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The Jewish Information Source Book: A Dictionary and Almanac
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295 pages, Paperback
First published July 28, 1993
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February 5, 2026
A USEFUL REFERENCE ABOUT JUDAISM, JEWISH CULTURE, FAMOUS JEWS, ETC.
Rabbi Ronald H. Isaacs is Rabbi Emeritus of Temple Sholom in New Jersey, where he served for 40 years. He wrote in the Preface to this 1993 book, “[This book] is intended to present a ready reference of terms that are essential to an understanding of the language of Judaism. The first part of the book, the dictionary, contains concise definitions of terms, concepts, vocabulary, places, and people that have shaped the Jewish people throughout their history. The second part of the book is a mini Jewish almanac, which presents some fascinating facts related to Jewish experience, life, culture, and history.” Here are some examples from the Dictionary:
ACCULTURATION: Process of adopting the traits of another culture, such as when immigrant Jews adopted the ways of American society and became ‘Americanized.’
ALIYAH: (Hebrew, meaning ‘ascent’) Term referring to the immigration of Jews to Israel.
ANGEL: Referring to various types of supernatural beings in the Bible, including cherubim and seraphim.
ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE (ADL): Founded … in 1913, this organization’s purpose is to stamp out prejudice in America by exposing the motives and methods of anti-Semites.
ANTI-SEMITISM: Term referring to the hatred of all Jews. The term appears to have first been used in Germany in 1879 in a pamphlet by William Marr, founder of the Anti-Semitic League.
APOCRYPHA: Religious writings that are noncanoncal, written during the period of the Second Temple.
ARAMAIC: A group of Semitic languages dating roughly from 900 BCE. It was the language of the Jewish exiles in Babylon and is the language of the Talmud.
ARK OF THE COVENANT: The chest in which the Ten Commandments were kept.
ASHKENAZIM: (Hebrew, meaning ‘German’)… the Jews of Germany and northern France… the term … came to include Jews of Eastern Europe.
BABYLONIAN TALMUD: First sourcebook of Jewish law with over 2,000 rabbinic contributors.
BAR/BAT MITZVAH:… Ceremony marking the initiation of a child into the Jewish religious community and into observation of the precepts of the Torah.
CHASIDISM: Religious and social movement founded by the Baal Shem Tov in the 18th century. Its philosophic basis is the Kabbalah.
CHERUBIM:Winged figures… [who] guarded the gates to the Garden of Eden.
CHOSEN PEOPLE: Concept that Israel has been elected by God to carry the message of His law to the world.
DEAD SEA SCROLLS: Ancient manuscripts found in the caves of Qumran … (generally believed to date from the 1st century BCE).
DIASPORA: Greek word meaning ‘dispersion,’ applied to the Jewish community outside of Israel.
ESSENES: Religious sect in ancient Israel at the end of the Second Temple period… The Essenes may have been responsible for writing some of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
GEMARA: A commentary on the Mishnah by a group of later scholars… who attempted to reconcile the various conflicting opinions in the Mishnah.
GOLDEN AGE OF SPAIN: Period from the 11th through the 13th centuries, when Jews and Jewish scholarship flourished.
HALLELUYAH: Hebrew word meaning ‘praise the Lord.’
KABBALAH: Referring to the mystical tradition in Judaism.
KIBBUTZ: Israeli collective village, established by the early pioneers.
KIPPAH: Skullcap worn by man in synagogue … In Yiddish it is called a ‘yarmulke.’
KOSHER: … food that is permissible to be eaten by Jews according to the Jewish dietary laws. Animals that are kosher must chew their cud and have split hooves, and kosher fish must have fins and scales.
MACCABEES: … priestly family … they purified the Temple and the festival of Chanukah was declared.
MARRANO: Literally ‘swine’… Spanish and Portuguese Jews… forced to accept Christianity but continued to practice Judaism in secret.
MASORETES: Jewish scribes from 500-1000 CE who carefully copied the Scriptures in an attempt to preserve them.
MIDRASH: … the nonlegal sections of the Talmud and the rabbinic books containing biblical interpretations in the spirit of aggadah (i.e., legend).
MILCHIG: Refers to a meal of dairy or milk products. Jews who keep kosher do not mix dairy meals… with meat meals, called ‘fleishig.’
MISHNAH: Collecttion of Jewisn law compiled and edited … in the early 3rd century.
MITZVAH: Commandment traditionally … given by God or decreed by the rabbis.
PALESTINE: … the land of the Philistines… the name was imposed by the Romans on the former Judea… Palestine was originally called ‘Canaan’ in Hebrew.
PHARISEES: Jewish religious and political party during the Second Temple period. They were considered the bearers of traditional Judaism.
REFUSENIKS: Soviet Jews .. refused exit visas to emigtate.
SADDUCCEES: Second Temple sect who … had no belief in a future world or the resurrection of the soul.
SATAN: … In the Bible, Satan is no evil spirit but belongs to the divine household like any other angelic being.
SCRIBE: A professional copier of manuscripts and other documents.
SEPHARDIM: Descendants of the Spanish Jews.
