The Parable and Its Lesson: A Novella

GLOSSARY

Agunah Literally a “chained woman”; a woman who cannot remarry because her husband will not grant her a divorce, or because the fact of his death has not been conclusively established.

Alfasi Isaac Alfasi, eleventh-century talmudist active in Fez, Morocco.

Ashkenaz The Jewish communities along the Rhine Valley in the tenth to thirteenth centuries that were formidable centers of Talmud study.

Av Beit Din The head of a rabbinic court, usually the presiding rabbi of a community.

Avodah Worship.

Beit din Rabbinic court.

Beit midrash Study house.

Bimah A raised platform in the synagogue where the Torah is read.

Dayan Judge in a Jewish court.

Etrog A citrus fruit essential to the observance of the Sukkot festival; it is similar but not identical to a lemon.

Gabbai A volunteer official who oversees the finances of a synagogue and directs the allocation of honors.

Gan Eden Paradise (lit. the Garden of Eden).

Gehinnom The Netherworld, Hell.

Haftarah A portion from the Prophets read after the weekly reading from the Pentateuch on Sabbath mornings.

Halakhah Jewish law and jurisprudence.

Havdalah A ceremony, recited Saturday after sundown, using a candle, spices and wine, that separates the Sabbath from the weekdays.

Ḥidush An interpretation that presents a new insight on a classic text.

Hoshana Rabba The seventh day of the autumn festival of Sukkot.

Kaddish Prayer of praise in Aramaic; also recited by mourners.

Kohen (pl. kohanim) A descendant of the priests who served in the Jerusalem Temple.

Ma’asim tovim Good deeds. Maskilim (sing. maskil) The literate elite in the Jewish community.

Melamed A teacher of young children.

Mezuzah Small box containing a parchment scroll attached to doorways.

Midrash The exegetical and storytelling component of rabbinic texts.

Mikvah Ritual bath used monthly by women after their menses.

Mishnah The code of Jewish law compiled in Palestine around 20 °CE. The text for which the Talmud serves as a commentary.

Mitzvot Commanded deeds; generally, the daily acts a Jew is obliged to perform under Jewish law.

Pilpul Clever dialectical solutions to textual problems, often verging on sophistry.

Rashi Acronym of Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaki, the famous eleventh-century French commentator on the Bible and the Talmud.

Shamash Sexton of a synagogue and assistant to a rabbi.

Shavuot Festival seven weeks following Passover marking the giving of the Torah at Sinai.

Sukkah Booths in which meals are eaten during the festival of Sukkot.

Sukkot The harvest festival that takes place the week following Yom Kippur.

Talit (pl. talitot) Shawl with four fringes worn by men during morning prayer.

Targum An Aramaic translation of the Bible that is traditionally studied along with the Hebrew when studying the weekly portion of the Torah.

Tefillin Black leather boxes and straps containing biblical verses written on parchment, worn by men on the arm and the head during morning prayers.

Tsadik (pl. tsadikim) A righteous person who excels in his relationships both to God and to man.

Yahrzeit The anniversary of the death of a family member.

Yeshivah (pl. yeshivot) Academies of advanced Talmud study.

Yizkor Memorial prayer for the dead recited on major festivals.

Zohar The central text of medieval Jewish mysticism.