Glossary:
"T"

Tefach

A unit of length, approximately equal to eight centimeters, or 3.2 inches.

Tefila

Jewish Prayer.

Tefillin

Usually translated as “phylacteries.” Box-like appurtenances that accompany prayer, worn by Jewish adult males at the weekday morning services. The boxes have leather thongs attached and contain scriptural excerpts. One box (with four sections) is placed on the head, the other (with one section) is placed (customarily) on the left arm, near the heart. The biblical passages emphasize the unity of God and the duty to love God and be mindful of him with "all one's heart and mind" (e.g., Exod. 13.1-10, 11-16; Deut. 6.4-9; 11.13-21). See also Shema.

Tefillin Shel Rosh

(“Tefillin of the head”) Of the two tefillin, the one worn on the head.

Tefillin Shel Yad

(“Tefillin of the hand”) Of the two tefillin, the one worn on the arm.

 

Tehillim

The Book of Psalms, on of the Books of the Tanakh.

Tehiya

(“Revival”) Political party formed in 1978 as a reaction to the peace agreement between Israel and Egypt. Primarily a “hawkish” party, wants to retain Israeli sovereignty over land captured in 1967. Unique because it is composed of both religious and non-religious members.

Tekiah

One of four characteristic blasts of the shofar (ram's horn). See also Rosh Hashanah.

Tel Aviv

Israel's largest and most cosmopolitan city, located along the Mediterranean coast.

Temple

In the ancient world, temples were the centers of outward religious life, places at which public religious observances were normally conducted by the priestly professionals. In traditional Judaism, the only legitimate Temple was the one in Jerusalem, built first by King Solomon around 950 B.C.E., destroyed by Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar around 587/6 B.C.E., and rebuilt about 70 years later. It was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE. The site of the ancient Jewish Temple is now occupied, in part, by the “Dome of the Rock” Mosque. In recent times, “temple” has come to be used synonymously with synagogue in some Jewish usage.

Temple Mount Faithful

A religious group committed to the reconstruction of the Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount.

Templer

German sect that founded settlements in Palestine in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Temporary International Peace in Hebron

The UN Security Council called for a resolution that instituted peace keeping forces in Hebron in response to the Hebron Massacre on March 18, 1994.

Tenet Plan

Israeli-Palestinian cease-fire proposed by CIA director George Tenet. The cease-fire took effect on June 13, 2001, but was quickly broken by the Palestinians, and the plan was never fully implemented.

Terezin (Czech), Theresienstadt (German)

Established in early 1942 outside Prague as a "model" ghetto, Terezin was not a sealed section of town, but rather an eighteenth-century Austrian garrison. It became a Jewish town, governed and guarded by the SS. When the deportations from central Europe to the extermination camps began in the spring of 1942, certain groups were initially excluded: invalids; partners in a mixed marriage, and their children; and prominent Jews with special connections. These were sent to the ghetto in Terezin. They were joined by old and young Jews from the Protectorate, and, later, by small numbers of prominent Jews from Denmark and Holland. Its large barracks served as dormitories for communal living; they also contained offices, workshops, infirmaries, and communal kitchens. The Nazis used Terezin to deceive public opinion. They tolerated a lively cultural life of theater, music, lectures, and art. Thus, it could be shown to officials of the International Red Cross. Terezin, however, was only a station on the road to the extermination camps; about 88,000 were deported to their deaths in the East. In April 1945, only 17,000 Jews remained in Terezin, where they were joined by 14,000 Jewish concentration camp prisoners, evacuated from camps threatened by the Allied armies. On May 8, 1945, Terezin was liberated by the Red Army. (see Baeck, Leo).

Teruah

One of four characteristic blasts of the shofar (ram's horn). See also Rosh Hashanah.

Teshuva(h)

Return, repentance. The objective during the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

Testament

Term for an agreement between two (or more) parties, such as a “last will and testament.” In Jewish tradition, the covenant concept played an important role, and was translated as “testament,” especially in Christian references to the scriptures of the “old covenant” (Old Testament) and the “new” (New Testament).

Tetragrammaton

(Greek, four lettered [name]) See YHWH.

Thanatology

The science of producing death; description given during the Nuremberg trials to the medical experiments performed during the Holocaust.

Theism

The position that affirms the existence of a deity. See also atheism, agnosticism.

Theocracy

From Greek, “divine rule”; the idea that God should be the ultimate ruler, over or instead of human rulers. See zealots.

Theology

From Greek, “study of deity”; a general term for discussions and investigations of things pertaining to God(s), and by extension, to religious matters. One who engages formally in theological studies is called a “theologian.”

Theophany

An appearance of God, or God's presence (e.g. the theophany at Sinai).

Theresienstadt

See Terezin.

T'hillim

Psalms.

 

 

Third Reich

Meaning “third regime or empire,” the Nazi designation of Germany and its regime from 1933-45. Historically, the First Reich was the medieval Holy Roman Empire, which lasted until 1806. The Second Reich included the German Empire from 1871-1918.

Thirteen Principles

Statement of classical Jewish outlook by Maimonides.

Tiberias

One of the famed ancient "walled cities"of Israel, in central Israel, on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee.