SERAPHIM: … a class of angels… In Isaiah 6:2, they appear as divine chanters… who sing ‘Holy, holy..’
SHABBES GOY: A non-Jew employed by a Jew on the Sabbath to carry out tasks prohibited to Jews… on that day.
SYNAGOGUE: Building for Jewish public prayer. In Yiddish it is called a ‘shul.’
TANAKH: … the complete Hebrew Bible. Its source is the initial letters of Torah, Neviim, and Ketuvim (Five books of Moses, Prophets, and Hagiographa).
TEMPLE: Central building for divine worship in Israel … The First Temple was built by King Solomon and destroyed in 586 BCE; the Second Temple was built 70 years later.
WAILING WALL (Western Wall)… comprises the only remains of the Second Temple.
YIDDISH: Language spoken by a majority of Ashkenazic Jews since the Middle Ages.
ZEALOTS: Members of the Jewish resistance party who fought against the Romans in the 1st century A.D.
ZION: Jebusite stronghold in Jerusalem, captured by King David.
ZOHAR: Mystical biblical commentary on sections of the Five Books of Moses…
In the second part, he has a wide variety of topics, such as:
FALSE MESSIAHS: After the Second Temple was destroyed, the Israelites began a period of exile. Living in strange countries, their hopes were often kept alive by a strong belief in the coming of the Messiah. Many individuals, through the centuries, came forth to proclaim themselves the Messiah. Here is a sampling of them: *Abraham ben Samuel Abulafia (1240-1292; Spain); *Abu Isa Isfahani (8th century Persia); *Isaac Luria (25334-1572; Palestinian mystic); *Moses Chayim Luzzatto (1707-1747; Italian); *Solomon Molcho (1500-1532; Portuguese); *Moses of Crete (mid 5th century); *Nisim ben David (13th century; Spain); *David Reubeni (1491-1535); *Sabbatai Zevi (1626-1676; Turkey---Eventually, he converted to Islam); Jacob Frank (1726-1791; Poland).” (Pg. 197-198)
“KOSHER SYMBOLS: In the United States and Canada, Orthodox rabbis generally supervise the ‘kashrut’ of manufactured foods, although in some communities Conservative rabbis have assumed that role. Today, there are more than fifty major kosher certifying organizations in the United States. [He then reproduces 19 symbols used by such organizations.]
Other topics include ‘Kings of Israel: Unite Monarchy; Kings of Judah’; Angels and Demons; The 613 Commandments; ‘Jews in America’; ‘Jewish Numerology’; ‘Some Interesting Facts About the Hebrew Calendar,’ etc.
This book will be of great interest to those studying Judaism and its history.
Rabbi Ronald H. Isaacs is Rabbi Emeritus of Temple Sholom in New Jersey, where he served for 40 years. He wrote in the Preface to this 1993 book, “[This book] is intended to present a ready reference of terms that are essential to an understanding of the language of Judaism. The first part of the book, the dictionary, contains concise definitions of terms, concepts, vocabulary, places, and people that have shaped the Jewish people throughout their history. The second part of the book is a mini Jewish almanac, which presents some fascinating facts related to Jewish experience, life, culture, and history.” Here are some examples from the Dictionary:
ACCULTURATION: Process of adopting the traits of another culture, such as when immigrant Jews adopted the ways of American society and became ‘Americanized.’
ALIYAH: (Hebrew, meaning ‘ascent’) Term referring to the immigration of Jews to Israel.
ANGEL: Referring to various types of supernatural beings in the Bible, including cherubim and seraphim.
ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE (ADL): Founded … in 1913, this organization’s purpose is to stamp out prejudice in America by exposing the motives and methods of anti-Semites.
ANTI-SEMITISM: Term referring to the hatred of all Jews. The term appears to have first been used in Germany in 1879 in a pamphlet by William Marr, founder of the Anti-Semitic League.
APOCRYPHA: Religious writings that are noncanoncal, written during the period of the Second Temple.
ARAMAIC: A group of Semitic languages dating roughly from 900 BCE. It was the language of the Jewish exiles in Babylon and is the language of the Talmud.
ARK OF THE COVENANT: The chest in which the Ten Commandments were kept.
ASHKENAZIM: (Hebrew, meaning ‘German’)… the Jews of Germany and northern France… the term … came to include Jews of Eastern Europe.
BABYLONIAN TALMUD: First sourcebook of Jewish law with over 2,000 rabbinic contributors.
BAR/BAT MITZVAH:… Ceremony marking the initiation of a child into the Jewish religious community and into observation of the precepts of the Torah.
CHASIDISM: Religious and social movement founded by the Baal Shem Tov in the 18th century. Its philosophic basis is the Kabbalah.
CHERUBIM:Winged figures… [who] guarded the gates to the Garden of Eden.
CHOSEN PEOPLE: Concept that Israel has been elected by God to carry the message of His law to the world.
DEAD SEA SCROLLS: Ancient manuscripts found in the caves of Qumran … (generally believed to date from the 1st century BCE).
