Halakhah means, literally, “the path that one walks” and refers to Jewish law. It is the complete body of rules and practices that Jews are bound to follow, including biblical commandments, commandments instituted by the rabbis, and binding customs.

Hallah is the braided bread that is blessed and eaten at the beginning of the Shabbat on Friday at sundown.

Hallel means “praise” and refers to the joyful recitation of psalms of praise and thanksgiving during Jewish festival services, especially Psalms 113-118.

Hanukkah means, literally, "dedication." It is the eight-day Jewish holiday celebrating the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after it was reclaimed from the Seleucid Greeks in 167 BCE. Hanukkah is celebrated with the kindling of the menorah lights and the giving of gifts.

Haroset is a mixture of finely chopped apples, walnuts, and wine served during the Passover meal and popularly said to symbolize the mortar used by the Israelite slaves in Egypt in building for their oppressors.

Hasidic literally means the “pious one,” and Hasidim (pl.) are those who have developed extraordinary devotion to the spirituality of Jewish life. Originally, Hasidism referred to the movement founded in Poland in the mid-18th century by Israel Baal Shem Tov. Today, Hasidism has spread throughout the Jewish world.

A Jewish Enlightenment movement of the 19th century that led to the evolution of modern Hebrew into new literary and spoken forms, leading to the energetic revival of Hebrew as the spoken language of the new state of Israel in the 20th century. The Haskalah Movement led to the emergence of Jewish Biblical Criticism, and is credited, in some ways, with paving the intellectual ground for the modern denominations.

Havdalah means distinction or division, referring specifically to the Jewish ritual that marks the end of Shabbat, the distinction between the holy day and the weekday.

A havurah is a Jewish community in which roles, leadership, and responsibility for worship and study are shared among members as opposed to hiring a rabbi, hazzan, or other trained leaders.

Hebrew is the ancient language of the Israelites in which the Bible and most of Jewish liturgy is written.

Hesed is generally translated as meaning “loving-kindness” in Hebrew. In the Jewish mystical tradition, the “Kabbalah”, it refers to one of the ten creative forces that intervene between the infinite, unknowable God, and our created world.

The Jewish High Holidays are Rosh Hashanah (New Year, literally "head of the year"), and Yom Kippur (literally "day of atonement"). Both fall in the lunar month of Tishri, beginning with Rosh Hashanah and following ten days later with Yom Kippur. These days are called the “Days of Awe” because the entire period constitutes a season of judgment and repentance, forgiveness and spiritual renewal, standing in awe before God.

(also: Shoah) Holocaust (from Greek, entire burnt offering) refers in modern times to the Nazi German campaign to exterminate the Jewish people during the 1930s and 1940s with death camps and gas chambers. Six million Jews died in this Holocaust. In Hebrew, the Holocaust is referred to as “Shoah.”

The huppah is the special canopy under which a Jewish marriage ceremony is conducted. It is symbolic of the Jewish home about to be established.

Isaiah was an 8th century BCE Hebrew prophet whose spiritual vision is recorded in the biblical book of Isaiah, although part of the book (usually said to be ch. 40-55) is commonly held to have been written by a second author of the 6th century BCE, referred to as Deutero-Isaiah.

Literally “Wrestler with God”, Israel is the name given to the Jewish patriarch Jacob and came to refer to the entire nation, bound in an eternal covenant to God. Historically, Jews have continued to regard themselves as the continuation of the ancient religious nation of Israel. In modern times, Israel also refers to the political state of Israel.

Jeremiah was a Hebrew prophet of the 7th century BCE who foresaw the downfall of Jerusalem and the Kingdom of Judah at the hands of the Babylonians in 586 BCE.

Jerusalem, the ancient capital of Israel from the time of King David (c. 1000 BCE), was the ritual and spiritual center of the Jewish people for 1,000 years until the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. For Jews, Jerusalem is still the geographical epicenter of the tradition. For Christians, Jerusalem the site of the mighty events of Christ’s death and resurrection. For Muslims, Jerusalem is the place where the prophet Muhammad came on his Night Journey from Makkah to the very throne of God.

Jewish Renewal refers to a wide variety of contemporary Jewish movements that emphasize Jewish mystical spirituality, Jewish visionary reform, Jewish social conscience, and Jewish participation in tikkun olam, the “repair of the world.”

Joshua was the leader Moses appointed to succeed him after his death, laying his hands upon Joshua and committing to him the leadership of the people of Israel. According to biblical history, Joshua led the Israelites, who had been tested for forty years in the desert, across the River Jordan and into the promised land of Israel.

Judaism is the worldview, the way of life, and the religious practice of the Jewish people, living in covenant with God and in response to Torah, the laws and ethics which guide the pattern of Jewish life. Jews today interpret their three thousand year old heritage in a wide variety of ways and identify themselves along a spectrum of practice and belief, from liberal Reform Jews to Orthodox Jews. As a way of life, Judaism also includes the social and cultural history of a widespread and diverse community of people, some of whom do not think of themselves as “religious.”

The Kabbalah is the Jewish mystical tradition.

Kehillah is a Hebrew term for community, and generally refers to the formal communal structure of European Jewish communities.

Kiddush means sanctification and is a Jewish prayer recited over wine sanctifying the Sabbath or a holiday. The term can also refer to the meal as a whole that accompanies the blessing over the wine.

David was the King of Israel (c. 1000 BCE) credited with uniting the many tribes of Israel into a centralized kingdom with Jerusalem as its capital. David is said to have planned for the Temple in Jerusalem, which was subsequently built by his son Solomon. The Book of Psalms found in the Bible is also attributed to the young David.

A kippah is a headcovering, a skull cap, worn by Jewish men for worship, religious study, meals, or at all times.

Kosher means, literally, “proper” or “correct” and refers to food that is permissible to eat under Jewish dietary laws (kashrut). These dietary laws prescribe what foods may be eaten, how animals must be slaughtered etc.

The third book of the Humash or Five Books of Moses, Leviticus (or Vayikra, meaning ‘And He Called’) details the priestly obligations the formed the spiritual heart of the forty-year journey in the wilderness, as well as the basis for the later service in the Temple in Jerusalem. Leviticus is almost completely devoid of narrative, and is sometimes seen as less accessible than the other four books of the Humash, due to the fact that sacrifices are no longer a part of Jewish ritual life.

Lubavitchers are members of a branch of Hasidism, a Jewish pietistic movement. They take their name from a Russian town called Lubavitch and follow a line of spiritual masters or rebbes, the last of whom was Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902-1994), whom many of his followers regard(ed) as the Messiah.

A mahzor is a Jewish prayer book containing the special liturgies and prayers for High Holy Days and other festivals.