalleh Amukot,” a Kabbalistic work, would sit every night, all night by the window, with a candle burning bright. All night he would study. The people in the neighborhood would walk by the shtibl and feel confident, seeing the candle burning brightly. The shtibl became known as the Candle Shul. One night the candle was not burning. The next day, Rabbi Nathan Shapiro was found dead at his study table.

Canon, Canonical Scripture

The collection of books of the Bible recognized as authoritative.

Cantor

(from Latin, “one who sings”). In Judaism, a reciter and chanter/singer of liturgical materials in the synagogue; also used similarly in Christian contexts (choir leader, etc.). Compare hazzan (Islam).

C.E. or c.e.

“common era”; an attempt to use a neutral term for the period traditionally labeled “AD” (Latin anno domini or “year of the Lord”) by Christians. Thus, 1992 CE is identical to AD 1992.

Celibacy

The practice of refraining from sexual relationships in the interest of religious purity, known in Judaism among the Essenes and developed extensively in Christianity (see, priest).

Center for Jewish Culture, Jaegollonlan University

Inside the University, in Cracow, on the site of the oldest synagogue in Poland, this center was established to document the history of the Jews in Poland.

Certificatim

Immigration certificates allocated by the British Mandate Government each year under the quota system.

Chacham

(pl. chachamim) A wise person.

Chachma

Wisdom.

Chag Sameach

A happy holiday (used as a greeting).

Chai

Hebrew word for life. Numerically it represents the number 18.

Chamberlain, Neville (1869-1940)

British Prime Minister, 1937-1940. He concluded the Munich Agreement in 1938 with Adolf Hitler, which he mistakenly believed would bring "peace in our time."

Chanukah/Hanukka(h)

(Heb., “dedication”) A Jewish festival ("of lights") that commemorates the rededication of the Jerusalem temple to more traditional modes of Jewish worship by Judah the Maccabee around 164 B.C.E. See also calendar.

Chanukiah

Menorah used on Chanukah, a nine branched candelabra.

Charoses

A mixture of fruit, wine and nuts eaten at the Passover seder to symbolize mortar used by the Jewish slaves in Egypt.

Chassidus

Teachings that involve Hasidim.

Chatan

Groom.

Chaver

Friend.

Chayav

One who is obligated (chiyuv=obligation).

Chazzan (hazzan)

See cantor.

Cheder

A room or school where Hebrew is taught.

Chelev

The fat surrounding organs, as distinguished from the fat surrounding muscles. Forbidden to be eaten under the laws of Kashrut.

Chelm

A make-believe town of happy, foolish people.

Chelmno

An extermination camp established in late 1941 in the Warthegau region of Western Poland, 47 miles west of Lodz. It was the first camp where mass executions were carried out by means of gas. A total of 320,000 people were exterminated at Chelmno.

Cherem

Excommunication (from cessation of aid, boycott).

Cheshbon Hanefesh

("accounting of the soul") self-examination of your actions' merit, or accounting of your soul's good and bad aspects.

Chevra

Friends; comrades.

Chevra Kadisha

(“holy society”) The group that prepares a body for burial.

Chiliastic

From the Greek for “1000.” Pertaining to the (Christian) belief that Christ will reign for a thousand years in the end-times; also called millenarian (from the Latin).

Chillul Hashem

Desecration of the divine name.

Chok

(pl. chukim). Law from the Torah deemed to be without a humanly-discernable rationale, e.g., the red heifer.

Chol HaMoed

(the Intermediate Days; the "work days" of Passover and Sukkoth). The Festivals of Passover and Sukk both have holidays at the beginning and end (though technically the holiday at the end of Sukk is a separate holiday), and “intermediate days” in the middle. During these days, much work is permitted, but many holiday laws remain in effect.

Chometz (chametz, hametz)

Leavened food, which is forbidden during Pesach.

Chosen People

According to the Torah, Jews were chosen by God to receive the Torah and given the special responsibility (or duty) to be “A Light Unto The Nations,” thereby, spreading the word of God.

Christology

From Greek christos, “anointed.” The Christian study of the Christ concept in its various associations and applications (e.g. as historical Jesus, Christ of faith, in his relation to God and to other humans, in his passion and redemptive work, as royal or priestly or prophetic figure, as eschatological agent, etc.).

Chumash

The five books of the Torah, bound in one volume (not a scroll).

Chumra

Stringency—custom of a community to observe more strictly.

Chuppah

See huppah.

Churchill, Winston (1875-1965)

British Prime Minister, 1940-1945. He succeeded Chamberlain on May 10, 1940, at the height of Hitler's conquest of Western Europe. Churchill was one of the very few Western politicians who recognized the threat that Hitler posed to Europe. He strongly opposed Chamberlain's appeasement policies.

Chutzpa(h)

Something outrageous.

Circumcision

(from Latin, “to cut around”). The minor surgical removal of the skin covering the tip of the penis. In Judaism, it is ritually performed when a boy is eight days old in a ceremony called brit milah, which indicates that the ritual establishes a covenant between God and the individual. In Islam, it is performed at any time up to the age of puberty, depending on the cultural tradition (e.g., birth, 7 years, puberty, etc.). See also baptism.

Classical Judaism, Christianity, Islam

The forms of the religions that have survived as traditional throughout the centuries. See rabbinic, orthodox, sunni.

Clauberg, Dr. Carl

SS Physician infamous for his experiments in sterilizating Jewish women at Auschwitz, in Barracks 11.

Clergy

In Christian contexts, the body of ordained men (and in some churches women) in a church, permitted to perform the priestly and/or pastoral duties, as distinct from the laity to whom they minister. In Judaism, the rabbinate (see rabbi). Islam has no formal clergy in this sense.

Cohen

See kohen. Priest (Judaism).

Collaboration

Cooperation between citizens of a country and its occupiers.

Collective Responsibility

The doctrine which asserts that a group is responsible for the actions of its individuals, and can therefore be punished for those actions.

Commandments

(mitzvot; sing., mitzvah). According to rabbinic Jewish tradition, there are 613 religious commandments referred to in the Torah (and elaborated upon by the rabbinic sages). Of these, 248 are positive commandments and 365 are negative. The numbers respectively symbolize the fact that divine service must be expressed through all one's bodily parts during all the days of the year. In general, a mitzvah refers to any act of religious duty or obligation; more colloquially, a mitzvah refers to a “good deed.”

Comite de Defense des Juifs

"Jewish Defense Committee"—An underground movement in Belgium established in 1942.

Concentration Camps

Immediately upon their assumption of power on January 30, 1933, the Nazis established concentration camps for the imprisonment of all “enemies” of their regime: actual and potential political opponents (e.g., communists, socialists, monarchists), Jehovah's Witnesses, gypsies, homosexuals, and other “asocials.” Beginning in 1938, Jews were targeted for internment solely because they were Jews. Before then, only Jews who fit one of the earlier categories were interned in camps. The first three concentration camps established were Dachau (near Munich), Buchenwald (near Weimar) and Sachsenhausen (near Berlin).

Confirmation

A ceremony found in both the Christian religion and in some branches of the Jewish religion. A sacrament of the Catholic Church, it marks the admission of the person to full membership in the church (takes place between ages 7-14). A rite of passage in Judaism, confirmation usually marks the end of formal religious school training (age 15-16), and traditionally occurs around the time of Shavuot.

Conservative Judaism

A modern development in Judaism, reacting to early Jewish Reform movements in an attempt to retain clearer links to classical Jewish law while at the same time adapting it to modern situations. Its scholarly center in the U.S. is the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York.

Contra fact

A musical technique that places new lyrics into melodies of old songs. This technique was used during the Holocaust, when lyrics were being written faster than composers could generate the music.

