menorah
Seven- or nine-branched candelabra; commonly refers to the nine-branched Hanukkah lamp; plural: menorot.
Parashah
Torah portion. The five books of the Torah are divided into 54 parashiyot or portions.
Shabbat
"Sabbath;" plural: Shabbatot. Refers to the 7th day of Creation. In the Hebrew Bible, Shabbat is juxtaposed to the construction of the Tabernacle that carried the tablets of the Law throughout the period of wandering.
Shabbat HaGadol
"Great Sabbath;" the Shabbat that precedes Passover.
Shabbat Shuvah
"Sabbath of Return;" the Shabbat (sabbath) between the holidays of Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. A special haftarah is read and traditionally the rabbi gives a sermon related to repentance.
Shabbat Zachor
"Shabbat of Remembrance;" the Shabbat immediately preceding Purim, it takes its name from the additional Torah portion--Deuteronomy 25:17-19--read that day--which begins with the word zachor (remember).
Shabbes
Yiddish and Ashkenazic Hebrew pronunciation for Shabbat (Sabbath).
shofar
Ram’s horn most commonly blown throughout the month of Elul and during the High Holiday season.
Selichot
"Forgiveness;" special penitential prayers recited during Elul and the High Holidays.
Tashlich
"Casting away;" A traditional ceremony held during the Yamim Nora-im (Days of Awe), usually on the first day of Rosh HaShanah, in which individuals symbolically “cast away” their sins or wrongdoings from the past year by throwing breadcrumbs into a flowing body of water.