Tree of Souls

by Howard Schwartz

  Bara Created.

  Bashert (Yiddish) A person’s destined spouse.

  Bat Kol (Lit. “daughter of a voice”) A heavenly voice.

  Beit Din A rabbinic court convened to decide matters of the Law.

  Beit ha-Midrash A house of study.

  Behemoth A mythical land monster.

  Bereshit (Lit. “in the beginning”) The first word of the Torah.

  Bet The second letter of the Hebrew alphabet and the first letter of the first word of the Torah, Bereshit.

  Birkat ha-Mazon The blessing after meals.

  B’nei Elohim The Sons of God in Genesis 6.

  Borei Create.

  B’rit (Lit. “covenant”) The circumcision given to male Jewish children on the eighth day after birth. (The complete term is b’rit milah, or “covenant of the circumcision.”)

  Derashah A discussion of a portion of the Torah, usually delivered on the Sabbath.

  Din Judgment.

  Dybbuk The soul of one who has died that enters the body of one who is living and remains there until exorcised.

  Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh God’s name meaning “I am who I am” or “I will be what I will be” (Exod. 3:14).

  Ein Sof (Lit. “endless” or “infinite”) The highest, unknowable Infinite Being, filling all worlds of space and time.

  Elohim One of God’s primary names. It literally means “gods.”

  Emet Truth.

  Eretz Yisrael The Land of Israel.

  Even ha-Shetiyyah The Foundation Stone, in the Temple of Jerusalem, that is the cornerstone of creation.

  Gabbai A synagogue warden.

  Gan Eden The Garden of Eden.

  Gehenna The place where the souls of the wicked are punished and purified; the Jewish equivalent of hell.

  Gematria A technique of biblical interpretation in which one word may be substituted for another, as long as their numeric totals are the same.

  Gilgul The transmigration of souls. The kabbalistic equivalent of the belief in reincarnation.

  Guf The Treasury of Souls in Paradise.

  Haggadah Liturgical text read at the Passover Seder that reflects upon the Exodus from Egypt.

  Hagigah A tractate of the Talmud that contains many episodes of a mystical nature.

  Halakhah The code of Jewish religious law, which also includes ethical, civil, and criminal matters.

  Ha-Makom (Lit. “the place”) One of the names of God.

  Ha-Shem (Lit. “the Name”) Used as a substitute pronounciation of God’s name instead of the Tetragrammaton (YHVH).

  Hashmal Amber. A mystical phenomenon as described in Ezekiel 1:4 as a gleam as of amber.

  Hasid (Pl. Hasidim) (Lit. “a pious one”) A follower of Hasidism, a Jewish sect founded by the Ba’al Shem Tov. Hasidim are usually followers of a charismatic religious leader, known as their “rebbe.”

  Havdalah (Lit. “separation”) The ceremony performed at the end of the Sabbath, denoting the separation of the Sabbath from the rest of the week that follows.

  Hayot (Sing. Hayah) Holy creatures that hold up God’s Throne of Glory (Ezek. 1).

  Hekhalot (Lit. “palaces”) Refers to the visions of the Jewish mystics of the palaces of heaven. The texts describing these visions and the ascent into Paradise are known as “Hekhalot texts.”

  Huppah Wedding canopy.

  Ibbur The spirit of a dead sage that fuses with a living person and strengthens his or her faith and wisdom. A positive kind of possession, the opposite of possession by a dybbuk. Kabbalah (Lit. “tradition,” “that which is received”) The primary system of Jewish mysticism; or, the texts setting forth that mysticism. A kabbalist is one who masters this wisdom.

  Kabbalat Shabbat Ceremony for welcoming the Sabbath Queen.

  Kashrut The system of keeping kosher, that is, eating only foods identified as acceptable by the laws of kashrut.

  Kavannah (Lit. “intention”) The spirit or intensity that is brought to prayer and other rituals, without which prayer is an empty form.

  Kelippot (Lit. “shells”) Forces of evil in kabbalistic usage.