Conversion, Convert

(from Latin, “to turn around”). In general religious usage, the act of changing allegiance from one group to another. In (especially evangelical) Christian usage, it can also mean to accept a particular interpretation of the Christian faith.

Covenant

A pact between two parties. The major covenants in Jewish scriptures are God's covenant with Abraham (Genesis 15), and the Sinai/Moses covenant (Exodus 19-24) between God and Israel. In Judaism, the covenant (Heb., brit) is a major theological concept referring to the eternal bond between God and the people of Israel grounded in God's gracious and steadfast concern (hesed) that calls for the nation's obedience to the divine commandments (mitzvot) and instruction (torah). For Christianity (e.g., Paul), God has made a “new covenant” (rendered as “new testament” in older English) with the followers of Jesus/Joshua in the last times, superseding the “old covenant” (thus, “old testament”) with Moses at Sinai (see Jeremiah 31.31-34).

Cracow/Krakow

City in southern Poland, one of the most important for Jews from the 14th century. In 1495, Kazimierz was created, later becoming a part of Cracow. In 1939, 60,000 Jews lived in Cracow in 1939, but only about 4,000 survived the Holocaust.

Creed(s)

A general term (from Latin) for “belief” declarations or summaries such as the Christian apostles' or Nicene creeds, or in Judaism the shema affirmation, or in Islam the shahada kalima).

Crematorium

A building which housed ovens used for the burning of bodies to be made into ashes, mostly found in the extermination camps.

Cult

(sometimes “cultus,” from Latin). A general term for formal aspects and interrelationships of religious observance, often as focused on a particular phenomenon (e.g., the “temple cult,” the “cult of saints”).

Cyprus

British-occupied island in the Mediterranean that served as a detention center for Jews attempting to enter Palestine “illegally”.

Czerniakow, Adam (1880-1942)

Head of the Warsaw Judenrat. He committed suicide on July 23, 1942, to protest the killing of Jewish children. His diary consisted of 1,009 pages in 8 notebooks, from Sept. 6,1939, until the day of his death.

D

D'var torah

(pl. divrei torah, “word of Torah”). A Torah discourse, homily or sermon.

Dachau

Nazi concentration camp in southern Germany. Erected in 1933, this was the first Nazi concentration camp. Used mainly to incarcerate German political prisoners until late 1938, whereupon large numbers of Jews, Gypsies, Jehovah's Witnesses, homosexuals, and other supposed enemies of the state and anti-social elements were sent as well. Nazi doctors and scientists used many prisoners at Dachau as guinea pigs for experiments. During the war, construction began on a gas chamber, but it never became operational. Dachau was liberated by American troops in April 1945.

Dati/Lo Dati

Dati = religious, lo dati=not religious, as used in current Hebrew in Israel, but it is a black and white distinction, meaning Orthodox and not Orthodox.

Daven

Pray (from Yiddish, with a particular emotional sense).

David

Jewish folk hero around 1000 B.C.E., to whom many biblical psalms are attributed and who is credited with politically and militarily uniting the ancient Israelite amphictyony into a centralized kingdom with Jerusalem as its capital. David is said to have planned for the Temple that his son and successor Solomon built.

Days of Awe

Ten days from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur, a time for introspection and considering the sins of the previous year.

Dead Sea Scrolls

See Qumran.

Death Camp

Nazi extermination centers where Jews and non-Jews were brought to be put to death as part of Hitler's Final Solution.

Death Marches

Forced marches of prisoners over long distances and under intolerable conditions was another way victims of the Third Reich were killed. The prisoners, guarded heavily, were treated brutally and many died from mistreatment or were shot. Prisoners were transferred from one ghetto or concentration camp to another ghetto or concentration camp or to a death camp.

Decalogue

A Greek term referring to the ten commandments (aseret hadibrot) received by Moses on Mount Sinai according to Jewish scriptures (Exodus 20.1-17; Deuteronomy 5.1- 21).

Declaration Of Independence

Proclamation read in Tel Aviv by David Ben Gurion on May 14, 1948, declaring Eretz Yisrael, the historical and spiritual homeland of the Jewish people, an independent state, to be known as the State of Israel.

Declaration Of Principles (DOP)

Agreement signed September 13, 1993, between Israel and the P.L.O., affirming mutual recognition and legitimacy. The P.L.O. agreed to end the intifada and terrorist activity and to amend its charter calling for the destruction of Israel. Israel agreed to grant the P.L.O. civil autonomy over the majority of Gaza and the West Bank.

DEF (Deutsche Email Fabrik)

This is the name of the factory Oskar Schindler established in Krakow. The building still stands and houses yet another factory. When Schindler arrived in Krakow in September 1939, he purchased, at a very low price, and by the process of “Aryanization,” the old Jewish Rekord factory in a suburb of Krakow. With the benefit of Jewish capital, Jewish labor, and Jewish expertise, he reorganized the factory and began producing enamel bowls and other kitchenware for the German army. Schindler named his new business Deutsche Email Fabrik, or German Enamel Factory (DEF). It became the “haven” for an estimated 1,100 Krakow Jews. Schindler repeated a fortune from his factory, but later spent much of it bribing Nazi officials on behalf of the Jews.

Degania

The first collective settlement in Palestine, the kvutza Degania, is located south of Lake Kinneret, where the Jordan River emerges from the lake. It was established in 1909 by a group of pioneers on land acquired by the Jewish National Fund, and named Degania for the Hebrew “dagan,” meaning grain. In 1911, a second group, which based itself on the principles of collectivism, made Degania the “mother of the collective settlements.” A.D. Gordon, an early member, played an important role in laying the ideological foundations for collective living. Hundreds of kibbutzim and kvutzot were later founded on this model, and together they created a singular enterprise of modern Jewish rural settlement in Eretz Israel - the kibbutz.

Deicide

The killing of God, an accusation hurled against Jews throughout the centuries, blaming them for having killed the divine son of God and thereby God.

Deity

From Latin deus, God.

Demiurge

(from Greek, “maker” [lit. “one who works in the context of the community/people”]). A philosophical concept found in Platonism to designate the divine agency by which the physical world came into existence. The idea was taken over in Christian gnosticism to distinguish the creator of the physical world (often seen as evil) from the superior/good God who is completely unconnected with matter.

Denarii

Roman Republican coins, originally cast in silver and worth 10 asses; known as a “penny” in the New Testament.

Deportation

The forced transport of people outside of the area where they live.

Deror

Zionist-socialist pioneering youth movement.

Der Judenstaat

“The Jewish State”—the book by Theodor Herzl (founder of the Zionist Movement) in which he expressed his ideas about the form a Jewish state in Eretz Yisrael should take.

Der Stürmer

(“the assailant”). Anti-Semitic German weekly, founded and edited by Julius Streicher, appeared in Nuremberg between 1923 and 1945.

Desecrating the Host

Jews were accused of defiling the Host, the sacred bread used in the Eucharist ritual, with blood. The red substance that can grow on bread which has a blood-like appearance is now known to be a mold. This allegation was used as the reason for a series of antisemitic attacks.

Deutero Isaiah

From Greek, in scholarly usage Second Isaiah (chapters 49 - 55) and Third Isaiah (chapters 56 - 65).

Devarim

(“words,” “things”). The fifth book of the Torah (Deuteronomy).

Development Towns

New towns established to provide for urban growth, but essentially to house immigrants since 1950's, succeeding the ma'abarah, transitional camp, which had been widely used since 1948. Its goal was to offer communities both homes and employment opportunities, although it often did not succeed in raising initial lower economic status; used primarily for immigrants of Sephardi and eastern origin.

Diaspora

Greek “scattering.” Often used to refer to the Jewish communities living among the gentiles outside the “holy land” of Canaan/Israel/Palestine.

