Adam The first man adam Any human being bet midrash Study hall
devekut Cleaving; in our context, cleaving to God as a result of equivalence of form – that is, as a result of acquiring the divine quality of desire to give selflessly
halacha (1) Jewish law; (2) A section of the Jerusalem Talmud
itin Advice; the mitzvot of the Torah, viewed as advice regarding how to attain devekut; compare “pekudot”
lishmah For its own sake; a pure, selfless intention
lo lishmah Not for its own sake; an impure, self-centered intention
midrash (1) A homiletic teaching; (2) A collection of homiletic teachings such as Midrash Raba or Tanchuma
mitzvot (plural of mitzvah) Actions or prohibitions ordained by the Torah. The Hebrew word’s similarity to the word for team (tzevet) hints at the connection with God that is formed by following the mitzvot with a sense of shared purpose.
Positive mitzvot, mitzvot aseh
The actions required by the Torah
Negative mitzvot, mitzvot lo taaseh
The prohibitions proscribed by the Torah
Interpersonal mitzvot, mitzvot ben adam lachavero Mitzvot regarding our relationship with other people
Mitzvot between people and God, mitzvot ben adam lamakom Mitzvot regarding our relationship with God
nasi Head of the Sanhedrin, the highest court to determine Jewish law
pekudot Deposits; the mitzvot of the Torah, viewed as containing deposits of divine light that are received by performing the mitzvot; compare “itin”
returning light Divine light received as a result of refusing to receive unless the receiving is in order to give
sefirot [plural of sefirah] Ten divine attributes that emanate from God: keter, chochmah, binah, chesed, gevurah, tiferet, netzach, hod, yesod, and malchut
talmid Student; disciple
Talmud The central text of Jewish teachings whose compilation was completed in the fifth century
tanna A rabbinic sage of the period 10–220 CE who “repeated” teachings (The word tanna means “to repeat.”)
the Tikunim An appendix to the Zohar, also known as Tikunei Hazohar
the Zohar The central text of the Kabbalah Tosafot Medieval commentaries on the Talmud tsaddik A righteous person
vehicle In our context, a person with a character that he or she transmits to others
zohama Contamination, impurity; in our context, spiritual impurity that results from mixing our self-centered desire to receive together with our “pure” desire to give selflessly