The River Midnight (59 page)

Shekhina
Hebrew, God’s presence in the world, the feminine aspect of God. In Kabbalistic thought, the Shekhina was understood as going into exile with the world when it became separated from God. When the world was healed, the exile would end, and the Shekhina would be reunited with the other divine aspects.

Shiddukh
Match, as between prospective bride and groom.

Shivah
Week of mourning for the death of a family member.

Shlemiel
Loser

Shlep
Carry, drag

Shmaltz
Grease, fat

Shmata
Rag

Shmeckel
Penis; in Yiddish there are many euphemisms for penis, ranging from polite to crude. Shmeckel is the crudest and would never have been used in mixed company.
Der shvantz
, meaning the tail, was a mid-range euphemism. The politest, and the one most used by women, was
der kleiner
, the little thing. See
der kleiner.

Shofar
Hebrew, “ram’s horn,” the instrument blown in the synagogue on the High Holy Days.

Shoin
Soon, already.

Shokhet
The person whose occupation is the slaughter of animals for food according to prescribed religious ritual.

Sholom aleikhem
Literally “peace be upon you,” a greeting frequently responded to with
“Aleikhem sholom”

Shtetl
A Jewish town established by charter.

Shul
Synagogue

Shvitz
Literally “sweat,” refers to a sauna.

Shvyger
Mother-in-law

Simhas Torah
Hebrew, literally “Joy of Torah,” the festival celebrating the acceptance of the Torah. Customs include dancing with the Torah.

Talmud
Hebrew, the book of Jewish religious laws written down in the first two centuries
C
.
E
. along with subsequent commentaries, parables, and moral tales.

Tashlikh
Hebrew, literally “cast off,” referring to the ceremony performed on the first day of Rosh Hashanah when crumbs are thrown into a river or stream to represent cast-off sins.

Tekhinas
Prayers in Yiddish for women, written by both men and women, both for use at home and in the synagogue, dating from the 17th century to the 20th century. New prayers were written on an ongoing basis.

Tekiah
gedolah Hebrew, literally “the great cry,” spoken to signal a long blast on the ram’s horn in which the sound becomes louder toward the end, a difficult feat as the person blowing the ram’s horn is losing breath.

Teshuva
Hebrew, repentance

Tevet
Hebrew month corresponding roughly to December/January

Tishah-b’Av
Hebrew, Ninth of Av, the fast day commemorating the destruction of the ancient temple in Jerusalem.

Torah
Hebrew, “the law,” refers to the five books of Moses in the Bible, sometimes used as a general term to refer to all religious writings of Jews.

Trayf
Forbidden by Jewish dietary law; also used colloquially to mean something prohibited.

Tzena-U-Rena
Hebrew, literally “come and see,” refers to the weekly commentary on the Torah written in Yiddish in the 17th century for women and men illiterate in Hebrew, came to be used exclusively by women and sometimes called the Women’s Bible.

Tzuris
Trouble

Vestel
Embroidered bodice in fashion with Jewish women at the end of the 18th century.

Vilda haya(s)
Wild animal(s), a pejorative term

Vos makht a Yid
Literally, “What’s a Jew doing?” equivalent of “How are You?”

Yetzer-hara
Literally “the evil inclination,” the concept could be more accurately translated as instinctive drive.

Yikhus
Honor due to family lineage of scholars, rabbis, etc.

Yingeleh
Little boy

Yom Kippur
Day of Atonement, a fast day in which neither food nor water are taken; begins at sunset with the Kol Nidrei prayer and continues until the next day at sunset; the most important festival of the year, also called the Great Sabbath.

Zayda
Grandfather

Zetz
Smack, harder than a
potsh

Zogerin
Woman who leads the women in prayer, will also say prayers for women who request them, often at the grave of someone known to be particularly pious.