Die Juden sind under Ungluck

“The Jews are our misfortune.” A Nazi slogan.

Dietary laws

For Judaism, see kosher. Islam also has certain prohibitions regarding foods.

Din

Law, judgment.

Dispensationalism

A modern conservative Protestant position that divides history into various periods of divine activity (dispensations or households), each of which is identified by a specific characterization.

Displaced Persons (DPs)

Term used to describe people who had been driven out of their homes as a result of Nazi decrees and WW II.

Doctrine

A general term for a formally defined belief (e.g., the doctrine of the resurrection in Christianity), or for the total system of beliefs ("Christian doctrine").

Dogma

In Christianity, an authoritative statement of belief; official doctrine; can also be used as a general term.

Dolchstoss

(Ger., "Stab in the back,"). Myth that the German military had not been defeated in World War I, but that the Germans had been "stabbed in the back" by Jews, socialists and liberals who forced them to surrender.

Dor De'ah

("generation of wisdom"). Religious movement in Yemen opposed to mystical trends.

Drasha

Interpretation of a Torah passage (often a creative interpretation, from a root meaning "search").

Dreidel

Four-sided, top-like toy used during Chanukah.

Druze

A religio-political sect deriving from Islam with communities in Syria, Lebanon and Israel.

Dukhn

Perform the kohen's blessing before the congregation.

Dulag

Abbreviation for German word Durchgangslager; a German transit camp for prisoners of war.

Dulagluft

Abbreviation for German word Durchgangsluftwaffelager; a German transit camp for captured Allied airmen.

Dunam

Unit of land area used in Israel (1,000 sq. meters., approximately 1/4 acre).

Dybbuk

An evil spirit.

E

Early Judaism

Also sometimes called “formative,” “proto-,” “middle,” and even “late” Judaism. Refers to Judaism in the intertestamental period (and slightly later) as a development from the religion of ancient Israel, but prior to the emergence of its classical, rabbinic form in the early centuries CE.

Ebionites, Ebionism

A Judeo-Christian sect (or category) in the 2nd-4th centuries CE; accepted much of Mosaic Torah (circumcision, sabbath, etc.) but rejected sacrifices; accepted Jesus/Joshua as messiah but not his divinity; some Ebionites opposed the doctrines of Paul.

Eden

The name of paradise in the Jewish biblical account in Genesis 1, where Adam and Eve were created.

Eichmann, Adolf (1906-1962)

SS Lieutenant-colonel and head of the “Jewish Section” of the Gestapo. Eichmann participated in the Wannsee Conference (January 20, 1942). He was instrumental in implementing the “Final Solution” by organizing the transportation of Jews to death camps from all over Europe. He was arrested at the end of World War II in the American zone, but escaped, went underground, and disappeared. On May 11, 1960, members of the Israeli Secret Service uncovered his whereabouts and smuggled him from Argentina to Israel. Eichmann was tried in Jerusalem (April-December 1961), convicted, and sentenced to death. He was executed on May 31, 1962.

Eicke, Theodor (1928-1943)

Eicke joined the Nazi party and the SA in 1928. He transferred to the SS in 1930. Appointed commandant of Dachau in 1933, Eicke later became the inspector of concentration camps. He was known for his cruel treatment of prisoners, which became the norm in concentration camps. In 1939 Eicke was given command of the Death's Head division of the Waffen-SS. He was killed on the eastern front on February 16, 1943.

Ein Sof

(Heb., “without limit”). In Jewish kabbalism, a designation for the divine—“the unlimited one.” In early Judaism and Christianity, refers to those considered to be chosen by God for a specific purpose; in some Christian predestinarian schemes (e.g., Calvinistic), “the elect” are those whom God has chosen (in advance) to have eternal life.

Einsatzgruppen

The four (A, B, C, D) mobile units of the Security Police and SS Security Service that followed the German armies into the Soviet Union in June 1941. Their charge was to kill all Jews, as well as Soviet commissars and "mental defectives." They were supported by units of the uniformed German Order Police and used local Ukrainian, Latvian, Lithuanian, and Estonian volunteers for the killings. The victims were shot and buried in mass graves. At least 1.3 million Jews were killed in this manner.

Einsatzkommando

Company-sized component of the Einsatzgruppen.

Eisenhower, Dwight D.

American general and 34th president of the United States between 1953-61. In 1942 he was name U.S. Commander of the European Theater of Operations. He commanded the American landings in North Africa and in February 1943 became chief of all the Allied forces in North Africa. After successfully directing the invasions of Sicily and Italy, he was called to England to become chief commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces. He was largely responsible for the cooperation of the Allied armies in the battle for the liberation of the European continent.

Election

A term used theologically in Judaism to indicate God's choice of Israel to receive the covenant—a choice not based on the superiority or previous accomplishments of the people, but on God's graciousness (see covenant). In Christianity, the concept of election was applied to the “new Israel” of Jesus' followers in the last times.

Eliyahu Hanavi

Elijah the Prophet.

Elohim, El

Hebrew general term for deity. See also YHWH.

Emet

(Heb., “Truth”).

Emuna(h)

(Heb., “faith”). See faith.

Endlosung

The “final solution” to the Jewish problem, the campaign of extermination against the Jews of Europe.

Entartete

Degenerate.

Eretz Yisrael/Israel

(Heb., “land of Israel”). In Jewish thought, the special term for the Palestinian area believed to have been promised to the Jewish people by God in the ancient covenant.

Erev

(“evening”). Usually the evening before a holiday.

Ermächtigungsgesetz

“The Enabling Law” passed March 24, 1933.

Erntefest

“Harvest Festival.” The Erntefest massacre was the single largest killing operation against the Jews in the entire war--42,000 total, surpassing the 33,000 who were killed in the Babi Yar massacre outside of Kiev.

Erusin

Betrothal.

Eschatology

(adj. eschatological; from Greek eschaton, “last” or “the end-time”). Refers in general to what is expected to take place in the “last times” (from the inquirer's perspective); thus the study of the ultimate destiny or purpose of humankind and the world, how and when the end will occur, what the end or last period of history or existence will be like. See also chiliastic/millenarian, apocalypse/apocalyptic.

Essenes

The name of a Jewish sub-group in the 1st century CE according to Josephus, Philo and other sources. See also Qumran.

Esther

One of the heroes of the story of Purim. Also, the book in the Bible that tells her story.

Etiology

(also aetiology), from the Greek for "cause or origin." A term used to describe or label stories that claim to explain the reason for something being (or being called) what it is. For example, in the old Jewish creation story (Genesis 2.23), woman (Heb., ishshah) is given that name because she has been “taken out of (the side or rib of) man” (Heb., ish).

Etrog

A citron; “the fruit of goodly trees” (Leviticus 23.40) carried in procession in the synagogue with the lulab during the festival of Sukkoth (Feast of Tabernacles).

Eugenics

The social Darwinist principle of strengthening the qualities of a race by controlling inherited characteristics. Term coined by Francis Galton in 1883.

Europa Plan

Scheme for the ransom of about 1,000,000 Jews remaining in Europe to save them from extermination initiated by the "Working Group'' of Bratislava in the autumn of 1942.

Euthanasia

The original meaning of this term was an easy and painless death for the terminally ill. However, the Nazi euthanasia program took on quite a different meaning: the taking of eugenic measures to improve the quality of the German “race.” This program culminated in enforced “mercy” deaths for the incurably insane, permanently disabled, deformed and “superfluous.” Three major classifications were developed: 1) euthanasia for incurables; 2) direct extermination by “special treatment”; and 3) experiments in mass sterilization.