  Keter (Lit. “crown”) The first of the ten kabbalistic sefirot.

  Ketubah A Jewish wedding contract.

  Kiddush Blessing over wine.

  Kiddush levanah Blessing of the moon.

  Kivyakhol As if it were possible.

  Kotel ha-Ma’aravi (Generally known as the Kotel) The Western Wall; the western retaining wall of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Also known as the Wailing Wall.

  Lag ba-Omer Festival that falls between Passover and Shavuot.

  Lamed-vav Tzaddikim The 36 just men who are said to be the pillars of the world. Leviathan Mythical sea monster.

  Lilin The daughters of Lilith.

  Lilith Adam’s first wife and later the Queen of Demons, as well as the dark feminine.

  Liliyot Female demons of the night.

  Ma’ariv The evening prayers.

  Ma’aseh (Pl. Ma’asiyyot) A tale or story, often a folktale.

  Ma’aseh Bereshit (Lit. “the Work of Creation”) The mystical doctrine of the secrets of Creation.

  Ma’aseh Merkavah (Lit. “the Work of the Chariot.”) The mystical doctrine associated with Ezekiel’s vision in Ezekiel 1.

  Maggid (Pl. Maggidim) A preacher who confines his talks to easily understood homiletics, such as the Maggid of Dubno. Also, a revelatory spirit invoked by the study of a sacred text.

  Mahzor Holiday prayer book.

  Malkhut (Lit. “kingdom”) The tenth kabbalistic sefirah, identified as Kingdom, which is linked to the Shekhinah.

  Merkavah The Divine Chariot described in Ezekiel’s vision in Ezekiel 1.

  Messiah (Heb. Mashiah, lit. “anointed one”) The redeemer who will initiate the End of Days.

  Met Dead.

  Metatron The highest angel, who was once the human Enoch; sometimes described as a “lesser Yahweh.”

  Mezuzah (Pl. mezuzot) (Lit. “doorpost”) A piece of parchment on which is written the prayer that begins “Shema Yisrael.” It is affixed to the right doorpost of a Jew’s home in accordance with the biblical injunction of Deuteronomy 6:9.

  Midrash A method of exegesis of the biblical text. Also refers to post-biblical Jewish legends as a whole.

  Mikveh The ritual bath in which women immerse themselves after menstruation has ended. It is also used occasionally by men for purposes of ritual purification, and for conversions.

  Minhah The afternoon prayers.

  Minyan A quorum of ten men necessary to hold a prayer service.

  Mitzvot (Sing. Mitzvah) (Lit. “commandments”) The 613 commandments found in the Torah. A mitzvah has also taken on the meaning of a good deed.

  Nehar di-nur (Aramaic) A heavenly river of fire (from Dan. 7:10).

  Neshamah yeterah The “extra soul” that is said to be received on the Sabbath, which departs after the ceremony of Havdalah is performed.

  Niggun A melody, usually Hasidic, sung without words.

  Olam ha-Ba The world to come. Often used as a synonym for heaven.

  Olam ha-Tikkun World of repair or world of restoration.

  Olam ha-Zeh This world.

  Ophanim A category of angels.

  Or ha-Ganuz The hidden light of the Torah.

  Pardes (PaRDeS) (Lit. “orchard”) Often linked to Paradise. Refers to the enticing but dangerous realms of mystical speculation and contemplation symbolized by heavenly ascent.

  Pargod (Lit. “curtain”) The curtain that is said to hang before the Throne of Glory in Paradise, separating God from the angels.

  Peshat Literal exegesis of the Bible.

  Phoenix A mythical bird that has eternal life.

  Piyyut Liturgical prayer.

  Qvittel (Yiddish) A petition given to a Hasidic Rebbe or placed in the Kotel, the Western Wall, as a petition to God.

  Re’em A horned mythological creature of great size, similar to a unicorn or a rhinoceros.

  Refaim Giants in biblical lore.
/>   Rosh Hodesh The holiday celebrating the new moon.

  Ruah Elohim Spirit of God or breath of God.

