Yisrael
The Hebrew word for “Israel,” it refers to the Land (Eretz Yisrael), people (Am Yisrael), and the modern State of Israel (M’dinat Yisrael).
West Bank
An area of land on the west bank of the Jordan River that was captured by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War.
Conservative Judaism
A denomination of Judaism started in Germany and developed in the North America. Conservative Judaism sees Jewish law (halachah) as both binding and subject to historical development.
Orthodox Judaism
A denomination of Judaism that believes the Torah is of Divine origin and that Jews are bound to keep Jewish law (halachah).
Reconstructionist Judaism
A denomination of Judaism started by Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan in New York in the 1920s.
Reform Judaism
A denomination of Judaism that started in Germany in the mid-1800s and has flourished in the United States from the 1880s and on. Reform Judaism developed as a Jewish response to modernity and sought to answer questions of how to be both Jewish and modern in an increasingly complex world.
B’rit bat/brit chaim/simchat bat
Literally, “covenant of daughter,” “covenant of life,” “celebration of a daughter.” A religious ceremony to welcome a baby girl into the covenant between God and the Jewish people.
Ger tzedek
“Righteous convert.” Refers to someone who has converted to Judaism.
Giyur
The process of converting to Judaism.
Patrilineal descent
The idea that one is Jewish if either parent is Jewish and one was raised with Judaism. This contrasts with the traditional idea of matrilineal descent, in which one is Jewish if one’s mother is/was Jewish.