Euthanasia Program

The program under which the Nazis murdered the people they deemed socially and genetically inferior. It was carried out under the code name "T4" (from the address "4 Tiergartenstrasse" of the Euthanasia Program’s headquarters).

Evian Conference

Conference on refugee problems attended by representatives of 31 countries held at Evian les-Bains in France in July 1938.

Exilarch

(Aramaic, resh galuta, "head of the exile"). A term used in early rabbinic Judaism for the head of the Jewish community in exile in Babylonia. The exilarch was depicted as an imperial dignitary, a member of the council of state, living in semi-royal fashion, who appointed communal officers and judges and was a descendant of the house of David.

Exile

See galut.

Existentialism

A modern philosophical position that has influenced Jewish and Christian thought significantly, with emphasis on the idea that meaningfulness must be created by people, to whom only existence is given.

Exodus

(from Greek “to exit or go out”). Refers to the event of the Israelites leaving Egypt (see also Passover) and to the biblical book (see Pentateuch) that tells of that event. Also name given to ship that left France July 11, 1947, carrying 4,500 immigrants. Challenged and boarded by the British Navy—three Jews were killed. Immigrants were forcibly transported back to Germany in British transport ships. Subject of film and novel of same name by Leon Uris.

Extermination Camps

The six major extermination camps were established as part of the Final Solution, in Poland. They were Cheimno, Belzec, Sobibor, Auschwitz-Birkenau, Treblinka and Majdanek.

Eytse

Advice.

Ezra

Name of a person in the Hebrew Bible with whom the reestablishment of Judaism in Jerusalem in the 5th century B.C.E. is associated. The events are recorded in a biblical book known by his name, and he is also associated with apocryphal books and traditions.

F

Faith

A general term for religious belief used both of an attitude (to have faith) and of a collection of doctrines (the faith). See also emuna.

Fascism

A social and political ideology with the primary guiding principle that the state or nation is the highest priority, rather than personal or individual freedoms.

Fatah

The largest and most important of the organizations that make up the PLO. Fatah, which means "conquest" in Arabic, was founded in secret in the late 1950s and appeared publicly on the scene in 1965. In 1968 it took over the PLO, and its leader, Yasir Arafat became the organization's chairman.

Fifth Of Iyar

Date State of Israel was founded—May 15, 1948.

Final Solution

(Ger. Endloesung). In Nazi terminology, the Nazi planned mass murder and total annihilation of the Jews.

First Temple Period (ca. 850 - 586 B.C.)

Ended with destruction of the First Temple and exile of the Hebrews.

Fleishig

(Yiddish: meat). Used to describe kosher foods that contain meat and therefore cannot be eaten with dairy. See Kashrut.

Four Species

Fruit and branches used to fulfill the commandment to “rejoice before the L-rd” during Sukkot.

Frank, Hans (1900-1946)

Governor-General of occupied Poland from 1939 to 1945. A member of the Nazi Party from its earliest days and Hitler's personal lawyer, he announced, “Poland will be treated like a colony; the Poles will become slaves of the Greater German Reich.” By 1942, more than 85% of the Jews in Poland had been transported to extermination camps. Frank was tried at Nuremberg, convicted, and executed in 1946.

Frick, Wilhelm (1877-1946)

A dedicated Nazi bureaucrat who was appointed Minister of the Interior in 1933 where he was responsible for enacting Nazi racial laws. In 1946, he was tried at Nuremberg, convicted, and executed.

Frum

Observant (often with a right-wing Orthodox implication).

Führer

Leader. Adolf Hitler's title in Nazi Germany.

Fuhrerstaat

The “leader state”, Germany after 1933.

Fundamentalism

A term originally applied to conservative, Bible-centered Protestant Christians (many of whom now prefer to call themselves "evangelicals"), but more recently extended to apply to the religiously authoritarian of all sorts (including classical Christians, Jews, and Muslims) who interpret their scriptures literally and in general favor a strict adherence to certain traditional doctrines and practices.

G

G'milut Chasadim

Acts of loving kindness.

Gabriel

An angel or archangel from Jewish tradition who is closely associated with the virgin birth in Christianity, and with the revelation of the Quran in Islam.

Gadna

Gedudei Noar—Israeli youth corps run by Ministry of Defense for pre-military training of teenagers.

Gadol

Huge, large, great, a leading Torah personality.

Gahal

Israeli political party established in 1965 by two opposition parties--Herut and the Liberal Party.

Galut

(Heb., “exile”). The term refers to the various expulsions of Jews from the ancestral homeland. Over time, it came to express the broader notion of Jewish homelessness and the state of being aliens. Thus, colloquially, “to be in galut” means to live in the diaspora and also to be in a state of physical and even spiritual alienation.

Gamar Chatimah Tovah

“May you be sealed (in the Book of Life) for (a) good (year).”

Gan Eden

The Garden of Eden.

Ganzenmüller, Albert

The state secretary of the Reich Transportation Ministry from 1942-45, Ganzenmüller was responsible for overseeing the German railway system during the period in which approximately three million Jews were transported to the death camps by rail. After the war, he escaped to Argentina, but returned to Germany in 1955. In 1973 Ganzenmüller was brought to trial, but died of a heart attack during the proceedings.

Gaon

(pl. Geonim; adj. geonic; Heb., “eminence, excellence”). A title given to the Jewish head of the Babylonian academy and then to distinguished talmudic scholars in the 6th to 12th centuries.

Gas Chamber

Method used by the Nazis for “efficient” mass murder. The Nazis developed both mobile and stationary versions. Originated in December 1939.

Gauleiter

Supreme territorial or regional party authority(-ies). The Nazi Party divided Germany and some annexed territories into geographical units called Gaue, headed by a Gauleiter.

Gaza-Jericho Accord (Cairo Agreement)

May 4, 1994, agreement implementing Israel's withdrawal of forces from the Gaza Strip and Jericho. The agreement detailed various aspects of Palestinian self-rule, including the respective roles of the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian police force, as well as border arrangements. The Cairo Agreement was superseded by the Interim Agreement (“Oslo II”) of September 28, 1995.

Gaza Strip

Narrow, 25-mile long strip of land along the Mediterranean Sea that Israel captured from Egypt in the 1967 War. A hotbed of anti-Israeli terrorism for many years, the region is home to 750,000-800,000 Palestinian Arabs, in addition to about 4,000 Jews. The Cairo Agreement of May 4, 1994, has led to autonomy for the Gaza Strip's Palestinian residents within the framework of an Israeli military withdrawal from the region.

Gedud Ha-Avodah

First country-wide commune of Jewish workers in Palestine, founded in 1920.

Gefangenschaft

German word for imprisonment.

Geiger, Abraham (1810-1874)

Early Jewish reform advocate in Germany, noted for his scholarship, his modern prayer book, and his advocacy for Judaism as a “world religion.”

Gemara

(Heb., “completion”). Popularly applied to the Jewish Talmud as a whole, to discussions by rabbinic teachers on Mishnah, and to decisions reached in these discussions. In a more restricted sense, the work of the generations of the amoraim in “completing” Mishnah to produce the Talmuds.

Gematria

An interpretative device in rabbinic Judaism that focuses on the numerical value of each word.

General Government (Generalgouvernement)

Territory in Poland administered by a German civilian governor-general with headquarters in Cracow after the German occupation in World War II.

Genizah

(Heb., “hiding”). A hiding place or storeroom, usually connected with a Jewish synagogue, for worn-out holy books. The most famous is the Cairo Genizah, which contained books and documents that provide source material for Jewish communities living under Islamic rule from about the 9th through the 12th centuries. It was discovered at the end of the 19th century.

Genocide

The partial or entire destruction of religious, racial or national groups.

Gentile(s)

(Latin for people, nation). In pre-Christian times, used to refer to non-Jewish peoples; thereafter, for non-Jewish and non-Christian (roughly synonymous with "pagan").

