A B D E F G H I K Ch L M N O P R S Sh T Tz U V Y Z

HEBREW TRANSLITERATION ENGLISH MEANING
Tzaar Baale Chayim Protection of Animals Judaism attaches particular stress to respecting the needs and feelings of dumb animals. The Shabbat is described as a day when the ox and the mule also have rest, the same as man (Shemot 20:10; Devarim 5:14). The Talmudic Sages count cruelty to animals among the most serious offenses. The Torah prohibits muzzling an ox when it is treading out grain (Devarim 25:4).

In view of the feelings of animals, the Torah says, "You shall not slaughter it on one and the same day with its young" (VaYikra 22:28). Maimonides explains this as follows:

"The pain of the animals under such circumstances is very great. There is no difference between human suffering and the pain felt by other living beings in a case like this" (Guide, 3:48)
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The humanitarian motive towards the animal is also evident in the law concerning an enemy's beast of burden that must not be deserted but helped when it is seen lying prostrate under its burden (Shemot 23:5). The Torah also says, "You shall not plow with an ox and a mule harnessed together" (Devarim 22:10), since they differ greatly in size and strength.

Ibn Ezra explains that the uneven steps would cause discomfort to the large animal and distress the smaller. G-d is often represented as being constantly concerned with providing for the needs of animals, and we are told that "the just man takes care of his beast, but the heart of the wicked is merciless" (Mishlei 12:10)

Hunting was never popular among the Jewish people. Nimrod and Yishmael and 'Esav, who were too fond of the chase, have always been regarded unfavorably in Jewish tradition. According to the Talmud, a man should not eat before he has fed the animals (Berachot 40a).

Rabbi Ezekiel Landau (1713-1793), in one of his Responsa, writes:

"The law against cruelty to animals applies in every case except where an animal is slaughtered outright, or killed for a material benefit to man... In the Torah the sport of hunting is ascribed only to fierce characters like Nimrod and 'Esav, never to any of the patriarchs or their descendants... I cannot comprehend how a Jew could ever dream of killing animals merely for the pleasure of hunting... We may kill wild animals found in places inhabited by human beings, where the beasts constitute a menace. But it is certainly no act of cupation... When the act of killing is prompted by sport, it is downright cruelty."
Tzaddik (pl. Tzaddikim) Righteous One A just, faithful and upright person. The man who refrains from wrongdoing and makes an effort to establish what is right is called righteous. The marks of a righteous man, according to Jewish thinking, are the sincerity of purpose and the strenuous endeavor to accomplish it. The righteous man who has fallen into sin is distinguished by his repentance, as in the case of King David.

According to the Talmud, in each generation there are at least 36 righteous men in the world, for whose sake the world escapes destruction. This is based on Yeshayahu 30:18 "ashrei kol-chochei lo blessed are all those who wait for him", where the word lo has the numerical value of 36 (Sanhedrin 97b). Hence the popular belief that there are, concealed, 36 tzaddikim, otherwise referred to as nistarim (anonymous), who sustain the entire world wherein they are dispersed. According to Yoma 38b, one righteous man can ensure the existence of the world. No sooner is one righteous man removed from the world than he is succeeded by another righteous man as good as he. The righteous man is he who is saturated with Torah and possesses within himself the instrument of dealing a deadly blow to the evil inclination (yetzer ha-rah).

"The righteous are considered as alive even when they are dead" (Berachot 18a).  See further: Tzaddikim Index

Tzaddik Nistar (pl. Tzadikim nistarim) Concealed Righteous one A tzaddik whose righteousness remains unknown to his community. It is said that in every generation there are 36 tzaddikim nistarim in addition to 36 revealed tzaddikim. Together they combine to form the 72 "bridges", which corresponds to the 72 letter Name of G-d derived from three verses in Shemot
Tzaddik v'ra lo A Righteous one unto whom is evil A term used by the Sages to describe a righteous man whom evil befalls
Tzaddik v'tov lo A righteous one unto whom is good A term used by the Sages to describe a righteous man on whom befalls only good
Tzadeh - Tz 18th letter of the Hebrew alphabet
Tzadok (pl. Tzadokim) Righteous One; Zadok; Sadducees The Sadducees saw themselves as being from the house of Tzadok and therefore took the name
Tzafun Hidden The step of the Seder ceremony in which the hidden Afikoman is eaten
Tzava A military term, referring to an army or troop
Tzavaot Wills Last wills disposing of property used to be uncommon among the Jewish people, because inheritance was for the most part regulated by the traditional law, providing a double share for the firstborn son and equal shares for all the other sons. On the other hand, Jewish literature has been greatly enriched by a considerable variety of ethical wills that convey a genuine picture of the life and ideals of the times in which they were written. Long before their death, great Jews began to prepare their instructions to their descendants, revising them from time to time, until their compositions finally emerged as finished ethical dissertations.

