safek brachot l'hakel (brachos) -- lit.: leniency for a doubtful blessing; in a case of doubt regarding blessings, we usually follow the lenient position
Safek D'oraita L'chumra (D'oraisa) -- lit.: stringency for a doubt of Torah issues; we rule strictly in cases of doubt where the issue is on a Torah level
Safek D'Rabbanan L'kula -- lit.: leniency for a doubt of Rabbinic issues; we rule leniently in cases of doubt where the issue is on a Rabbinic level
sanctification of the moon -- a joyful prayer said every month, upon observing the new moon
sandek -- person honored with holding the baby during a circumcision
Sanhedrin -- Jewish supreme court, which operated in Jerusalem during Temple times
savlanut (savlanus) -- patience
sechitah -- the forbidden Shabbat activity of “squeezing”
seder -- lit.: order; the festive meal on Passover night
Sefardi -- a Jew of North African or Spanish descent (contrast to Ashkenazi)
Sefer Chassidim -- classic book of Jewish philosophy and law, authored by Rabbi Yehudah HaChassid (12th century Germany)
sefirah (pl.: sefirot) -- the 10 levels of kabbalah; also refers to the counting of the Omer, between Passover and Shavuot
Semichah -- lit: laying of the hands; rabbinic ordination
Sforno -- Rav Ovadiah of Sforno, Italy (1470-1550), author of a classic commentary on the Bible
Sha'ar HaTziyun -- footnotes and sources for the laws discussed in Mishnah Berurah, authored by Rabbi Yisrael Meir HaKohen (Poland 1838-1933)
Shabbatot (Shabbasos) -- plural of Shabbat
Shach -- acronym for “Sifsei Cohen,” a classic book of Jewish law, authored by Rabbi Shabsai HaKohen (Lithuania 1622-1663)
Shacharit (Shacharis) -- the morning prayer service
shadchan -- matchmaker, who makes the “shidduch”
shaliach -- emissary, appointed agent
shaliach tzibur -- lit.: emissary of the community, i.e. the person leading prayer services
Shalom Aleichem -- lit.: peace be upon you; a common greeting: the appropriate response is, “Aleichem shalom”
shalom bayit (bayis) -- peace in the home
shalom zachor -- celebration held on the first Friday evening after the birth of a boy
Shalosh Regalim -- the three pilgrimage festivals: Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot
Shas -- acronym for Six Orders, referring to the entire Talmud
Shavuot (Shavuos) -- festival in the month of Sivan, celebrating the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai
she'ayna tzricha -- lit: unnecessary; typically refers to a blessing that was said unnecessarily
she'hiyah -- leaving food on an open flame during Shabbat
Shechinah -- lit.: that which dwells; God's presence as felt in this world
shechita -- the act of slaughtering an animal or bird in accordance with Jewish law
Shehakol -- shorthand name of blessing recited before consuming any item not grown in the ground
sheitel -- wig, often used by married women to cover their hair in public
Shema -- lit.: Hear; colloquial for Shema Yisrael (Hear O Israel); the Jewish 'pledge of allegiance,' recited twice daily and written on parchment inside the mezuzah and tefillin (Deut. 6:4)
Shema Yisrael -- lit.: Hear O Israel; the Jewish 'pledge of allegiance,' recited twice daily and written on parchment inside the mezuzah and tefillin (Deut. 6:4)
Shemirat Shabbat K'Hilchato (Shemiras Shabbos K'Hilchoso) -- popular book on laws of Shabbat and Yom Tov, authored by Rabbi Yehoshua Neuwirth (contemporary Jerusalem)
Sheva Brachot (Brachos) -- lit.: Seven Blessings; recited under the chuppah, and at each meal made in honor of the bride and groom during the week following their wedding
Shevat -- month in the Jewish (lunar) calendar, coinciding with January and February; this month marks Tu B’Shevat, the New Year for Trees
shinui -- an action done in an unusual way
shinuy makom -- changing location while eating
Shir HaShirim -- Song of Songs, written by King Solomon, allegorically describing the love between God and the Jewish people
shiur keviyat seudah (keviyas) -- When cake (or any Pat Haba B'Kisnin) is eaten in a quantity that you would normally eat bread as a meal, it requires Netilat Yadayim, Hamotzee and Birkat Hamazon.
shiva -- the seven days of mourning
Shlah -- acronym for “Shnei Luchot HaBrit,” a classic book of kabbalah, authored by Rabbi Rabbi Yeshiah Horowitz (Poland, Israel 1560-1630)
shlemut (shlemus) -- wholeness
shlita -- acronym for “she’yichyeh l'orech yamim tovim amen” -- may he have a good long life, amen; an honorific appended to the names of living rabbis
Shmini Atzeret (Atzeres) -- lit.: eighth holding back; the day immediately following the week-long Sukkot, celebrating God's desire for the Jewish people to celebrate an additional day
shmirat ha'lashon (shmiras) -- lit.: guarding the tongue – i.e. refraining from harming others with words, particularly gossip
Shmita -- the Sabbatical year in Israel when all agriculture ceases (Lev. 25:4)
Shmot (Shmos) -- lit.: names; Exodus, the second book of the Torah
shochait -- the forbidden Shabbat activity of killing a living thing; also: one who performs ritual slaughter on animals for eating; the act is called “sh'chita”
shochet -- one who performs ritual slaughter on animals for eating; the act is called “sh’chita”
shofar -- ram’s horn blown on Rosh Hashana
shogeg -- an unintentional transgression (compare to meizid)
shomer negiah -- lit.: guarding [against] touching; the Torah concept of not having physical contact with anyone of the opposite sex, other than close relatives
shomer Shabbat (Shabbos) -- a person who observes the laws of Shabbat
shomeya k'oneh -- lit: “hearing is like answering”; under certain conditions, listening carefully to another person's blessing is considered as fulfilling your own obligation
shtetl (pl.: shtetl) -- town or village (Yiddish)
shtetls (sing.: shtetl) -- towns or villages (Yiddish)
shtiebel -- a small synagogue (Yiddish)
Shu"t Igros Moshe -- classic books of rabbinic responsa, authored by Rabbi Moshe Feinstein (New York 1895-1986)
Shulchan Aruch -- lit.: set table; the Code of Jewish Law, written by Rabbi Yosef Karo (16th century Tzfat, Israel); with the accompanying notes of Rabbi Moshe Isserles, it was accepted by all of world Jewry as the definitive guide to Torah observance
sinat chinam (sinas) -- gratuitous hatred; identified by the Talmud as the cause for the destruction of the Second Temple and the subsequent exile
sinat hinam (sinas) -- baseless hatred of one Jew for another; the cause of the current Jewish exile
Sivan -- month in the Jewish (lunar) calendar, coinciding with May and June; the festival of Shavuot falls out on the sixth of this month (and in the Diaspora, also on the seventh)
siyum -- completion of studying a major section of Torah, e.g. a tractate of the Talmud
Sukkah -- a structure whose roof is made of branches in which we eat, sleep and socialize during the week of Sukkot, primarily reminding us that the Israelites lived in huts during the 40 years of wandering in the desert
Sukkot (Sukkos) -- a festival in the month of Tishrei, celebrating the Israelites' living in huts during the 40 years of wandering in the desert