  Ruah ha-Kodesh The Holy Spirit.

  Samael One of the names of Satan.

  Sar ha-Torah The Prince of the Torah.

  Sefer Book.

  Sefirot (Sing. Sefirah) The ten kabbalistic emanations from Keter to Malkhut.

  Shabbat The Sabbath.

  Shaddai One of the names of God; derivation uncertain.

  Shaharit The morning prayers.

  Shalom Aleikhem Poem recited or sung on the Sabbath evening welcoming the angels.

  She’elat Sefer A method of divination in which a sacred text is opened at random and a passage is pointed to, which is understood to be the reply to the question.

  Shekhinah (Lit. “to dwell”) The Divine Presence, usually identified as a feminine aspect of the Divinity, which evolved into an independent mythic figure in the kabbalistic period. Also identified as the Bride of God and the Sabbath Queen.

  Shem ha-Meforash The Tetragrammaton. The ineffable Name of God.

  Shema The central prayer in Judaism from Deuteronomy 6:4-9. It is read every morning and evening.

  Shemittah A Sabbatical year. Also, a biblical law requiring fields to lie fallow every seventh year. It also refers to an era of existence lasting 7,000 years.

  Sheol The abode of the dead.

  Shevirat ha-Kelim The Shattering of the Vessels. The cosmological myth of Rabbi Isaac Luria, known as the Ari.

  Siddur Prayerbook.

  Sitra Ahra The Other Side. A kabbalistic term for the side of evil.

  Sukkah (Pl. Sukkot) A booth or hut built with its roof covered with vegetation, in which Orthodox Jews take their meals during the seven days of Sukkot.

  Tallit A prayer shawl.

  Tammuz A month of the Jewish religious calendar, corresponding very roughly to July.

  Tanakh An acronym for Torah, Neviim, and Ketuvim, that is, the Five Books of Moses, the Prophets and the Writings, which together constitute the Hebrew Bible (the Protestant Old Testament).

  Targum (Pl. Targumim; Lit. “translation.”) Early Jewish translations of the Bible into Aramaic.

  Tashlikh The Rosh ha-Shanah ceremony held near a body of running water on the first day of Rosh Ha-Shanah, in which one’s sins are symbolically cast into the water.

  Terafim Idols used as household gods in biblical times. Rachel stole Laban’s terafim (Gen. 31:19).

  Tetragrammaton (Greek for “four letters”) The four-letter ineffable Name of God: YHVH. The true pronunciation is believed to have been lost, and the knowledge of it is believed to confer great power. According to one tradition, only one great sage in each generation knows the true pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton.

  Tikkun (Lit. “repair”) Restoration and redemption; in kabbalistic usage, of a soul, or of the cosmos.

  Tishrei The month in which Rosh ha-Shanah, the New Year, is celebrated.

  Tkhines (Yiddish) Women’s devotional prayers.

  Tohu Chaos (Gen. 1:2).

  Tzaddik ha-Dor The leading Tzaddik of the generation.

  Tzaddik (Pl. Tzaddikim) An unusually righteous and spiritually pure person; specifically, a designation for an Hasidic rebbe.

  Tzelem (Lit. “image”) The term used to refer to the image of God in Genesis 1:27.

  Tzimtzum The kabbalistic concept of the contraction of God that took place at the time of the Creation to make space for the world to exist.

  Tzohar Legendary jewel given to Adam and Eve as they were expelled from the Garden of Eden, and hung by Noah to illuminate the ark.

  Ushpizin Seven patriarchal figures who are said to come as guests to the sukkah during Sukkot.

  Vohu Void (Gen. 1:2).

  Yahrzeit (Yiddish) The anniversary of the death of a close relative.

  Yeshivah School for talmudic and rabbinic studies.

  Yetzer ha-Ra The Evil Inclination.

  Yetzer ha-Tov The Good Inclination.

  Yotzer To form.

  Ziz A giant mythical bird.

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  Texts are in Hebrew unless otherwise noted

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