Geonic

See Gaon.

Gerstein, Kurt (1905-1945)

Head of the Waffen SS Institute of Hygiene in Berlin. While maintaining ties with the resistance, Gerstein purchased the gas needed in Auschwitz, officially for fumigation purposes, but actually used for the killing of Jews. He passed on information about the killings to Swedish representatives and Vatican papal nuncios. Overwhelmed with remorse he hanged himself in a French jail after the war.

Gesia Cemetery

The largest Jewish cemetery in Warsaw—with more than 300,000 graves—just outside the location of the Warsaw Ghetto. More than 100,000 tombstones are in various states of disrepair.

Gestapo

(Geheime Stastspolizei). The Nazi Secret State Police. The name was created from the first letter of the German name Geheime Staats Polizei. Established in Prussia in 1933, its power spread throughout Germany after 1936. The Gestapo’s chief purpose was the persecution of Jews and dissident political parties. Under Himmler’s direction, the Gestapo was a prime force in the murder of the six million Jews.

Get

(pl. gittin). Jewish practice related to divorce. A get is a Jewish divorce.

Gezeirah

A law instituted by the rabbis to prevent people from unintentionally violating commandments.

Ghetto

The Nazis revived the medieval ghetto in creating their compulsory “Jewish Quarter” (Wohnbezirk). The ghetto was a section of a city where all Jews from the surrounding areas were forced to reside. Surrounded by barbed wire or walls, the ghettos were often sealed so that people were prevented from leaving or entering. Established mostly in Eastern Europe (e.g., Lodz, Warsaw, Vilna, Riga, Minsk), the ghettos were characterized by overcrowding, starvation and forced labor. All were eventually destroyed as the Jews were deported to death camps.

Gleichschaltung

(Ger., “Coordination”). In Germany, everything was coordinated into the Nazi Ideals.

Glücks, Richard

In 1936 Glücks became chief aide to Theodor Eicke and eventually succeeded Eicke as the inspector of concentration camps. Glücks was responsible for the construction of Auschwitz and the creation of the gas chambers. In 1942 he was made head of an SS Wirtschafts-Verwaltunghauptamt unit. He died in May 1945, presumably a suicide.

Gnostic, Gnosticism

Derived from Greek, gnosis, meaning “knowledge.” Refers to various systems of belief characterized by a dualistic view of reality—the God who created the material, phenomenal world (see demiurge), is different from (often antithetical to) the ultimate (hidden) God of pure spirit. Possession of secret gnosis frees a person from the evil material world and gives access to the spiritual world. Gnostic thought had a great impact on the eastern Mediterranean world in the 2nd to 4th century CE, often in a Christian form. See also mystic, and hikma in Islam.

God

Judaism teaches that there is one universal God, and that humans have a direct relationship with God.

Goebbels, Joseph

Goebbels joined the Nazi party in 1924 and became the party's chief of propaganda in 1930. He was responsible for garnering support for the Nazis among the general population. After Hitler's rise to power in 1933, Goebbels became the minister of propaganda and public information. He controlled the media and oversaw the “Nazification” of public discourse and written materials. He supervised the publication of Der Stürmer and conducted the propaganda campaign against the Jews. He was responsible for the book burning of May 10, 1933. On the day following Hitler's death, Goebbels and his wife committed suicide in Hitler's bunker, after first ordering the murder of their six children, all under the age of thirteen.

Göring, Hermann (1893-1946)

An early member of the Nazi party, G"ring participated in Hitler's “Beer Hall Putsch” in Munich in 1923. After its failure, he went to Sweden, where he lived (for a time in a mental institution) until 1927. In 1928, he was elected to the Reichstag and became its president in 1932. When Hitler came into power in 1933, he made Göring Air Minister of Germany and Prime Minister of Prussia. He was responsible for the rearmament program and especially for the creation of the German Air Force. In 1939, Hitler designated him his successor. During World War II, he was virtual dictator of the German economy and was responsible for the total air war waged by Germany. Convicted at Nuremberg in 1946, Göring committed suicide by taking poison just two hours before his scheduled execution.

Gola

The Exile (Diaspora) — lands of the dispersion outside of Israel. Also, galut.

Golan Heights

Militarily and strategically important region that Israel captured from Syria in the Six-Day War. Prior to 1967, Syria terrorized Israeli farmers in the Galilee by shelling them from the Heights. The late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin indicated his willingness to give up parts of the Golan as part of a peace treaty with Syria.

Golem

An unintelligent, subhuman creature, which, according to Jewish legend, was created as a protector and servant of the Jews.

Gonif

A thief, a dishonest person.

Gordonia

Pioneering Zionist youth movement.

Goy

Hebrew word for nation or people; Yiddish word for non-Jew that is sometimes used pejoratively.

Grager

A noisemaker used to blot out the name of Haman during the reading of the Megillah on Purim.

Great Synagogue

The main “seat” of the Warsaw rabbinate, destroyed by the Nazis. A curse was placed on the razed site.

Greater German Reich

Designation of an expanded Germany that was intended to include all German speaking peoples. It was one of Hitler's most important aims. After the conquest of most of Western Europe during World War II, it became a reality for a short time.

Green Line

The “border” separating pre-1967 Israel from the West Bank.

Grynszpan, Herschel (1921-1943)

A Polish Jewish youth who had emigrated to Paris. He agonized over the fate of his parents who, in the course of a pre-war roundup of Polish Jews living in Germany, were deported to the Polish frontier. On November 7, 1938, he went to the German Embassy where he shot and mortally wounded Third Secretary Ernst vom Rath. The Nazis used this incident as an excuse for the kristallnacht pogrom.

Guide for the Perplexed

Maimonides masterpiece of Jewish philosophy and theology, written from the perspective of an Aristotelian philosopher. See also Maimonides.

Gush Emunim

(Bloc of the Faithful). Israeli religious group that believes the “Greater Land of Israel” is the fulfillment of the Zionist dream and a step in the redemption process and, therefore, opposes the return of territory conquered by Israel in Six Day War.

Gypsies

A nomadic people, believed to have come originally from northwest India, from where they immigrated to Persia by the fourteenth century. Gypsies first appeared in Western Europe in the 15th century. By the 16th century, they had spread throughout Europe, where they were persecuted almost as relentlessly as the Jews. The gypsies occupied a special place in Nazi racist theories. It is believed that approximately 500,000 perished during the Holocaust.

H

Ha'apalah

Aliya Bet—illegal immigration to Israel in ships attempting to break through the British blockade around Palestine before and after World War II. Ma'apilim—illegal immigrants.

Ha-Olam Ha-Zeh-Koah Hadash

Political party in Eretz Israel founded in 1965.

Ha-Oved Ha-Dali

A religious workers faction in the Histadrut founded in 1943.

Ha-Oved Ha-Ziyyoni

(''The Zionist Worker"). Israeli labor movement founded as a Histadrut faction in 1935.

Ha-Po'el Ha-Mizrachi

Religious pioneering and labor movement in Eretz Israel, founded in 1922.

Ha-Po'el Ha-Zair

Labor party founded in Palestine in 1905, merged in 1929 with Ahdut ha-Avodah and, in 1930, created Mapai.

Ha-Shomer Ha-Za'ir

Zionist socialist pioneering youth movement founded in 1916 in Vienna, which eventually spread around the world.

Haavara

A company for the transfer of Jewish property from Nazi Germany to Palestine, established in Tel Aviv in August 1933.

Habdalah/Havdalah

(Heb., "separation"). The Jewish ceremony using wine, spices and candles at the conclusion of the Sabbath. Smelling the spices signifies the hope for a fragrant week; the light signifies the hope for a week of brightness and joy.

