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A B C D E G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W Y Z

Aaron

Brother of Moses, chosen as Moses' interlocutor. 

Abba

Father.

Abigail

One of David's wives and a prophetess, known for her cleverness and beauty.

Abraham

Abraham is the first patriarch and the father of the Jewish people. God's covenant - that we will be a great people and inherit the land of Israel - begins with Abraham and is marked by his circumcision, the first in Jewish history. 

Adam

Symbolizes: Creation, humankind. According to the book of Genesis, Adam is the first human being created by God.

Afikomen

The broken half of the middle matza, hidden by the leader of the seder and ransomed back by the children. The seder meal cannot be completed without the return and eating of the afikomen.

Agunah

Traditionally, only a Jewish man can initiate divorce proceedings. Hence an agunah is a woman whose husband has refused her a divorce. She is unable to remarry, though he is permitted to, and any future children she had would be considered mamzerim (a legal category of persons who may not marry except among themselves).

Al Chet

"For the sin ..." – the litany of sins for which we ask forgiveness during Yom Kippur services.

Aleinu

Prayer proclaiming God’s kingship, said near the conclusion of the prayer service.

Aliyah

Amidah

(lit., standing) One of the central prayers of the Jewish prayer service, recited silently, while standing.

Aron Kodesh

lit. holy ark. The ark or cabinet in which the scrolls of the Torah are kept. Often, an aron kodesh is richly decorated.

Ashkenazi

Jew of Northern European descent.