Glossary of Terms
| Arbit |
evening prayer. |
| Baal Berit |
father of the newborn child. |
| Baal Teshuvah |
recently penitent Jew. |
| Baal Torah |
singer of the weekly portion of the Torah. |
| Bar Misvah |
ceremony marking the entry of the young Jewish boy as a full member of the community; it takes place when the boy reaches the age of 13. |
| Beracha |
literally “blessing”; term used as a euphemism for punishment. It usually consisted of the expulsion or isolation of the individual from the rest of the community. |
| Berit (pl. beretiot, beritot) |
literally “covenant”; used in reference to the circumcision ceremony. |
| Bet Din |
communal religious court. |
| Birkat hagomel |
A prayer traditionally recited by newly arrived converts from the Iberian Peninsula after escaping the dangers associated with their journey. |
| Bodeque |
ritual meat inspector. |
| Dayan (pl. dayanim) |
rabbinical judge. |
| Darsa (pl. derashot) |
sermon. |
| Dotar (“Santa Companhia de dotar orphans e donzelas pobres”) |
one of the most important charities of the Sephardic Diaspora, based in Amsterdam. It provided dowries for orphans and poor girls from the Portuguese Nation scattered throughout Europe. |
| Escama (pl. escamot) |
Communal statute. |
| Escava (pl. escavot) |
prayer dedicated to the dead, for the repose of their souls. |
| Esnoga |
term used by Portuguese Jews to refer to the synagogue. |
| Espaca |
scholarship awarded to Talmud Torah students. |
| Ets Haim |
Institution created with the intention of supporting poor children to study. |
| Gabai (pl. gabaim) |
treasurer. |
| Get |
divorce document. |
| Goi (pl. goim) |
non-Jew. |
| Guemillut Hassadim |
Funeral charitable institution. |
| Hacham (pl. hachamim) |
literally “wise man”; according to Sephardic tradition, one that holds the title of rabbi. |
| Halacha |
Jewish law. |
| Halizah |
ceremony of renunciation to levirate marriage. |
| Hanuca |
Jewish festival commemorating the rebuilding of Jerusalem (the Second Temple) following the revolt of the Maccabees against the Seleucid Empire. It coincides vaguely with Christmas. |
| Hazacka |
presumption of ownership of statute, property or movable assets. |
| Hazan (pl. hazanim) |
cantor or religious official conducting the synagogue service. |
| Herem (pl. heremot) |
excommunication. |
| Hevrah kadishah |
charitable society. |
| H.H. [Hahacham Hashalem] |
literally “perfect sage”; honorary title awarded to the most revered and wise rabbis. |
| Jachid (pl. jechidim) |
tax-paying member of the congregation. |
| Juízes Louvados/árbitros/homens-bons |
judges appointed to solve communal disputes. |
| Kadish |
hymn recited by the relatives of recently deceased individuals. |
| Kahal (pl. kehilot) |
congregation. |
| Kahal Kadosh Bet Israel |
literally “holy congregation of the house of Israel”; name of the unique congregation in Hamburg after 1652. |
| Keter Torah |
literally “crown of the Torah”; one of the congregations existing in Hamburg before 1652. |
| Kidussin |
ceremony or engagement agreement. |
| Kinyan |
symbolic formal act by which a commitment is sealed. |
| Kodesh |
material (usually of high value) consecrated by the community and belonging to the kahal; it is usually used for synagogue service or for sale. |
| Levirato / acunhadar |
obligation to marry his brother’s widow when the latter leaves no descendants. |
| Magen David |
literally the “shield of David”; one of the congregations of the Portuguese community in Hamburg before the congregational unification. |
| Mahamad |
government of the Portuguese community of Hamburg. |
| Mamzer |
son born of a forbidden relationship between two Jews. |
| Marrano |
a derogatory term for a New Christian or convert. |
| Mazah (pl. mazot) |
unleavened bread made at Pesach time. |
| Medras (pl. midrassim) |