Habonim

International youth movement stressing Hebrew language, culture, and settlement in Eretz Yisrael, and with strong ties to kibbutz movement.

Hadassah

Jewish women's Zionist organization headquartered in the United States.

Haftara(h)/Haftorah

In Jewish liturgy, designates a specific section of the biblical prophets read in synagogue services immediately after the corresponding Torah (Pentateuch) section called the parasha(h).

Häftlingspersonalbogen

Prisoner registration forms at the camps.

Haganah

Clandestine Jewish organization for armed self-defense in Palestine under the British Mandate, that eventually became the nucleus of the Israel Defense Forces.

Haggada(h)

(Heb., “narration”; see also aggada[h]). In a general sense, in classical Jewish literature and discussion, what is not halaka (legal subject matter) is (h)aggada (pl. haggadot). Technically, "the Haggada(h)" is a liturgical manual used in the Jewish Passover Seder.

Hakam

(pl. hakamim or hakmim; "the wise"). A Jewish title given to pre-70 CE proto-rabbinic sages/scholars and post-70 CE rabbinic scholars.

Haimish

Comfortable, informal, cozy.

Halaka(h)/Halakha/Halacha

(adj. halakic). Any normative Jewish law, custom, practice, or rite--or the entire complex. Halaka is law established or custom ratified by authoritative rabbinic jurists and teachers. Colloquially, if something is deemed halakic, it is considered proper and normative behavior.

Halbanat Panim

(Heb., “whitening the face”). Causing someone to blanch by public embarrassment.

Halevai/Alevai

If only; I hope.

Halitzah

A ceremony related to the Jewish Levirate law of marriage, which frees the widow to marry someone other than her husband's brother. In this ceremony the widow removes a shoe from her brother-in-law's foot, which is symbolic of removing his possessive right over her. See also levirate marriage (see Deut. 25:9-10).

Halutz

(pl. halutzim). Pioneer, especially in agriculture, in Palestine.

Halutziyyut

Pioneering.

Haman

The villain of the story of Purim.

Hamas

Arabic acronym for the Islamic Resistance Movement, a fundamentalist group that rejects all discussion of peace with Israel, including the current Israeli-PLO negotiations. Responsible for many terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and Palestinian so-called “collaborators” with Israel, Hamas states in its covenant that “[t]he Day of Judgement will not come about until Muslims fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees.” Recent evidence has indicated that Hamas carries out substantial fundraising and organizational work in the United States.

Hamashbir Hamerkazi

The main wholesale supplier for consumers' cooperatives and labor settlements in Israel, founded (as Hamashbir) in 1916.

Hamentaschen

(Lit. Haman's pockets). Triangular, fruit-filled cookies traditionally served or given as gifts during Purim.

Haredi

Ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel.

HaShem

("the name"). Commonly used to refer to God, while avoiding casual use of His name in conversation.

Hashgacha

Ritual supervision, most often used in terms of kashrut/dietary laws, although it can also refer to spiritual or moral supervision as in a yeshiva or dormitory.

Hasidim, Hasidism

(Heb., “pious ones”). The term may refer to Jews in various periods: (1) a group that resisted the policies of Antiochus Epiphanes in the 2nd century B.C.E. at the start of the Maccabean revolt; (2) pietists in the 13th century; (3) followers of the movement of Hasidism founded in the first half of the 18th century by Israel Baal Shem Tov.

Haskalah

Jewish rationalistic “enlightenment” in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Europe. See maskilim, Mendelson, reform.

Hasmoneans

Descendants of Hashmon, a Jewish family that included the Maccabees and the high priests and kings who ruled Judea from 142 to 63 B.C.E.

Hatikvah

National anthem of Israel. The words were written by Naftali Herz Imber (about 1870). The melody is a folk song based on a tune which is known in many European countries in various forms.

Hazzan

See cantor.

He-Halutz

An association of Jewish youth whose aim was to train its members to settle on the land in Eretz Israel.

Heaven

A term used variously to designate such locations as the abode of a deity, or the place where those favored by God will ultimately arrive, or an area of (spiritual) activity above the material earth or the place where spiritual/ideal realities abide. See also paradise.

Hebrew

(from Heb., “to pass over,” “cross over”). An old name given to the people of Israel, and also to their language.

Heimwehr

German home defense force during World War II.

Heksher

Kosher certification.

Hell

(also Hades). Place of punishment for the departed dead who do not attain to heaven, especially in Christian eschatology. See also sheol.

Hellenism

(adj. hellenistic; Greek word for "Greekish"). The civilization that spread from Greece through much of the ancient world from 333 (Alexander the Great) to 63 (dominance of Rome) B.C.E. As a result, many elements of Greek culture (names, language, philosophy, athletics, architecture, etc.) penetrated the Near East.

Heresy

(from Greek for “sub-group, sect”). See minim, heterodox, also orthodoxy.

Heretic, Heretical

See heterodox, orthodox.

Hermeneutics

Principles of interpretation (from the Greek, “to interpret, translate”). The term is often used with reference to the study of Jewish and Christian scriptures.

Herod

The Second Testament of the Christian Bible mentions four (“kings” through the grace of Rome) by that name: 1) Herod the Great, a Judaized (or proselytized) Idumaen, ruled Judea tyrannically with Roman backing. He died 4 BCE, around the time Jesus was born (Matthew 2:1 ff.). He is said to have ordered the murder of the infants in Bethlehem. 2) Herod Antipas was the second son of Herod the Great (Matthew 14:1; Luke 3:1). He killed John the Baptist (Mark 6:14 ff.). 3) Herod Agrippa I, was a grandson of Herod the Great. He is mentioned in Acts 12:1ff. 4) Herod Agrippa II was a son of Agrippa I. He is mentioned in the passage Acts 25:13 - 26:32 (Paul defending himself against accusations of some fellow Jews).

Herodian

Associated especially with Herod “The Great’s” reign 37-4 B.C.; a period of Jewish history from 30 B.C.-70 A.D.

Herrenvolk

“Master Race,” Nazi term for the Aryan Germans who were destined to rule the world.

Herut

Political movement in Eretz Israel established in 1948 by the Irgun-Zevai Le'ummi to continue as a parliamentary party with the ideals of Vladimir Jabotinsky.

Herzl, Theodor

German Jewish author of Der Judenstaat (The Jewish State) in 1896, which served as a catalyst to the development of modern Zionism.

Hesed/Chessed

Kindness.

Hess, Rudolf (1894-1987)

Deputy and close associate of Hitler from the earliest days of the Nazi movement. On May 10, 1941, he flew alone from Augsburg and parachuted, landing in Scotland where he was promptly arrested. The purpose of his flight has never become clear. He probably wanted to persuade the British to make peace with Hitler as soon as he attacked the Soviet Union. Hitler promptly declared him insane. Hess was tried at Nuremberg, found guilty, and sentenced to life imprisonment. He was the only prisoner in Spandau Prison until he apparently committed suicide in 1987.

Heter

Permission (usually a rabbinic ruling that permits something).

Heterodox

Greek for “other opinioned.” Refers to opinions or positions that differ from what is considered “orthodox” or “traditional” at the time. A less judgmental term than “heretical,” but with similar import.

Hevrat ha-Ovdim

Umbrella organization of all the cooperative and independent economic enterprises of the Histadrut founded in 1928.

