Ashkenazí: “Sepharad” means “Spain” in Hebrew and “Ashkenaz” means “Germany”. The suffix «i» transforms the word into an adjective, describing the origin of each one. Although Sephardic refers to someone who comes from Spain, and Ashkenazí refers to someone who comes from Germany, they are terms that encompass communities from many other countries, which are grouped under both titles. This demographic difference opens up a wide spectrum of cultural and ethnic differences, different religious practices and idioms of language, among many other aspects that distinguish their diasporic identities. Bnei and Bnot Adam: Literally means “sons and daughters of Adam”, referring to humanity.

 

G-d or G´d: Another way of referring to God. As there is the precept of not saying the name of God in vain, we are accustomed, therefore, not to address him by his full name. However, since no one knows with absolute certainty how to write his name, we opted to symbolically write “G’s”, since the word “God” is not actually God’s name either.

 

Yamim Noraim: known as the «Austere Days» or the «Terrible Days or Days of Fear.» It is about the Ten Holy Days that elapse between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Therefore, another of their names is «Aseret Iemei Teshuvá» that means «the ten days of repentance.» They begin on the first day of the seventh month of the Hebrew year (Tishrei), considered by our tradition as the day of the creation of the universe. In these days of spiritual deepening we apologize to the Creator, and especially to our peers for all the damage that, intentionally or not, we could have caused.

 

Yom Hadin: The concept of Yom Hadin (which means «Day of Judgment»), another of the names by which is known Rosh Hashanah (New Year), is addressed to all humanity, who remembers the day of its creation, when begins to be judged and evaluated by its Creator, and each individual must seek to find their place in the Book of Life. His verdict is signed with the culmination of Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement / Atonement).

 

Yom Kippur: It is the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. Also known as Great Holy Day, Day of Atonement or Forgiveness Day.

 

Irá: Reverent fear.

 

Jeshbón Hanefesh: It is translated as «balance of the soul» and refers to the reflection and introspection that we carry out when reviewing our actions towards others, God and even ourselves.

 

Kadosh Baruj Hú: Holy Blessed Be (way of referring to God).

 

Kevakarat roé edró maavir tzono tajat shivtó: «As a shepherd who counts his flock, making him pass under his staff.»

 

Motza’ei Shabat: The term Motza’ei Shabat (literally “the departure of Saturday”) refers to the time of the following afternoon, immediately after the end of Shabbat, that is, Saturday night. It is a time when, after declaring the intention to end the Shabbat, it is allowed to resume the activities of the week that were prohibited during it.

 

Norá: Terrible.

 

Piutim: A piút is a liturgical poem for religious purposes. «Piutím» is its plural expression. The word derives from the Greek piitís, «poet.» We call the author of a piút paytán.

 

Rosh Hashanah: It literally means «head of the year» and is how the Jewish New Year is called.

 

Teshuva: The topic of repentance, a biblical concept expressed with the Hebrew word «teshuva», has the polysemic root «shiva» which in turn contains three meanings: repentance, return and response. The word literally means «return» or «return.» When we do teshuvah, we think about our way of being, reflect, and return to our previous state of spiritual purity. We also return to our connection with God.

 

Unetané Tokef: Translated as «Let’s Talk About Wonderful» is the central piút that has been part of the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur liturgy for centuries. Enter the Kedusha of the Musaf prayer. It is sung while the ark of the Torah is open and the congregation is standing. Written by Rabbi Amnon of the City of Mainz, in Germany, about a thousand years ago; the prayer describes the Yamim Noraim as the time of the Divine Judgment, where people symbolically expose themselves to the Creator. The prayer lists possible destinies that can befall human beings during the new year to begin, including special emphasis on the attribute of repentance, forgiveness and redemption.