Jewish Word Glossary

C

cacamamie

half-baked, silly

calla

(Heb.) bride

cahr

(Heb.) cold

C.E.

Common Era

Chabad

see "Lubavitch"

chag

holiday, esp. a religious one

chai

(Heb.) life

"Chalilah!"

"G-d forbid!"

challah

braided egg bread for Shabbat and holidays

chalerya

lit.=cholera: (Yid.) crazy one, someone running amuck

chaloshes

(Yid.) dizzy, faint

chalutz

pioneer; early Israeli settler, esp. on kibbutz

cham

(Heb.) hot

chamalyeh

(Yid.) punch, hard hit [n]

chametz

leavened products forbidden on Pesach

Chanukah

winter holiday for defeating the Syrian Hellenists

chanukia

Chanukah menorah

chap

grab

"Chap nit!"

lit.=don't grab: "Not so fast!" "Wait your turn!"

Chareidi

lit.=trembling: fervently practicing Orthodox Jews

charoset

Seder condiment of chopped apples, walnuts, and wine; recalls mortar made by Hebrew slaves in Egypt

"Chas v'sholom"

lit.=mercy and peace: "G-d forbid!"

chasana/ chatuna

wedding

chasid (pl. chasidim)

member of an Orthodox Jewish sect

chatchke(s)

knick-knack(s)

chaver

(Heb.) friend

chavruta

study partner or group

chaya (ruah)

(wicked) wild animal

chayal

lit.=valorous, valiant one: soldier

chayrem

state of excommunication, shunning

Chaim Yankel

An "average Joe"

Chazal

abbr. of Chachomim, Zichronom L'Vracha: our Sages, may their Memories (be) for a Blessing.

chazan

cantor

chazer

pig

chazerai

(Yid.) disgusting stuff, trash

chazuka

claim of ownership based on repeated use

cheder

religious lesson, or where it's held

chesed

(Heb.) kindness

cheshbon

lit.=accounting: bill, invoice, check (at a restaurant)

cheshban nefesh

lit.= accounting of the soul: soul-searching self-evaluation

Cheshvan

2nd Jewish month (Oct-Nov)

chevra kadisha

lit.=holy association: burial society

chidush

innovation; revelation

chilul HaShem

lit.=defamation of the Name: an act or statement that reflects badly on G-d (and the Jewish community).

chinuch

early childhood education

chiyuv

lit.=obligated: one to whom an honor is due in shul

chochma

(Heb.) wisdom

chochom (pl. chochomim)

sage; wise one

chochom b'laila

lit.=a sage at night: said of those who think they are smart, yet no one else can "see" it. 

chodesh

lit.=new (moon): month

Chol HaMo'ed

middle 4 days of 8-day holidays, esp. Pesach and Sukkot; rules of the holiday apply, but work is permitted.

choleh

(Heb.) sick, ill

cholent

24-hour stew for Shabbat, holidays, etc.

choshech

(Heb.) darkness; (Yid.) depression; calamity

choshev

lit.=considerable: important

choson/ chatan

(Heb.) groom

chrain

(Yid.) horseradish

chug

activity group

Chumash

lit.=five: The Five Books of Moses

chuppah

wedding canopy

churban

destruction, ruin [n]

chutzpah

sass, moxy; nerve, gall

chiloni

Israeli non-affiliated Jew

Converso

Jew forced to convert under the Inquistion; a modern descendant living in the southwest U.S.