During the Middle Ages, as well as during the early talmudic period, the spiritual leaders of Yisra'el left ethical wills in a similar vein that had a marked influence on the development of Jewish life and thought. Rabbi Judah ibn Tibbon of 12th century Spain writes:

"My son, ability is of no avail without inclination. Exert yourself while still young. Take good care of your health; do not be your own destroyer. Honor your wife to your utmost capacity. If you give orders, let your words be gentle. All I ask of you is to behave in a friendly spirit toward all; to gain a good name; to revere G-d and perform His commandments.

Devote yourself to your children; be not indifferent to any slight ailment in them or in yourself. Never refuse to lend books to anyone who can be trusted to return them. Honor your teachers and attach yourself to your friends. My son, make your books your companions. Let your shelves be your treasure grounds and gardens..."

Tzedakah Righteousness; Justice The biblical term tzedakah is often used synonymously with justice, truth, kindness, ethical conduct, help and deliverance. It is applied, in post-biblical Hebrew, specifically to the relief of poverty as an act of justice and moral behavior. The word tzedakah, designating any work directed toward aiding the poor, signifies that the poor man's right to food, clothing and shelter, is considered by Judaism as a legal claim which must be honored by the more fortunate.

In Jewish thinking, tzedakah is not a matter of philanthropic sentiment, but an act of justice. The Torah contains a variety of laws applying to the tithe for the poor (maaser ani), the gleaning of the field (leket), the year of release (shemitah), the field-corner to be reaped by the poor (peah). And since the assigned gifts are legally considered as the property of the poor, the owner is not entitled to decide who should receive them. They must be shared by all the poor who happen to come to the fields. The Talmud dicusses in detail the Jewish methods of cooperative tzedakah enterprise, including the collection of food and money for the poor (tamchuy and kuppah).

In his Mishnah Torah, Maimonides devotes ten chapters to Mattenot Aniyim (gifts to the poor) and the rules and regulations related to this subject. He writes:

Anyone who can afford it must give charity to the poor according to their needs. One's first duty likes toward his poor relatives, then toward the needy of his own town, and finally toward those of other towns. Anyone who stays in a town for thirty days should be compelled to contribute to public charity. Any man who gives aid to the poor in a surly manner and with a gloomy face completely nullifies the merit of his own deed. Charity should be given cheerfully, compassionately and comfortingly. He who induces others to contribute to charity is more deserving than they.

Maimonides asserts that, in Jewish religious law, the highest degree of charity is to aid a man in want by offering him a gift or a loan, by entering into partnership with him, or by providing work for him, so that he may become self-supporting. The lowest degree is when one gives grudgingly. The next highest degree is when the donor and the recipient are not aware of each other. In all, he enumerates eight degrees of charity, each one higher than the other.

Rabbi Israel al-Nakawa of 14th century Spain writes in his Menorat Hammaor (lamp of illumination), that the world is like a revolving wheel: one who is rich today may be poor tomorrow. Let a man therefore give charity before the wheel has turned.  See further: Tzedakah Index

Tzeenah Ureenah The most popular Yiddish book, presenting a free translation of the Torah and other biblical selections, has been the famous Teitsch Chummash, otherwise known as the Tze'enah Ureenah, written by Jacob Ashkenasi (1550-1626) of Janow, Poland. The Hebrew title is borrowed from Shir HaShirim 3:11 and signifies: "Come out and see, you women."

