(All words given below, unless otherwise specified, are Hebrew. The transliteration aims to reproduce the colloquial pronunciation of Hebrew words by German Jews.)

Al Chet. "For the sin," beginning of a confession of sins.

Amhorez. Ignoramus.

Amrazim. Plural of the previous word. Ignoramuses.

Baal-Milchomoh. Soldier.

Baale-Batim. Householders. Substantial and respectable members of the community, who contribute to its support.

Bar-Mitzvah. Religious majority, at the age of thirteen, when a Jewish lad is expected to take all religious duties upon himself.

Bekovet. Honorable; dignified.

Besomim. Spices, used at the ceremony of Habdalah, marking the end of the Sabbath.

Boruch ha-Shem. "Blessed be the Name" (of God).

Charoseth. A mixture of apples, raisins, wine, cinnamon, etc., used at the Seder, symbolic of the mortar which the Israelites prepared in Egypt.

Chas ve-Sholem. "Mercy and peace." Heaven forbid!

Chavrusseh. Society; company.

Chazen. Cantor; precentor.

Chochmes. Wise ideas; oversubtle notions.

Chometz batteln. To do away with all leaven (before Passover).

Chutzpeh. Arrogance; audacity; impudence.

Davvening (?). Reciting the prayers of the liturgy.

Evadde. Assuredly; certainly.

Fromm (Ger.). Pious; observant (of religions and ritual ceremonies).

Gemoreh. The Talmud.

Get. A bill of divorce.

Goy. A non-Jew.

Khille. Jewish congregation; Jewish community.

Kiddush. Sanctification; the ceremony ushering in the Sabbath or a holiday.

Kosher. Ritually permitted.

Maaseh. A story; an anecdote.

Mah nishtaneh ha-Layloh hazeh. "What distinguishes this night" (from all other nights); the question introducing the narrative of the Exodus from Egypt in the Seder service of the Passover nights.

Mairev. Evening service.

Malkeh. Queen.

Matzoth. Cakes of unleavened bread.

Melech. King.

Menorah. Candlestick used on Chanukkah or Sabbath.

Meshugge. Crazy.

Meshummed. Apostate.

Mikveh. Ritual bath.

Minchah. Afternoon service.

Minyan. A company of ten men, the minimum for a public service.

Mishpocheh. Family in the wider sense; collateral branches as well as direct descendants; kin.

Mogen Dovid. "The Shield of David." A Jewish emblem.

Narronim. (Ger. with Heb. ending). Fools.

Nebbich. (Slavic). An expression of pity. Poor thing! Too bad!

Omed. Reading desk of the cantor in the synagogue.

Oser. "Forbidden." Expression of defiance: You bet I won't; I'd like to catch myself, etc.

Oshamnu bogadnu. "We have trespassed, we have dealt deceitfully." First two words in the alphabetic confession of sins.

Ovinu Malkenu. "Our Father, our King." Beginning of the lines of a well-known prayer. See next word.

Ovinu Malkenu chosvenu be-Sefer Parnossoh ve-Chalkoloh. "Our Father, our King, inscribe us in the book of sustenance and maintenance." One line of a well-known prayer.

Parchonim. Riff-raff; small fry; vermin.

Pesach. Feast of Unleavened Bread; Passover.

Pleitegeher. (Heb. and Ger.). An habitual bankrupt.

Posheh Yisroel. "A sinner in Israel"; one who disregards the ceremonial law of Judaism.

Rav. Officiating rabbi.

Rebbetzin. (Heb. with Ger. suffix). Wife of the officiating rabbi.

Roshekol. Head of the Jewish community.

Seder. Home service on the first two nights of the Passover.

Shabbes. Sabbath.

Shabbes Goy. A non-Jew engaged, often by all the families in a Jewish congregation, to do work forbidden the Jew on the Sabbath, such as kindling a fire, etc.

Shadchen. Marriage broker.

Shammes. Verger; beadle; sexton.

Sheitel (Ger.). A covering for the head, to hide the hair of a married Jewess.

Shem Yisborach. "The Name (of God) be blessed."

Shema Yisroel. "Hear, O Israel"; beginning of the Jewish confession of faith.

Shicksel. (Heb. with Ger. suffix). Drastic expression for a non-Jewish girl.

Shikker. Habitual drunkard.

Shiveh. "Seven" days of mourning, immediately after a death occurs in a family.

Shivoh oser be-Tamuz. "Seventeenth Day of Tamuz"; a fast day commemorating the first breach in the walls of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, who took the Temple itself three weeks later.

Shnorrers (Ger.). Beggars.

Sholosh Sudes. The third meal on the Sabbath.

Shul (Ger.). Synagogue.

Shulchan Oruch. The Jewish code of ritual laws, etc.

Sukkoth. Feast of Tabernacles.

Talles. Prayer-scarf.

Talmid Chochom. A Jewish scholar, learned specifically in Jewish lore.

Tashlich. "Thou wilt cast"; ceremony connected with the afternoon of the first day of New Year, and observed at a running stream or at the seashore.

Trefa. Ritually unfit for food.

Tzores. Trials; tribulations.

Waigeschrieen (Ger.). Woe is me.

Yevorechecho Adonay ve-yishmerecho. "May the Lord bless thee and keep thee."

Yichus. Aristocracy; good family connections.

Yiddishkeit (Ger.). Jewishness.

Yom Kippur. Day of Atonement.

Yontef. Holiday; festival.

Zecher Zaddik livrochoh. "The remembrance of the righteous is for a blessing."

Zechus. Merit; privilege.

Zichrono livrochoh. "His memory is for a blessing."

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