Judaism

Jewish calendar started		3761 BC
A boy undergoes his Bar Mitzvah at (age)		13
The wooden coffer that the Tables of the Law (i.e. the Ten Commandments) were kept in; lost in 586 BC when the Babylonians sacked Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple of Solomon		Ark (of the Covenant)
Jewish New Year is celebrated at the first full moon after the		Autumn equinox
Girls' equivalent of the boys' Bar Mitzvah		Bat Mitzvah
Canopy under which Jewish couples are married (symbolises their future home)		Chuppah
One of the basic principles of Jewish dietary laws (kashrut) is that meat must be kept separate from		Dairy products
Kashrut		Dietary laws
Prophet who will return to Earth to herald the coming of the Messiah		Elijah
Feast of Sukkot: English name		Feast of Tabernacles
Shavuot (May or June – approximately one month after Yom Ha'Atzmaut)		Festival of Weeks
Festival held in December, celebrating the recapture and dedication of the temple at Jerusalem in 160 BC; also known as the Festival of Light or the Feast of Dedication		Hanukkah
A mammal, in order to be kosher, must		Have cloven hooves
A mammal, in order to be kosher, must		Chew the cud
Yom Ha–Shoah (April or May)		Holocaust Day
Yom Ha'Atzmaut (approximately one week after Yom Ha–Shoah)		Independence Day
The marriage contract – outlining the rights and responsibilities of the groom, in relation to the bride		Ketubah
Adam's first wife (before God created Eve), according to the Talmud		Lilith
Rosh Hashanah		New Year
Unleavened flatbread that forms an integral part of the Passover festival, when it's eaten along with maror (bitter herbs)		Matzo (a.k.a. matza or matzah)
The seven–branched candlestick, used in worship, which also appears on the emblem (coat of arms) of Israel; there is also a nine–branched version used at Hanukkah		Menorah
Rabbinical commentaries committed to writing in the Talmud		Mishna(h)
Festival at which Jesus was crucified; celebrates the destroying angel passing over the houses of the Israelites when he slew the first–born of the Egyptians, as the last of the ten plagues that God sent on to Egypt in order to force the Pharaoh to release the Israelites from slavery		Passover (Pesach)
Small leather box worn by Jewish men during worship (containing biblical verses)		Phylactery (Heb. Tefillin)
Festival held in February or March, commemorating Esther saving the Jews from destruction during the Persian occupation (473 BC)		Purim
Two–day festival marking the start of the Jewish New Year (usually in September)		Rosh Hashanah
Yeshivah		School for Rabbis
Two compilations of ancient Jewish law and tradition, written in the early Christian era: Babylonian and Palestinian (Jerusalem)		Talmud
The book of the Mosaic law (the five books of Moses, or the Pentateuch); a hand–written copy, on one or more scrolls, is stored in the holiest spot within a synagogue, and taken out for the ritual of reading from it during prayers		Torah (Thorah)
Food that is not kosher is		Treif (or tref)
The last remaining part of the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem, which was destroyed in the 6th century BC; the holiest place where Jews are permitted (by agreement with the Muslim community) to pray; also known as the Kotel (the shortened form of its name in Hebrew), the Wailing Wall (now seen as pejorative), or (to Arabs) as the al–Buraq wall		Western Wall
Hebrew name for the Day of Atonement – 9 days after Rosh Hashanah, the holiest festival in the Jewish calendar		Yom Kippur

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Judaism