omniavespera | Transliteration Reference Guide (Reply)

I've written up a brief list of Jewish terms/concepts that are referenced in my fic Transliteration—a reference guide, if you will, for those who may be missing out on some cultural context. For further learning, I do encourage you to do your own research!

The Shema: A prayer that’s like the “centerpiece” of temple services. It has a really pretty melody. Also spelled “sh’ma”; the english translation is roughly, “Hear, O Israel: Adonai is our G-d, Adonai is one.”

Lighting the Shabbos candles (and veil): Lighting candles during Shabbat (a holiday celebrated every Friday night) is a tradition done to mark the day of rest. It’s traditional to cover one’s head—men do it with yarmulkes/kippot, and women can do it with a yarmulke or a mantilla.

Tichel: A hair covering or headscarf, typically worn by married Jewish Orthodox women. To cover one’s hair as a married Jewish woman, with a wig or with a tichel, is considered a mitzvah (good deed). In more recent years, some young, unmarried Jewish women have taken up the practice.

Matriarchs: Four women from the Torah who mothered the children who would go on to become the heads of the 12 tribes of Israel, if I remember correctly. Most famous chicks in the Torah (see below).

Yahrzeit/yahrzeit candle: The yahrzeit is the anniversary of someone’s death. On that day, one lights the yahrzeit candle in memorial.

“Mom was Jewish, so we’re Jewish”: Judaism is traditionally passed down through the mother (matrilineality). Even if you weren’t raised by your mother to be Jewish, many Jewish people would still consider you to be a member of the tribe. Less traditional branches of Judaism acknowledge anyone with at least one Jewish parent to be Jewish.

Conservative vs Reform synagogues: These are different branches of Judaism. There are more than just those two. They differ in how they interpret Jewish law and tradition. Note: Conservative Judaism has no relation to political conservatism. More about Jewish denominations here.

Bimah: Stage in a synagogue that holds the ark (with the torah in it) along with chairs for the rabbi/cantor/etc.

Siddur: A prayer book. Shoutout to Siddur Lev Shalem, all my homies love Siddur Lev Shalem.

Torah: The first 5 books of the Hebrew bible (Hebrew bible = what Christians call the Old Testament). It’s handwritten on a large scroll (called sefer torah) and stored in a chamber in synagogues called the ark.

Tallis/tallit: A prayer shawl. Traditionally worn by men? I think? But many Jewish women do wear them.

Hebrew names: when Jewish babies are given a name in Hebrew along with their English name, to be used in religious occasions (not in everyday life). Sometimes the Hebrew names are related to one’s English name, or start with the same letter; sometimes it’s after a relative’s Hebrew name; sometimes it’s totally random.