house of study. After the congregational unification of 1652, three of the four existing congregations became study houses according to the statutes of the new general congregation Bet Israel. |
| Meldar |
read and recite religious texts; also learn or study. |
| Mikveh |
ritual bath. |
| Mincha |
afternoon prayer. |
| Miseberach |
prayer recited in a variety of contexts to request blessing. |
| Misvah (pl. misvot) |
a religious commandment; can also refer to a good work. |
| Mohel (pl. mohalim) |
individuals who practise circumcision according to Jewish precepts. |
| Nedava (pl. nedavot) |
voluntary communal donations. |
| Neve Shalom |
literally “abode of peace”; one of the congregations existing in Hamburg before the congregational unification (1652). |
| Oferta |
promise to contribute to charity. |
| Oral Law |
the body of laws passed down orally over generations that subsequently came to constitute the Mishnah and the Talmud. |
| Parnas (pl. parnassim) |
element that makes up the Mahamad’s council. More generally, any administrator appointed to manage the institutions of the community. |
| Pessach |
the Passover; it is one of three pilgrimage festivals and a major Jewish holyday. |
| Pessak |
rabbinic decision on a matter of religious law. |
| Promessa |
see oferta. |
| Purim |
holyday commemorating the liberation of the Jewish people, as told by the book of Esther. |
| Quetubah (pl. quetubot) |
marriage contract. |
| Rasphuis |
Hamburg prison and workhouse where incorrigible offenders were sent. |
| Robi (pl. robissim) |
teachers of the community. |
| Rol de tamidim |
list of the beneficiaries of the communal monthly allowance, the tamid. |
| Rosh Hashanah |
Jewish New Year. |
| Saliach (pl. selichim) |
emissary from the Holy Land sent to request financial aid. |
| Samas (pl. samashim) |
employee responsible for various services inside and outside the synagogue such as maintenance, cleaning, transmitting errands, etc. |
| Sechitah |
the slaughtering of animals in accordance with kashrut (Jewish dietary rules). |
| Sedaca |
literally “charity”; communal fund earmarked for charity. |
| Sefer torah (pl. sifrei torah) |
Torah scroll. |
| Selos de peamim |
funds for the Nation’s officials and poor collected before each of the three annual Passovers – Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot. |
| Shabbat (pl. shabbatot) |
weekly rest day. |
| Shavuot |
also known as Pentecost; it is one of the three pilgrimage festivals. |
| Shurah (pl. shurot) |
honour of distributing misvot, that is, of calling relatives and close friends to the Torah. This was specially the case during the ceremony of the naming of the newborn child or on occasion of weddings (wedding shurot). |
| Simchat Torah |
festival that marks the conclusion of the annual cycle of Torah reading. |
| Sochet (pl. sochetim) |
ritual slaughterer. |
| Sohad |
gift or reward. |
| Sopher |
clerk. |
| Sukkot |
feast of tabernacles; it is one of the three pilgrimage festivals. |
| Taanit |
fast. |
| Talmid (pl. talmidim) |
Talmud Torah student. |
| Tamid (pl. tamidim) |
monthly allowance given to certain people in the community. |
| Talmud Torah |
Elementary school. Also, the name of one of the congregations of the Portuguese community in Hamburg. |
| Teba |
stage located at one end of the synagogue. |
| Tefilins (sg. Tefilah) |
set of black leather boxes, inside which are kept scrolls inscribed with verses from the Torah. These boxes are used in the daily ritual of prayer and on the occasion of the swearing in of the Mahamad. |
| Tudesco |
German Jew. |
| Velhos/anciãos |
members who gave advice to the Mahamad by virtue of their experience, knowledge and recognised authority. |
| Yeshivah |
institution of advanced study intended for all those who wished to pursue religious instruction beyond the basic level. |
| Yibum |
see levirato / acunhadar. |
| Yichus |
lineage. |
| Yom Kippur |
the Day of Atonement; the holiest day of the Jewish year. |