Tag Archives: Hebrew words

Jewish Word of the Day

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Continuing with the wedding theme, words for bride and groom:

Chatan – Hebrew word for groom.

Kallah: Hebrew word for bride.

Chossen: Yiddish word for groom.

Chatan also refers to a son-in-law, and other connotations, including guest of honor or star of the day. As a verb, it means to ‘tie, connect or covenant.’

This verse is commonly recited at Jewish weddings:

The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who shall say, Praise the Lord of Hosts; for the Lord is good; for his mercy endures for ever; and of those who shall bring the sacrifice of praise to the house of the Lord. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, says the Lord’. Jeremiah 33:11

Sources: Reform Judaism.org, The JC

Jewish Word of the Day

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Aid/Aidim (also spelled Edim) (In Hebrew: עֵד/עֵדִים

‘witness; Jewish law requires two witnesses sign the ketubah (Jewish marriage contract). Customarily, both are Jewish men who are not related to either marriage partner or to one another.  In Reform Judaism both men and women serve as witnesses. ‘

Source: Reform Judaism.org

Jewish Word of the Day

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Gaon/Gaonim – ‘The Jews have never had a papacy, but the nearest thing in moral force in our history was the Gaonate, which lasted from the close of the Talmud to about the year 1000. The decisions of the Gaonim, clarifying and spelling out Talmud law, shaped the life of Jewish settlements all through Europe and Asia. The Gaonim came to an end with the disasters that overwhelmed the community in Babylon… The word ‘Gaon’ survived as a term of honor among Jewish scholars.’

Source: Herman Wouk (1959): This is my God: pp. 213

Jewish Word of the Day

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Chazara b’teshuvah/ Baal Teshuva ‘the term refers to secular Jews who have “returned” to their faith with a newly observant dedication to strict Orthodoxy, and is interchangeable with the term baal teshuvah, used more widely in the United States.’

Source: Tablet

‘The term baal teshuva is from the Talmud, literally meaning “master of repentance”

‘It began during the mid-twentieth century, when large numbers of previously highly assimilated Jews chose to move in the direction of practicing Judaism.’

Source: Wikipedia