DIASPORA: Greek word meaning ‘dispersion,’ applied to the Jewish community outside of Israel.
ESSENES: Religious sect in ancient Israel at the end of the Second Temple period… The Essenes may have been responsible for writing some of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
GEMARA: A commentary on the Mishnah by a group of later scholars… who attempted to reconcile the various conflicting opinions in the Mishnah.
GOLDEN AGE OF SPAIN: Period from the 11th through the 13th centuries, when Jews and Jewish scholarship flourished.
HALLELUYAH: Hebrew word meaning ‘praise the Lord.’
KABBALAH: Referring to the mystical tradition in Judaism.
KIBBUTZ: Israeli collective village, established by the early pioneers.
KIPPAH: Skullcap worn by man in synagogue … In Yiddish it is called a ‘yarmulke.’
KOSHER: … food that is permissible to be eaten by Jews according to the Jewish dietary laws. Animals that are kosher must chew their cud and have split hooves, and kosher fish must have fins and scales.
MACCABEES: … priestly family … they purified the Temple and the festival of Chanukah was declared.
MARRANO: Literally ‘swine’… Spanish and Portuguese Jews… forced to accept Christianity but continued to practice Judaism in secret.
MASORETES: Jewish scribes from 500-1000 CE who carefully copied the Scriptures in an attempt to preserve them.
MIDRASH: … the nonlegal sections of the Talmud and the rabbinic books containing biblical interpretations in the spirit of aggadah (i.e., legend).
MILCHIG: Refers to a meal of dairy or milk products. Jews who keep kosher do not mix dairy meals… with meat meals, called ‘fleishig.’
MISHNAH: Collecttion of Jewisn law compiled and edited … in the early 3rd century.
MITZVAH: Commandment traditionally … given by God or decreed by the rabbis.
PALESTINE: … the land of the Philistines… the name was imposed by the Romans on the former Judea… Palestine was originally called ‘Canaan’ in Hebrew.
PHARISEES: Jewish religious and political party during the Second Temple period. They were considered the bearers of traditional Judaism.
REFUSENIKS: Soviet Jews .. refused exit visas to emigtate.
SADDUCCEES: Second Temple sect who … had no belief in a future world or the resurrection of the soul.
SATAN: … In the Bible, Satan is no evil spirit but belongs to the divine household like any other angelic being.
SCRIBE: A professional copier of manuscripts and other documents.
SEPHARDIM: Descendants of the Spanish Jews.
SERAPHIM: … a class of angels… In Isaiah 6:2, they appear as divine chanters… who sing ‘Holy, holy..’
SHABBES GOY: A non-Jew employed by a Jew on the Sabbath to carry out tasks prohibited to Jews… on that day.
SYNAGOGUE: Building for Jewish public prayer. In Yiddish it is called a ‘shul.’
TANAKH: … the complete Hebrew Bible. Its source is the initial letters of Torah, Neviim, and Ketuvim (Five books of Moses, Prophets, and Hagiographa).
TEMPLE: Central building for divine worship in Israel … The First Temple was built by King Solomon and destroyed in 586 BCE; the Second Temple was built 70 years later.
WAILING WALL (Western Wall)… comprises the only remains of the Second Temple.
YIDDISH: Language spoken by a majority of Ashkenazic Jews since the Middle Ages.
ZEALOTS: Members of the Jewish resistance party who fought against the Romans in the 1st century A.D.
ZION: Jebusite stronghold in Jerusalem, captured by King David.
ZOHAR: Mystical biblical commentary on sections of the Five Books of Moses…
In the second part, he has a wide variety of topics, such as:
FALSE MESSIAHS: After the Second Temple was destroyed, the Israelites began a period of exile. Living in strange countries, their hopes were often kept alive by a strong belief in the coming of the Messiah. Many individuals, through the centuries, came forth to proclaim themselves the Messiah. Here is a sampling of them: *Abraham ben Samuel Abulafia (1240-1292; Spain); *Abu Isa Isfahani (8th century Persia); *Isaac Luria (25334-1572; Palestinian mystic); *Moses Chayim Luzzatto (1707-1747; Italian); *Solomon Molcho (1500-1532; Portuguese); *Moses of Crete (mid 5th century); *Nisim ben David (13th century; Spain); *David Reubeni (1491-1535); *Sabbatai Zevi (1626-1676; Turkey---Eventually, he converted to Islam); Jacob Frank (1726-1791; Poland).” (Pg. 197-198)
“KOSHER SYMBOLS: In the United States and Canada, Orthodox rabbis generally supervise the ‘kashrut’ of manufactured foods, although in some communities Conservative rabbis have assumed that role. Today, there are more than fifty major kosher certifying organizations in the United States. [He then reproduces 19 symbols used by such organizations.]
Other topics include ‘Kings of Israel: Unite Monarchy; Kings of Judah’; Angels and Demons; The 613 Commandments; ‘Jews in America’; ‘Jewish Numerology’; ‘Some Interesting Facts About the Hebrew Calendar,’ etc.
This book will be of great interest to those studying Judaism and its history.
Displaying 1 of 1 review