The book consists of many traditional commentaries on the Torah, interspersed with legend and ethical teachings, which gained widespread acceptance among Jewish women who had no access to the original Hebrew sources. For generations, the Tze'enah Ure'enah has served as a storehouse of Jewish knowledge for women who, in turn, influenced their children by imparting to them the fascinating information contained therein

Tzelem Image; Likeness; Shadow Adam was created in the tzelem (likeness) of G-d
Tzeniut (Yiddish: Tsnius; also seen in Yiddish as "tsniusdik" and has the same meaning) Modesty; Chastity Judaism requires more of women than of men under the rules of modesty. Women are required to be covered from the neck to the knee, and to have sleeves to the elbow. Certain groups within Judaism, the Chasidim, for example, have a more stringent ruling, requiring women to have sleeves to the wrist and to wear stockings. Some rule that the stockings must have a seam, so that it is clear that the woman has her legs covered. The law of tzeniut also require a married woman to have her hair covered. How this is done is according to one's custom and taste.

Jewish law also states that men may not wear women's clothing and vice-versa

Tzevaot Commander of Heaven's armies (hosts); A military term
Tzidkanu Our Righteousness According to Yirmeyahu 23:5-6 and 33:15-16 Ad-nai Tzidkanu is a term for the Mashiach as well as for Yerushalayim after the coming of Mashiach. The sages taught that Scripture teaches that three things are called by the name of Ad-nai: Rabbi Shmuel bar Nahmani said in the name of Rabbi Yohanan: "Three are called by the name of HaKodesh, Baruch Hu (The Holy One, Blessed be He), and they are: the righteous, the Mashiach and Yerushalayim (Nashim, Baba Batra 75b)
Tzidkatecha Tzedek The three verses from Tehillim 36:7, 71:19 and 119:142, are recited in a reverse order at the Shabbat afternoon service, immediately following the Amidah prayer.

They read:

"Your righteousness is everlasting righteousness, Your Torah is truth" (119:142)

"Your righteousness, O G-d, is most high; You have done great things; O G-d, who is like You?" (71:19)

"Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains; Your judgments are like the vast deep; man and beast You save, O Hashem" (36:7)


These verses contain the words Hashem is the true G-d, a phrase found in Yirmeyahu 10:10.

The Ashkenazim use the reverse order, which ends with "O Hashem," so that the Reader's Kaddish recited after the three verses should appear more logically connected with what precedes it. The order of the verses in the Sefardic Siddur, however, is consecutive

Tzidduk HaDin The term tzidduk ha-din, signifying the submission to the justice of G-d, is mentioned in the Talmud (Avodah Zarah 18a) in connection with the martyrdom suffered by Rabbi Chanina ben Teradyon and his family. He was burned at the stake, after the defeat of Bar Kokhva in 135, for his refusal to obey the anti-Jewish decrees of Hadrian.

Before the execution was carried out by the Romans, Rabbi Chanina quoted the first half of the biblical verse: "He is G-d, faultless in His work"; his wife completed it: "He is the faithful G-d...just and upright He is" (Devarim 32:4); their daughter then quoted from Yirmeyahu 32:19 "You are great in councsel and mighty in action; Your eyes are open to the ways of men, to give to every one according to his conduct..." These biblical passages were later embodied in the rhymed verses of tzidduk ha-din, recited during burial services at the cemetery

Tzipor Bird  
Tzitzit Fringes Ritual fringes on the Tallit or Tallit Katan tied with special knots to remind us of G-d's 613 mitzvot and our responsibility to keep them. The Torah attaches great importance to the wearing of tzitzit as a visible reminder of the obligation to keep the divine mitzvot: "When you look upon it you will remember to do all the commands of Hashem" (BaMidbar 37:39). The numerical value of the letters in the Hebrew word tzitzit (fringe) happens to be exactly to the 613 mitzvot, the tzitzit is made of eight threads with five knots.

Each of the four fringes on the four corners of the Tallit (prayer-robe), represents all the teachings of the Torah. Hence, the wearing of tzitzit is said to be of equal merit with the observance of the whole Torah (Nedarim 25a). The 39 windings that go into the making of each fringe represent the numerical value of YKVK Echad (Hashem is One).  See further: Tzitzit Index

Tziyon Zion
Tzniut Modesty  
Tznuah Modest Woman  
Tzom Gedaliah Fast day commemorating the assassination of Judean governor Gedaliah in 585 B.C.E. With his death, the Jews living in Yisrael after the destruction of the first Temple were dispersed; in mourning over the Exile, the Rabbis decreed it to be a public fast