Halacha literally, the path that one walks.
It refers to Jewish Law, the complete body of
rules and practices that Jews are bound to follow,
including biblical commandments, directives of the
Rabbis, and binding customs.
Hashgacha literally, supervision,
generally refers to kosher supervision.
Hechsher to the certification of a kosher
product or ingredient, given by a Rabbi or a
kosher supervisory agency.
Kasher to make kosher, usually applied to
the salting and soaking procedures used in the
production of kosher meat and poultry. The term is
also used to describe the kosherization procedure
of a non-kosher facility or utensil, so that it
may be used in the preparation of kosher food.
Kashruth the state of being kosher.
Keilim - vessels or utensils.
Kli Rishon, Kli Sheni, Kli Shlishi
Kli rishon, literally the first utensil, refers to
a utensil that is used for cooking, baking or
roasting food or liquid, and contains that hot
food or liquid. When hot food or liquid is
transferred from the kli rishon into a second
utensil, this utensil is called a kli sheni. A kli
shlishi is the third utensil into which hot food
or liquid is transferred.
Kosher is the Hebrew word meaning fit or
proper, designating foods whose ingredients and
manufacturing procedures comply with Jewish
dietary laws.
Kosherization - the process of changing
the status of equipment which had been used with
non-kosher ingredients or products, to use with
kosher ingredients or products.
Mashgiach - one who is trained to supervise
kosher food production.
Mehadrin - to the most stringent level of
kosher supervision.
Mikvah - literally, gathering, refers to a
structure, a ritualarium, in which water is
gathered for purposes of immersion.
Milchig - dairy, refers to dairy products
as well as dishes, utensils, and equipment used in
their preparation.
Mevushal refers to wine which has been
cooked.
Orla - the Torah commandment to wait for
three years before partaking of any fruit from
fruit-bearing trees. The forbidden fruit of this
period is known as orla.
Pareve - neutral, indicates a product which
contains no derivatives of poultry, meat, or dairy
ingredients and can therefore be eaten with either
a meat, poultry or dairy meal. Pareve items
include all fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains,
eggs, kosher fish, etc.
Pas Yisroel baked goods prepared in ovens
which are turned on by the mashgiach.
Shechita - the Torah prescribed manner of
slaughtering an animal or fowl for consumption.
Shochet - one who is specially trained to
slaughter kosher meat and poultry according to the
Jewish tradition.
Shmitta the agricultural cycle observed in
Israel, in which every seventh year the land lies
fallow.
Tevilas Keilim meaning dipping of
utensils, refers to the immersion of vessels,
utensils, or dishes in a ritualarium (mikvah)
before their first use.
Click here for "The Mitzvah of Tevilas Keilim"
article.
Tovel To dip or immerse in a
ritualarium (mikvah).
Traiboring the process of removing
forbidden fats and veins from meat in order to be
prepared for the next stage of kashering, namely,
the salting process.
Click here for "Beware: Glatt May Not Always Be
Kosher" article.
Treifah - food that is not kosher. The term
is generally used to refer to all foods, vessels,
and utensils that are not kosher. Literally, it
means an animal whose flesh was torn or ripped.
Yoshon, literally, old, refers to the grain
that has taken root before Pesach, even if it is
harvested after Pesach. It is called "old grain."
It is permitted to be eaten without restriction.
When a product is yoshon, it means that yoshon
grains, including wheat, barley, oats, rye, spelt,
were used in its preparation.
Click here for yoshon articles.
Other Related Jewish Terms
Birkas HaMazon
Birkas HaMazon - blessing of the food, commonly
referred to as Grace After Meals. The recitation
of birkas hamazon is called "bentsching" in
Yiddish.
Kiddush
Kiddush - sanctification. Kiddush is the prayer
recited over wine sanctifying Shabbos or a Yom Tov.
Seder
See "Seder" in Passover Terms.
Seuda
Seuda - a meal, specifically a festive or Shabbos
meal.
Shabbos
Shabbos is the seventh day of the week, which in
the Jewish calendar begins at
sunset on Friday and ends after dark on Saturday
night.
