| Adam | earthling |
| Adam Kadmon | Literally “primordial being,” the dimension of life corresponding to the nonduality of all things as God. |
| adamah | earth |
| Adonai | Lord. A euphemism for the ineffable Name of God derived from the Hebrew verb “to be.” |
| ahavah | love |
| aleph | The first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. |
| ani | I |
| Assiyah | Literally “action,” the dimension of life corresponding to the laws of nature. |
| Atzilut | Literally “emanation,” the dimension of life corresponding to the unity and interdependence of all things in God. |
| Aveinu | Our Father |
| avodah be-bittu | Literally, “the work of annihilation,” meditative emptying of self into the nonduality of God. |
| Ayn | Emptiness |
| Beit Midrash | House of Study |
| Bereshit | Genesis, the first of the Five Books of Moses. |
| Beriah | Literally “creation,” corresponding to the dimension of life that supports self-aware beings. |
| Besht | An acronym for the Baal Shem Tov. |
| bittul she-me-‘ever le-ta’am va-data | Annihilation beyond reason and knowledge, the end of thought. |
| bris | ritual circumcision |
| B’Shalom | In peace |
| chamesh | Five |
| chametz | Leavened foods to be avoided during Passover. |
| Chayyah | Literally “living thing,” corresponding to the fourth level of consciousness where all beings are seen as interconnected and part of the one Being, God. |
| chayyim | life |
| cheshbon hanefesh | Accounting of the soul, a daily review of one’s life assessing the quality of ones actions against the ideals of the thirteen Attributes of God. |
| Chumash | five Books of Moses |
| chuppah | wedding canopy |
| drash | Metaphorical reading of text. |
| Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh | The Name of God revealed to Moses at the Burning Bush. |
| Conventionally translated “I am what I am,” it is more accurately understood as “I am all that was, is, and will be.” | |
| eishet chayil | A woman of valor |
| El | God |
| Elohut | Godhead |
| Gan Eden | Garden of Eden |
| Gemorah | The book of law and ethics that, together with the Mishnah, make up the Talmud, the code book of Jewish living. |
| gerushin | contemplative repetition of a sacred phrase or Name of God. |
| g’valt | expression of shock or sorrow |
| Haggadah | Passover prayer book |
| Halachah | Jewish law |
| Hanukkah | Festival of Light |
| HaRachaman | The Compassionate One |
| HaShem | Literally “the Name” but used to refer to the ineffable Name of God. |
| hitbodedut | Secluding oneself in God. |
| hitpallel | To pray |
| Kalta nafshi | “My soul is obliterated” (Psalm 84:30] |
| kashrut | Jewish dietary laws |
| kavvanah | full attention |
| ketubah | wedding contract |
| Ketuvim | Literally “Writings,” referring to the third section of the Hebrew Bible including Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, etc. |
| ki tov | Good, worthwhile; God’s assessment of creation. |
| klippot | shells |
| l’chayyim | “To life,” the guiding principle behind all Jewish spiritual practices. |
| Lech lecha | “walk inward,” referring to those Jewish spiritual practices that strip away one’s conditioning. |
| lishma | Something done for its own sake. |
| loshen hora | Literally “hurtful speech” but used as shorthand for “avoiding hurtful speech” or for compassionate speech. |
| Ma’ariv | Evening prayers |
| Mashiach | Messiah |
| mazal tov | congratulations |
| mensch | A good, kind, and just person. |
| Menschlichkeit | The way of being good, kind, and just; the way of godliness. |
| meshugas | craziness |
| mezzuzah | Box containing the Sh’ma attached to doorposts. |
| minyan | Prayer quorum of ten people. |
| Mishnah | The book of law and ethics that, together with the Gemorah, make up the Talmud, the book of Jewish living. |
| mitzvah/ mitzvot | Commandment/s or religious obligation/s. |
| mitzaveh | command |
| Mitzrahim | Egypt, “the narrow places” |
| nachas | pride, joy |
| nefesh | Literally “breath,” refers to the level of consciousness found in the autonomic nervous system. |
| Neshamah | Literally “breath,” refers to the egoic or self-aware level of consciousness. |
| Nevi’im | Prophets |
| nun | The Hebrew letter “n.” |
| olam | world |
| or l’goyyim | Light unto the nations. |
| Pesach | Passover |
| Pirke Avot | The Sayings of the Fathers, an ancient anthology of rabbinic teachings |
| pshat | Literally “simple” referring to the surface reading of a text. |
| Rabbeinu | Our Teacher |
| Rambam | Acronym for Rabbi Mosen ben Maimon, also known as Maimonides (10th century). |
| remez | Literally “hint,” referring to the allegorical reading of text. |
| Ribbono shel Olam | Teacher of All Worlds |
| Rosh haShanah | Jewish New Year |
| Ruach | Literally “wind,” refers to the instinctual level of consciousness. |
| Sh’ma | Literally “Listen!” refers to the central affirmation of Judaism : “Listen, O Israel, the Ineffable Reality is our God. The Ineffable is One.” |
| Shabbat | Sabbath |
| shanda | scandal |
| Shavuot | Feast of Weeks celebrating the giving of the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. |
| shivah | Seven day mourning period. |
| Shlemut | Divine wholeness, completeness, nonduality. |
| shul | synagogue |
| siddur | Hebrew prayer book |
| Sod | Literally “secret,” referring to the mystical reading of text |
| Sukkot | Literally “booths,” the structures used to store the harvest, refers to the fall Harvest Festival. |
| tallit | prayer shawl |
| Tanakh | Acronym for the Hebrew Bible: Torah (the Five Books of Moses), Nivi’im (Prophets), and Ketuvim (Writings). |
| tefillah | prayer |
| tefillin | phylacteries |
| teshuvah | Literally “return,” referring to one’s returning attention to the present and rediscovering one’s true nature as a manifestation of God. |
| tikkun | Literally “repair,” refers to the practice of engaging all beings with compassion, justice, and respect. |
| tikkun hanefesh | Literally “repairing the soul,” refers to the practice of engaging oneself in a manner that honors and reveals one’s connectedness to God. |
| tikkun haolam | Literally “repairing the world,” refers to the practice of engaging others in a manner that honors and reveals their unity with all things in God. |
| Torah | Five Books of Moses, also used to refer to the totality of Jewish wisdom teaching. |
| Torah mi Sinai | Torah from Sinai, divine revelation. |
| treif | Not kosher, heretical. |
| tzaddik/tzaddikim | Literally “righteous one/s,” and often used to refer to spiritual masters in the hasidic tradition. |
| tzedakah | Literally “ justice,” refers to acts of financial charity and generosity. |
| V’ahavta | “And you shall love,” the opening line of the prayer that follows the Sh’ma. |
| yadah | Knowing, awareness, consciousness. |
| Yechidah | Literally “unity,” refers to that level of consciousness where all things are seen as the One Thing, God. |
| Yesh | Literally “to exist,” refers to the world of seemingly separate forms. |
| yeshivah | School of Jewish learning. |
| Yetzer haRah | capacity for evil |
| Yetzer haTov | capacity for good |
| Yetzirah | Literally “formation,” the dimension of life corresponding to instinctual behaviors such as the fight or flight response |
| yiddishkeit | Jewishness |
| Yisrael | Israel |
| Yom Kippur | Day of Atonement |
| Yontif (Yiddish) | Holy Days |
| yud | The Hebrew letter “y.” |
| zayde | grandfather |