Names of hevrot are spelled according to the way most frequently used by the Sephardim.
The Hebrew sound het/khaf at the beginning of the word is represented by the letter “h.” If the sound is in the middle of a word, or at the end, it is spelled “kh.”
All words are Hebrew, unless otherwise specified.
anus (pl. anusim) forced converts from Judaism to Christianity
aron ark
abi ha-bat father of the [newborn] daughter being named in the synagogue
Aby Jetomim Father-of-Orphans (name of a hevrah)
aginut the state of being an agunah (see definition below)
agunah (pl. agunot) a woman legally bound in marriage to a man with whom she is not living and unable to marry another
aravit evening prayer
baal-Torah chanter of the weekly portion of the Torah
bar mitzvah a boy thirteen years and a day who is obligated to take on the Jewish obligations of a male adult
bayit house
bet din rabbinical court
bet av house of a father
dayan judge
derashah (pl. derashot) sermon
Ets Haim Tree-of-Life (name of a hevrah)
gadol hador highest rabbinic authority
Gemilut Hassadim Benevolence (name of a hevrah)
get writ of divorce
ha-gomel the blessing pronounced in public for someone who has escaped from danger
hakham (pl. hakhamim) rabbi, scholar of Jewish law
halakhah Jewish law and tradition
halizah ceremony releasing a woman from yibum (see definition below)
harav hamuvhak most authoritative Jewish scholar
haskavah (pl. hashkavot) putting to rest; among the Sephardim a prayer recited by mourners
hazzan cantor
herem ban
hevrah (pl. hevrot) association
Honen Dalim Pitier-of-the-Poor (name of a hevrah)
hupah marriage canopy
kabbalah tradition; Jewish mysticism
kaddish sanctified; prayer for the dead
kahal congregation
kehillot kedoshot holy communities
ketubah (pl. ketubot) marriage contract
kidushin preliminary marriage ceremony
kinyan symbolic transfer of an object to make an agreement binding
Ma-aravim Jews of North Africa
maftir last portion of the parashah or weekly reading of the Torah
mamzer (pl. mamzerim) child born of a union forbidden by the Torah
Maskil el Dal Enlightener-of-the-Poor (name of a hevrah)
matzah (pl. matzot) unleavened bread
Mazon Abanot Nourishment-for-the-Girls (name of a hevrah)
metsitsah third step in a circumcision: sucking the blood by mouth (see also milah and periah)
mikveh ritual bath
milah circumcision; cutting the foreskin with a knife (see also periah and metsitsah) minhag hamakom local custom
minkhah afternoon prayer
minyan quorum of ten men
Mishenet Zequenim Support-for-the-Elderly (name of a hevrah)
mishpakhah clan, family
Mispat Abanot Justice-for-Girls (name of a hevrah)
mitzvah (pl. mitzvoth) commandment
mi’un refusal or protest
mohel circumciser
moredet a rebellious wife
Must’arbim Jews of Arab lands
nedunyah dowry
ner tamid perpetual light
niddah menstruant woman
nisuin last of marriage ceremonies in which the couple stand together under the canopy
parashah weekly biblical reading
Parnasad Almanot Livelihood-for-Widows (name of a hevrah)
periah second step in a circumcision: discovering the flesh (see milah and metsitsah)
Pesakh Passover
pritzut gedola a serious act of sexual indiscretion
posekim rabbinic deciders
rimonim pomegranates; Torah ornaments
Rosh Hodesh first day of a Hebrew month
rubi teacher of Jewish school
sedaca charity
seder home service on the first night of Passover
Sefer Torah (pl. Sifre Torah) Pentateuch
Shabbat (pl. shabbatot) Sabbath
shakharit morning prayer
Shavuot Feast of Weeks; festival celebrated seven weeks after Pesakh
shidukhin engagement
Sidcat Nassim Charity-for-Women (name of a hevrah)
siddur Hebrew prayer book
sivlonot gifts from a groom to his bride
tallit prayer shawl
Shekhinah divine presence
Tanakh Holy Scriptures
tebah reader’s platform in synagogues
tefillin prayer phylacteries
Temime Darech Straightforward-People (name of a hevrah)
teshuvah return; repentance
tevilah immersion ritual bath for proselytes
Tosafot commentaries to the Gemara written by scholars of medieval France
tzeniut modesty
vegia (Port.) vigil
yavam a deceased father
yeshivah (pl. yeshivot) rabbinical academy
yesod the divine phallus in Jewish mysticism
yevamah woman in need of levirate marriage
yibum levirate marriage
yihus lineage
Yom Kipur Day of Atonement
zera shel kaima living offspring; a child brought to term after the death of the father