Yom Tov
Yom Tov refers to the holidays on the Jewish
calendar. These include: Rosh Hashana (September
or October), Yom Kippur (September or October),
Succos (October), Chanukah (December), Tu B'Shvat
(January or February), Purim (February or March),
Passover (March or April), Shavuot (May or June)
Tisha B'Av (July or August).
Glossary of Passover Terms
Chometz
Chometz refers to
food products containing any grain (wheat, barley,
rye, oats, or spelt) or grain derivative, not
specially prepared for Passover use.
Chometz Gamur
Chometz gamur,
colloquially called "real chometz," refers to
products containing fermented grains. These
products are biblically prohibited on Passover.
Kitniyos
Kitniyos - legumes, are those grains that can be
cooked and baked in a fashion similar to chometz
grain and yet are not considered, in the eyes of
halacha, to be in the same category as chometz.
Some examples are rice, corn, peas, mustard seed,
and the whole bean family (i.e. kidney, lima,
garbanzo, etc.). It is customary for Jews of
Ashkenazic descent to refrain from eating kitniyos
on Passover.
Kosher for Passover - foods acceptable for
use during the Passover holiday which require
special preparation. See "chometz".
Matzoh - specially prepared unleavened
bread which is acceptable for Passover use.
Passover - Pesach in Hebrew - is the Jewish
holiday commemorating the exodus from Egypt,
observed in the spring.
Seder - order. A seder is the Jewish
ritual conducted as part of the observance of
Passover. The Haggada, the text from which the
seder is conducted, contains the precise order of
the prayers, song, discussion, story-telling,
eating of ritual foods and the festive meal.
Glossary of Ethnic Foods
Throughout history, Jews have lived around the
globe. Consequently, their cuisine reflects the
culinary influences of their host country. For
example, stuffed grape leaves are popular with
Sephardic Jews whose roots are in Middle Eastern
and Mediterranean countries. For Ashkenazic
families who trace their roots to Central and
Eastern Europe, a Shabbos or Yom Tov meal is not
complete without gefilte fish. Lox and bagels, a
popular American combination, was originated by
impoverished Jewish immigrants to these shores
because lox was inexpensive fare.
Therefore, only a few foods actually relate to
Jewish religious ritual. These include matzoh and
charoses which are required eating on Passover.
Wine and challah are essential to the Shabbos and
Yom Tov rituals. Latkes have become traditional
Chanukah foods because they are fried in oil. In
this case, the oil is the essential ingredient.
Some have the custom to eat donuts (sufganiot in
Hebrew), which are also fried in oil, instead of
latkes.
Blintz - a thin crepe-like pancake rolled
around a filling of cheese or fruit.
Borscht - a classic beet soup served hot or
chilled, pureed or chunky.
Challah - a sweet, eggy bread,
usually braided, which is served on Shabbos or
Jewish festivals.
Charoses - a mixture of fruit, wine and
nuts eaten at the Passover seder meal. This
condiment is symbolic of the mortar used by the
Jewish slaves in Egypt.
Cholent - a slow cooked stew (from the
French chaud - hot/warm and lent -slow) which is
served on Shabbos. Ingredients generally include
beef, vegetables, beans and barley. Since it is
not permitted to light a fire on Shabbos, and
since Jews wanted to eat hot food on Shabbos,
cholent became a popular dish. Cooking starts
before Shabbos begins, and continues on a covered
flame or in a crockpot on Shabbos.
Click here for "Oven Kashrus: For Shabbos Use"
article.
Gefilte Fish - traditionally served on Shabbos,
made with ground or chopped fish and shaped into
balls or a loaf.
Holiptches
Holiptches -
stuffed cabbage, a favorite Hungarian dish.
Kreplach - small squares or circles of
rolled pasta dough filled with ground beef or
chicken and folded into triangles. They can be
boiled and served in soup or fried and served as a
side dish. They are traditionally served at the
Erev Yom Kippur meal as well as on Hoshana Rabbah
and Purim.
Kugel
Kugel - a
casserole of potatoes, noodles or vegetables in an
egg based pudding. Kugel is a traditional dish
served on Shabbos or Yom Tov.
Latke - a potato pancake, fried in oil,
traditionally eaten during Chanukah.
Matzoh See "Matzoh" in Passover Terms.
Tzimmes Tzimmes - a sweet stew containing carrots. |