Heydrich, Reinhard (1904-1942)

the SS Security Service (SD), a Nazi party intelligence agency. In 1933-1934, he became head of the political police (Gestapo) and later of the criminal police (Kripo). He combined Gestapo and Kripo into the Security Police (SIPO). In 1939, Heydrich combined the SD and SIPO into the Reich Security Main Office. He organized the Einsatzgruppen which systematically murdered Jews in occupied Russia during 1941-1942. In 1941, he was asked by G"ring to implement a “Final Solution to the Jewish Question.” During the same year he was appointed protector of Bohemia and Moravia. In January 1942, he presided over the Wannsee conference, an meeting to coordinate the “Final Solution.” On May 29, 1942, he was assassinated by Czech partisans who parachuted in from England. (For consequences of this assassination, see Lidice).

Hezbollah (Party of God)

Iranian-backed Islamic fundamentalist terrorist organization, based in predominantly Shi'ite areas of southern Lebanon, that has launched numerous attacks on Israeli soldiers and civilians.

Hibbat Tzion (Zion)

(Heb., “Love of Zion.”). A popular movement for the redemption and rebuilding of Israel which sprang up among the Jews in Russia and spread to other countries at the end of the 19th century. Hovevei Tzion—its members.

Hiddur Mitzvah

Beautifying physical objects involved in a mitzvah, or otherwise adding to a mitzvah an esthetic sense.

Hillel

Often called by the title "the Elder." Probably a Babylonian, Hillel was an important sage of the early Jewish period in Palestine around the turn of the era. His teachings convey the Pharisaic ideal through many epigrams on humility and peace (found in Sayings of the Fathers, 1-2); and were fundamental in shaping the Pharisaic traditions and modes of interpretation. In rabbinic lore, Hillel is famous for a negative formulation of the “golden rule” (recited to a non-Jew): “What is hateful to you do not do to your fellow man. That is the whole Torah, the rest is commentary. Go and learn it.” His style of legal reasoning is continued by his disciples, known as Beit Hillel (“House/School of Hillel”), and is typically contrasted with that of Shammai (a contemporary) and his school.

Hiloni

Secular Jews in Israel.

Himmler, Heinrich (1900-1945)

As head of the SS and the secret police, Himmler had control over the vast network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps, the Einsatzgruppen, and the Gestapo. Himmler committed suicide in 1945, after his arrest.

Histadrut

(abbr. for Heb. Ha-Histadrut ha-Kelalit shel ha-Ovedim ha-Ivriyyim be- Eretz Israel) Jewish Labor Federation founded in 1920 in Palestine, subsequently renamed Histadrut ha-Ovedim be-Eretz Israel.

Hitler, Adolf (1889-1945)

Führer und Reichskanzler (Leader and Reich Chancellor). Although born in Austria, he settled in Germany in 1913. At the outbreak of World War I, Hitler enlisted in the Bavarian Army, became a corporal and received the Iron Cross First Class for bravery. Returning to Munich after the war, he joined the newly formed German Workers Party which was soon reorganized, under his leadership, as the National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP). In November 1923, he unsuccessfully attempted to forcibly bring Germany under nationalist control. When his coup, known as the “Beer-Hall Putsch,” failed, Hitler was arrested and sentenced to 5 years in prison. It was during this time that he wrote Mein Kampf. Serving only 9 months of his sentence, Hitler quickly reentered German politics and soon outpolled his political rivals in national elections. In January 1933, Hindenburg appointed Hitler chancellor of a coalition cabinet. Hitler, who took office on January 30, 1933, immediately set up a dictatorship. In 1934, the chancellorship and presidency were united in the person of the Führer. Soon, all other parties were outlawed and opposition was brutally suppressed. By 1938, Hitler implemented his dream of a "Greater Germany," first annexing Austria; then, (with the acquiescence of the western democracies), the Sudetenland (Czech province with ethnic German concentration); and, finally, Czechoslovakia itself. On September 1, 1939, Hitler's armies invaded Poland. By this time the western democracies realized that no agreement with Hitler could be honored and World War II had begun. Although initially victorious on all fronts, Hitler's armies began suffering setbacks shortly after the United States joined the war in December 1941. Although the war was obviously lost by early 1945, Hitler insisted that Germany fight to the death. On April 30, 1945, Hitler committed suicide rather than be captured alive.

Hityashvut

(Lit., settlement). Refers to agricultural settlement founded on collective or cooperative ideas and principles based on self labor.

Hok Hashvut

Law of Return (1950) grants right of immigration to Israel to every Jew.

Holocaust

(from Greek, entire burnt offering). A term used in recent times to refer to the Nazi German policy to exterminate the Jewish people during World War II.

Holocaust Revisionists

Those who deny that the Holocaust ever happened.

Holy Spirit

(“holy ghost” [archaic]). In Judaism, the presence of God as evidenced in the speech of the prophets and other divine manifestations; in Christianity, understood more generally as the active, guiding presence of God in the church and its members.

Homa Umigdal

Tower and stockade. Type of collective settlement built as a stronghold to withstand Arab attacks during the British Mandate period and strategically defending the Jewish people settling in the land.

Hoshanah Rabba

(Lit. great hosanna). The seventh day of Sukkot, on which seven circuits are made around the synagogue reciting a prayer with the refrain, “Hosha na!” (please save us!).

Hospitallers

The knights of the “Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem,” commonly known as the Hospitallers, devoted themselves to caring for pilgrims, and set up a hospital and a hostel near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Höss, Rudolf

A member of the SS, Höss held various positions in Dachau under Theodor Eicke before he was assigned to Auschwitz in May 1940. He became the camp's first commandant. At Auschwitz Höss oversaw the operation that murdered more than one million people. At the end of the war, he adopted the name Franz Lang and escaped detection by the Allies. In March 1946, however, he was recognized and arrested. He was tried in Poland and sentenced to death. Höss was hanged in Auschwitz on April 16, 1947.

Humanism

A modern term used (sometimes pejoratively) for the position that focuses on human values and needs without special concern for arbitrary religious traditions or values. Also applied more traditionally to the embracing of classical Greek and Latin values, rediscovered through classical learning (as contrasted to late Medieval scholasticism; see also renaissance).

Huppah or Chuppah

In Judaism, the special canopy under which a marriage ceremony is conducted.

Hymn

(from Greek, "to sing praise"). A general term for poetic chants or songs of praise (usually to God); see piyyutim, yigdol, liturgy, prayer.

I

IDF

Acronym for Israeli Defense Forces.

Idolatry

A Greek term for the worship of what are perceived to be “idols” or false “gods,” forbidden in the biblical traditions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

I.G. Farben

A German conglomerate of eight chemical companies, including BASF, Bayer, and Hoechst, that made extensive use of slave labor. In close partnership with Hitler, I. G. Farben established factories near concentration camps to take advantage of the large pools of forced laborers. Its Buna works near Auschwitz manufactured synthetic rubber from coal or gasoline. I. G. Farben was an important contributor to Hitler's rearming of Germany and the actual war effort.

IKL

(Ger. Inspektor der Konzentrationslager) Inspector of concentration camps.

Ilag

Abbreviation for German word Interniertenlager — a civilian internment camp in World War II.

Illegal Immigration

Immigration to Eretz Yisrael 1940-1948, where most entered British-controlled country through clandestine operations or forged documents. Associated with Ha'apalah or Aliyah Bet.

Imitatio Dei

From Latin, the imitation of God. The Jewish scriptures (the Bibel as well as the Talmud) contain numerous passages which descibe God in human terms (see anthropomorphism). They are not only meant to show that God is personal and accessable to God's people, but that Godself acts according to the commandments given to Israel and sets the example to be followed. Fulfilling the commandments of Torah is an imitation of God and can therefore never be viewed as “legalism” (as Christians have tended to portray it). The imitatio Dei lies at the root of rabbinic Judaism. It has to be understood to appreciate the Christian teaching about the imitation of Christ, who imitated God by living the Torah.

