Archive for the 'Nomenclature' Category

Yichus


noun, Yiddish
1. A good bloodline
2. Street cred
Example: I’m told my Catholic side is seventh-generation Californian, descended from Conquistador Del Castillo. I got serious non-Jewish yichus.


Agnostidox


noun, slang
1. Combination of agnostic and orthodox
2. Someone who lives an outwardly Orthodox lifestyle but doesn’t believe in God.


Zochrei Shabbat


Zochrei Shabbat, adj., Hebrew
1. Lit. “to remember Shabbat”
2. Different from shomer shabbat (”to keep Shabbat”), a post-denominational term for a Shabbat observance which is less stringent in it’s prohibitions, particularly on forbidden activities which otherwise contribute to a meaningful Shabbat, ie, riding a subway or driving a car to attend shul, answering a phone for [...]


Protectzia


Protectzia, Hebrew, slang, n.
1. Lit. “having pull”
2. Political cover or influence, frequently acknoweldged as necessary to get anything done in Israel. Such as, “Jews are the new WASPs — White Anglo-Saxons with Protectzia.”
More from linguistlist:
The Israeli word “protectzia” sounds like the English word “protection” since Hebrew -tzia is the standard Israeli equivalent for English -tion. But [...]


Continuity


Continuity, n.
1. Fucking
2. Specifically, Jews fucking Jews, leading to further Jews. A particular myopia since the late 1980s’ reports of declining Jewish identity according to mainstream markers of “Jewishness” and the declining numbers of easily-identified affiliated Jews.


Affiliated


Affiliated, adj.
1. A member of or participant in the American Jewish community.
2. A Jew on a mailing list.
Shorthand for Jews who participate in the OJC, in one fashion or another including synagogue membership, consumption of Jewish products (publications, Shabbat candles), and participation in Jewish organizations within the big tent. Those of us not on a [...]


Mezuzah-waving treehumpers


Mezuzah-waving treehumpers, n.,
1. Jewish environmentalists
2. Affectionate term for Jewish hippies, a constituency comprised largely of Jews who have taken a Hazon bike ride, have taken or know someone who has taken the Adamah Jewish farm fellowship, have taken the Teva Learning Center seminar, have attended two or more retreats at the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat [...]


The big tent


“The big tent” n.
1. Inclusiveness in Jewish political diversity
2. Euphemism used by mainstream Jewish gatekeepers to describe a pluralistic approach which purportedly includes left-wing Jewish streams but all too frequently is a buzzword bandied about but poorly supported when the policy hits reality, such as when progressive Zionists want to bring alternate Israeli viewpoints to [...]


Ulpan


Ulpan, n., Hebrew
1. Hebrew language class
2. Hell
Inspired by Yisrael Campbell.


JCPA, JCRCs


JCPA, JCRCs, n., acronym
1. “Jewish Council for Public Affiars” and “Jewish Community Relations Councils” respectively, the self-nominated central mouthpiece of the American Jewish community (the JCPA) and it’s 125 local affiliates (JCRCs) which represent the communal voice of their respective American Jewish cities and regions.
2. The central PR guardian of the OJC, a relic of [...]