Ekhah
The third of the Five Scrolls in the Bible, read on the Ninth of Av. In rabbinic literature its contents are indicated by the names Qinot (Lamentations) or Elegies. Ekhah consists of five poetic chapters mourning the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 C.E.
Dukhan
In the Temple service the Priestly Blessing was pronounced by the Priests while standing on a special raised platform called the Dukhan. For this reason, the Yiddish term Duchenen can be used to refer to the Priestly Blessing.
An'im zemirot
A synagogue hymn recited at the end of the Musaf service on Shabbat. This hymn is also known as Shir ha-kavod. The poem consists of 31 acrostic lines, with an internal structure of two rhyming half-lines. In most synagogues this hymn is sung antiphonally, and it is the custom in some communities to…
Aliyah (in synagogue)
Lit. 'ascending'. A term describing a person who is 'called up' to recite the blessing before the reading of the torah.
Musaf (pl. Musafim)
Originally the additional sacrifice offered in the Temple, After Temple times it referred to the additional service comprising a supplementary Amidah (q.v.) recited during the morning service on Sabbaths and festivals.
Folk song
Song sung by the people. In opposition to art songs which are composed and performed as art, folk songs are sung by everyone, on a daily basis or on festive occassions.
Nusah
1. The textual version of the liturgy in the various Jewish traditions. Each tradition has it's own Nusah.
Adar
Adar is the fifth month of the Jewish calendar, usually falling around February and/or March of the Gregorian calendar. The holiday of Purim falls on the 14th of Adar. The Jewish calendar requires, every two or three years, a 'leap month,' and when this occurs, there are two Adars, Adar Aleph and…
Shaharit
Morning prayer, the equivalent of the morning obligatory offering at the Temple. Its main part is comprised of Amidah (18 benedictions recited silently and later repeated by precentor) and Shema and its blessings, all preceded by a section of hymns, mainly Psalms and verses theirof. On Shabbat,…
Dance tune (Niggun rikud)
A tune used mostly for dancing. The Hebrew term is likely a translation of the earlier Yiddish terms, such as tants nign or a tenzl. Other terms for dance tunes are: hopke; dreidl; redl or redele (all probably used by Polish hassidim[1]); freylekhs; and kadatshke (used in various communities…
Ein Ke'eloheinu
A short piyyut from the Ge'onim era (7th-11th centuries). In the Ashkenazi Nusach it is recited on Sabbaths and festivals following the Musaf prayer. In the traditions of the Sephardic Nussach, the Ashkenazim in Eretz-Israel, and the Ari's Kabbalah, it is recited during weekdays and sometimes as…
Kabalat Shabat
Kabalat Shabat refers to the part of the Friday evening service that precedes the regular Arvit prayer and welcomes in the Sabbath.
This prayer begins before darkness and in some conservative congregations, no later than a half an hour after sundown. The origin of this custom comes from the…