Interim Agreement (“Oslo II”)

Agreement signed between Israel and the PLO on September 28, 1995, which stipulated the redeployment of Israeli forces out of Palestinian cities in the West Bank and handing over to the Palestinian Authority civilian control in the West Bank's Palestinian villages in conjunction with Palestinian commitments to Israeli security.

Intifada

(Arabic, lit. “shaking off.”). Palestinian civil uprising in Gaza and the West Bank, December 1987-September 1993, to protest Israeli occupation.

Intertestamental Period

The period in which early Judaism develops, between about 400 B.C.E. (the traditional end date for the Jewish Bible = Christian “Old Testament”) and the 1st century CE (composition of the Christian “New Testament”). The Jewish intertestamental literature includes the Apocrypha (mostly preserved in Greek) and the Pseudepigrapha (works from this period ascribed to ancient authors like Enoch, the patriarchs and Moses). This literature provides important background for understanding the period of Christian origins.

Intrafada

Cycle of violence coinciding with the intifada in which nearly 1,000 Palestinians were killed by other Palestinians on suspicion of “collaborating” with Israel.

Inyan

Idea.

Irgun

See I.Z.L.

Isaac

One of the Israelite patriarchs, the son of Abraham and father of Jacob in the accounts in the book of Genesis.

Israel

A name given to the Jewish patriarch Jacob according to the etiology of Genesis 32.38. In Jewish biblical times, this name refers to the northern tribes, but also to the entire nation. Historically, Jews have continued to regard themselves as the true continuation of the ancient Israelite national-religious community. The term thus has a strong cultural sense. In modern times, it also refers to the political state of Israel. Christians came to consider themselves to be the "true" Israel, thus, also a continuation of the ancient traditions.

I.Z.L.

(Initials of Heb. Irgun Zevai Le'ummi; also Etzel, National Military Organization). Underground Jewish organization in Palestine founded in 1931.

J

Jacob

One of the Israelite patriarchs, the son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham in the accounts in the book of Genesis.

Jerusalem

From the religious viewpoints of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, the main city in ancient Palestine (= modern Israel), where the Temple of David/Solomon had been located, Jesus/Joshua had been crucified/resurrected, Muhammad had journeyed to heaven among other significant things. Thus, for all three religions, in some senses, Jerusalem is a or the “holy city.”

Jehovah

Mechanical attempt to represent the special Jewish name for deity, YHWH.

Jehovah's Witnesses

A religious sect, originating in the United States, organized by Charles Taze Russell. The Witnesses base their beliefs on the Bible and have no official ministers. Recognizing only the kingdom of God, the Witnesses refuse to salute the flag, to bear arms in war, and to participate in the affairs of government. This doctrine brought them into conflict with National Socialism. They were considered enemies of the state and were relentlessly persecuted.

Jew

See Judaism.

Jewish Agency

Organization formed in 1929 as the formal representative of the Jewish community vis-a-vis the British mandatory government. It gradually acquired the attributes of a proto-government for the Jewish community. After the establishment of the State of Israel, the Jewish Agency shifted its focus to issues common to the State and to Jewish communities abroad.

Jewish Brigade Group

Military unit formed in September 1944, which served in World War II in the British army.

Jewish Colonization Association

Organization, founded 1891, to assist Jewish emigration from countries of persecution or depressed economies to countries of opportunity.

Jewish Ghetto Police (OD)

In Poland, as in other occupied territories, the Nazis established Jewish police forces to control the Jewish population in the ghettos. In Krakow, the Jewish police, armed with truncheons, assisted the Nazis in the liquidation of the ghetto.

Jewish Historical Institute

Originally founded by Jews in Cracow as the Jewish historical Commission, it moved to Warsaw after 1951 and is now the main repository of Gestapo records, archives and Jewish ceremonial art. It is located across the street from the site of the Great Synagogue. Its warehouse has a huge collection, hidden from public view.

Jewish Legion

Jewish units in the British army during World War I.

Jewish National Fund

The land purchase and development fund of the World Zionist Organization, founded in 1920.

Jewish Star

The six-pointed star emblem commonly associated with Judaism, also known as the Magen David, the Shield of David or the Star of David.

Jihad

Centuries-old Arabic term translated literally as “holy war” or “endeavor.” In recent years, Muslim fighters, especially in the Arab-Israeli conflict, have used the term almost solely to mean “holy war,” often waged through terrorist attacks on civilians. PLO chairman Yasir Arafat caused a stir when he called for a “jihad to liberate Jerusalem,” even after renouncing the use of violence against Israel. Arafat later said he was using the term to refer to a peaceful religious campaign for Israel's capital.

John

Personal name (Heb. Yohanan; Greek Yohannes) found frequently in Judaism in the Greco-Roman period and in early Christianity. For example, John Hyrkan/Hyrcanus (Jewish king, died 104 B.C.E.), John the Baptizer/Baptist (contemporary of Jesus), John son of Zebedee (one of Jesus' apostles), John “the theologian” (author of the New Testament book of Revelation/Apocalypse), John Chrysostom (4th century church father), John of Damascus (8th century church father). Also the name given to one of the New Testament gospels and to three letters in the New Testament.

Josephus or Flavius Josephus

Jewish general and author in the latter part of the 1st century CE who wrote a massive history (“Antiquities”) of the Jews and a detailed treatment of the Jewish revolt against Rome in 66-73 CE (and his involvement in it).

Judah the Prince

( HaNasi). Head of the rabbinic Jewish community in Palestine around 200 CE. Credited with publication of the Mishnah.

Judaism, Jew

From the Hebrew name of the patriarch Judah, whose name also came to designate the tribe and tribal district in which Jerusalem was located. Thus, the inhabitants of Judah and members of the tribe of Judah come to be called “Judahites” or, in short form, “Jews.” The religious outlook associated with these people after about the 6th century B.C.E. comes to be called “Judaism,” and has varying characteristics at different times and places: see especially early Judaism, rabbinic Judaism. See also Hebrew(s), Israel.

Jude

(Ger.) Jew.

Judea

Southern region of ancient Palestine; the Qumran region was a barren area within the Judean desert which yielded the Dead Sea scrolls treasure.

Judenfrei

“Jew-free”; one of Hitler's and the Nazi's war-aims was a “Judenfrei” Europe.

Judengelb

(Ger., “Jewish yellow”). Term for the yellow Star of David badge that Jews were ordered to wear.

Judenjagd

(Ger., “Jew Hunt”). The process of searching for any Jews who were in hiding after a massacre had occurred.

Judenrat

Council of Jewish representatives set up in communities and ghettos under the Nazis to execute their instructions.

Judenrein

A locality from which all Jews had been eliminated.

K

K'vod Hatzibur

The honor of the community.

Kabala(h) or Kabbala(h)

(Kabalism) (Heb., qabbala, "receiving, tradition"). A system of Jewish theosophy and mysticism. See also kavanah, Zohar.

Kabbalat ol Mitzvot

(Heb., “acceptance of the yoke of the commandments”). Acceptance of commandments as binding.

Kabbalat Panim

A reception for the groom before the wedding ceremony.

Kabbalat Shabbat

Service welcoming the Sabbath.

Kach/Kahane Chai

Two ultra right-wing organizations that have called for the expulsion of all Arabs from Israel. Kach was formed by the late Meir Kahane; Kahane Chai (“Kahane Lives”) was formed after Kahane's 1990 assassination. On the grounds that the Kach party was racist, the Israeli government banned its members from serving in the Knesset. In March, 1994, the government outlawed both Kach and Kahane Chai altogether after Baruch Goldstein murdered 29 Muslims praying at the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron.

Kaddish

A classical Jewish prayer (mostly in Aramaic) with eschatological focus extolling God's majesty and kingdom recited at the conclusion of each major section of each liturgical service; a long version (called rabbinic kaddish) follows an act of