The journey toward become a Bar or Bat Mitzvah is replete with vocabulary that may not be familiar. Here we attempt to take some of the mystery out of the terminology!
Bar Mitzvah - literally means "Son of the Commandments"; the milestone in the life of a young Jewish man where he accepts the obligations of living a Jewish life.
Bat Mitzvah - literally means "Daughter of the Commanments"; the milestone in the life of a young Jewish woman where she accepts the obligations of living a Jewish life.
Torah - A scroll containing the Five Books of Moses; the entirety of Judaism's founding legal and ethical religious texts.
Parshah - a particular section of the Torah read each week. A different parshah is read each week, in order.
Tallit - a prayer shawl worn over our clothing during morning prayers. It is a four-cornered garment with knotted fringes, tzitzit, on the four-corners.
Siddur - Jewish prayerbook containing a set order of Jewish prayers.
Aliyah - literally means "going up"; the calling of a member of a Jewish congregation to the Torah for a segment of the Torah reading. Those receiving an "aliyah" say a blessing prior to the reader chanting or reading from the Torah, and then say another blessing following the reading.
Kippah - a headcovering worn by Jews during prayer or, for more religious Jews, all the time. It is also called a Yarmulke.
Haftarah - selections from the "Prophets" which are read during the Torah Service, usually related to the Torah Parshah of the week. Special holidays or festivals are signified by special Haftarot.
Mitzvah - literally means "commandment"; loosely translated as "good deed." Students will be required to complete a mitzvah project during their course of study.
Trope - a series of notes to which the text of the Torah and Haftarah are chanted. The trope was created by the Masorites to complement the text. It serves as punctuation as the written Torah has none.
To learn more about our Bar/Bat Mitzvah training and services, please click here to go to our Contact Page.
email: info@barmitzvahflorida.com
phone: 772-913-0158