Tikkun

printed edition of the Torah which has vocalized and pointed text in one column, and a photographic representation of a Sefer Torah next to it, used to learn to chant Torah.

Tikkun Olam

Correcting [perfecting] the world, repairing the world; an action promoting social justice.

Tikkun Sof'rim

Literally “Corrections of the Scribes;” 18 changes to the Hebrew biblical text to avoid references to God that were deemed unseemly, dating from pre-Rabbinic times.

Tilim

Projections, missiles; also, the range of extinct volcanoes on the Golan Heights.

Tish

The groom's table where the Chatan, his groomsmen, and male family members gather for song and dance before the b'deken. There is a tradition in which the groom tries to give a speech about the current week's Torah portion. The friends and family do everything possible to make sure that the groom's speech does not get delivered.

Tisha be-Av, Ninth of Av

Fast day commemorating the destruction of the First and Second Temples.

Titus, Flavius Vespasianus

Roman emperor (79-81 CE), son of Vespasianus, who accompanied his father in his operations in Galilee, captured Josephus, and in 70 CE destroyed the Second Temple in Jerusalem as the head of the Roman army.

Tiyul

A hike or trip.

Tanzim

Literally means organization in Arabic. This name was given to a part of Fateh that operates as a loose collection of militants for enforcing order. This group is given credit for starting the Al-Aqsa intifada and has engaged in numerous terrorist attacks against Israel.

T'nuva

Produce; cooperative economic institution dating from Mandate times.

Todah Rabah

(Heb.) Thank you.

Torah

(Heb. teaching, instruction) In general, torah refers to study of the whole gamut of Jewish tradition or to some aspect thereof. In its special sense, "the Torah" refers to the "five books of Moses" in the Hebrew scriptures (see Pentateuch). In the Quran, "Torah" is the main term by which Jewish scripture is identified.

Torah min HaShamayim

(Heb. Torah from the Skies) The belief that the Torah was given in its entirity by God to Moses and the Jewish People on Mt. Sinai.

Torah Misinai

(Heb. Torah from Mount Sinai) refers to the doctrine that the entire Torah, including the Oral Law, was given to Moses at Sinai..

Tosefta

(pl. Tosafot) (Heb. supplement) Tannaitic supplements to the Mishnah. Called beraita (extraneous material) in the Talmud.

Totenkofverbande (Death's Head unit or detachments)

Originally members of these units guarded the concentration camps. In 1938 they participated, alongside the Verfügunstruppen, in the occupation of Austria, the Sudetenland and Czechoslovakia.  In 1939, 6,500 of their most experienced members, under the command of the former commandant of the concentration camp Dachau, and Inspector of Concentration Camps 1933-1939, Theodore Eicke, formed the first Waffen SS unit, the Totenkopfdivision. Until mid-1941 its units were employed in policing occupied territories, and the supervision and implementation of deportations and executions.  Immediately prior to the assault on the USSR, the Totenkopfverbände were incorporated in units of the Waffen SS.

Totenkofwachsturbanne (Death's Head Guard Battalions)

These were the units of the SS which guarded the concentration camps during the war, whose members were drawn from the Allgemeine SS.  As the military situation worsened in 1942/43, their more able-bodied members were transferred to the Waffen SS.  The place of these was taken by older members of the SA, soldiers from the armed services who had been wounded and were no longer fit for active duty, and members of the Waffen SS who were not fit for field duties.

Tov

(Heb.) Good.

Transcendent

In theology, the aspect of God that is beyond time and space, as opposed to God's immanence.

Treaty of Versailles

Treaty designed by members of the allied powers in the aftermath of World War I, its' chief objective was to keep Germany from being a future military threat. The Treaty entailed the loss of territory to Germany, the establishment of the Polish corridor which separated East Prussia from the "Fatherland", and required that the German standing army exceed no more than 100,000 men. The treaty also demanded a heavy cost on the German economy in the form of war reparations. Once in power, Hitler began to break all aspects of the treaty.

Treblinka

Extermination camp in northeast Poland (see Extermination Camp). Established in May 1942 along with the Warsaw-Bialystok railway line, 870,000 people were murdered there. The camp operated until the fall of 1943 when the Nazis destroyed the entire camp in an attempt to conceal all traces of their crimes.

Trei Asar

(Aramaic, twelve) The twelve minor prophets in the Tanakh.

Treif/Trayf

Not kosher.

von Tresckow, Major-General Henning

Tresckow was general staff officer of Army Group Center 1941-43. In 1942 made several plans to kill Hitler. Later, he worked with Stauffenberg in implementing Operation Valkyrie. Tresckow had voiced dissent over the actions against Jews and Russian POW's in the East. He committed suicide after the attempted coup of July 20.

Triangle

A color badge worn on the clothes of a concentration camp inmate that disclosed the reason for his incarceration. Green triangles were for criminals; yellow triangles were for Jews; red triangles for political prisoners; purple triangles for Jehovah's Witnesses; pink triangles for homosexuals; black triangles for Roma (Gypsies) and "asocials"; and blue triangles for emigrants.

Tripartite Arab Federation

On April 29, 1963, Egypt, Iraq, and Syria met in Cairo and established the Tripartite Arab Federation with the sworn determination to free Palestine form the Zionists.