A mezuzah is a little box that is nailed to the doorpost of a Jewish home. The Hebrew word mezuzah means doorpost. It is generally placed on the right side of the door about one quarter of the way from the top of the door, and the top of the mezuzah is tilted inwardly at an angle. On the outside of the mezuzah the Hebrew letter shin ( ש) is generally shown. The shin is the first letter in the word shema, which means hear or listen, and is the first word on the scroll that is in the mezuzah. Shin is also the first letter for the word Shadai, which means almighty, a reference to God.

In many Jewish synagogues a minyan is required for public prayer times.  A minyan is a group of at least 10 Jewish men over the age of 13 years old.  A minyan is not required, of course, for personal prayer times a person might have.

Humans are partial to food to begin with, and Jewish culture is no different – plus Judaism has many unique foods in its culture.

A mikvah, מקווה, is an immersion pool that is used for ceremonial cleansing.

The Yiddish language is a wonderful source of rich expressions, especially terms of endearment (and of course, complaints and insults)….Jewish scriptwriters introduced many Yiddish words into popular culture, which often changed the original meanings drastically. You might be surprised to learn how much Yiddish you already speak, but also, how many familiar words actually mean something different in real Yiddish.

A yarmulke in Yiddish, or a kippah in Hebrew, is a small head covering. Kippah literally means covering. Professor Jacob Lauterbach has been quoted as saying that the question of praying bareheaded or with covered head is not at all a question of law. It is merely a matter of social propriety and decorum.