Glossary

Literally, “holiday,” this term usually refers to any of the three Pilgrimage Festivals: Pesach (Passover), Shavuot, and Sukkot.

Hebrew for term meaning, "happy holiday."

A braided egg bread eaten on Shabbat and festivals. Today challah comes in many flavors and varieties, including chocolate chip, gluten free, and vegan. Plural: challot.

Foods not eaten during Passover. Chametz typically includes leavened bread or any food that contains wheat, rye, barley, oats, or spelt, unless production has been supervised to ensure that it has not leavened.

Literally, “dedication of the house;" ceremony during which a mezuzah is affixed to a doorpost.  

A mixture of fruits, nuts, spices and wine eaten as part of the Passover seder. Its color and consistency reminds us of the bricks and mortar used by the Israelite slaves.

"Groom."

Informal group that meets for worship, study and celebration; plural: chavurot, havurot.

Hebrew word for “cantor,” meaning a trained clergyperson who specializes in Jewish liturgical music and leading worship through song. 

Another vegetable, often romaine lettuce, that appears on the Passover seder plate. Chazeret is used in addition to maror as a bitter herb.

"Hebrew school" (old-fashioned). In Eastern Europe, it was elementary school.