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This is a list of Hebrew abbreviations .
This list is far from complete; you can help by expanding it.
The entries are sorted according to the Hebrew alphabet. Prefixes indicating prepositions, conjunctions and articles (such as ב, ד, ה, ו, כ, ל, ש) have generally been removed, with the following exceptions:
In addition, suffixes modifying abbreviations have been removed using the same guidelines. When searching for an abbreviation ending in a plural, adjectival, or possessive suffix like ית, ים, י, ה, ו, ות, the suffix should be removed if not an integral part of the abbreviation, as described in regard to prefixes above. Depending on the typography, note that the gershayim (״) may either:
Where only part of a term is abbreviated (for example, תנא דבי אליהו abbreviates as תנא דב״א), the entry is sorted on the abbreviated portion (דב״א), and the unabbreviated portion appears in square brackets ([תנא]) to produce תנא] דב״א].
Some abbreviations included here are actually gematria (Hebrew numeronyms), but the number is so closely associated with some noun that it is grammatically used as a noun and is synonymous with it, for example ב״ן, Ban.
Other abbreviations contain a variable gematria component alongside other words, like the chapter references פי״א perek yud-alef (chapter 11) or פ״ט perek tet (chapter 9). Rather than list separate entries for every possible gematria, or use only one example number, the gematria component is replaced with [x] to produce (for example) [x]פ״.
Some Aramaic and Yiddish abbreviations may not be included here; more may be found in the List of Aramaic acronyms and the List of Yiddish acronyms, respectively.
Many of the abbreviations here may be similar or identical to those in the other lists of acronyms. In fact, a work written in Hebrew may have Aramaic acronyms interspersed throughout (ex. Tanya), much as an Aramaic work may borrow from Hebrew (ex. Talmud, Midrash, Zohar). Although much less common than Aramaic abbreviations, some Hebrew material contains Yiddish abbreviations too (for example, Chassidic responsa, commentaries, and other material).
Not all lexemes containing a geresh (׳) or gershayim (״) are abbreviations, and such non-abbreviations do not appear in this list. Therefore, if after much effort an abbreviation still cannot be deciphered, it is sometimes helpful to try an alternate mode of interpretation. For instance, aside from abbreviations, the geresh and gershayim marks may also be used:
קיימא לן, Kayama Lan - (Aramaic) It was upheld
In modern editions of many Hebrew books with technical jargon, it is common to find lists of the abbreviations used in the work, for example, in the back near the index, or sometimes near the table of contents.
While the other above lists of abbreviations played a supporting role in the creation of this list, most of these abbreviations were encountered in and added directly from primary and secondary sources. It is impractical to cite the source of every item in the list above in its original place. Instead, an effort will be made here to list the sources where these abbreviations were found and expanded from their originally published form, or repeated in their source in their expansion, often with explanations, annotations and translations:
In addition, Kehot's Chabad Heritage Series of translated, elucidated and vowelized maamorim of the Rebbes of Lubavitch were extremely helpful.
A rabbi is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as semikha—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of the rabbi developed in the Pharisaic and Talmudic eras, when learned teachers assembled to codify Judaism's written and oral laws. The title "rabbi" was first used in the first century CE. In more recent centuries, the duties of a rabbi became increasingly influenced by the duties of the Protestant Christian minister, hence the title "pulpit rabbis", and in 19th-century Germany and the United States rabbinic activities including sermons, pastoral counseling, and representing the community to the outside, all increased in importance.
A yeshiva is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha, while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The studying is usually done through daily shiurim as well as in study pairs called chavrusas. Chavrusa-style learning is one of the unique features of the yeshiva.
Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch, is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements. It is one of the largest Hasidic groups as well as one of the largest Jewish religious organizations in the world. Unlike most Haredi groups, which are self-segregating, Chabad mainly operates in the wider world and it caters to secularized Jews.
A Rebbe or Admor is the spiritual leader in the Hasidic movement, and the personalities of its dynasties. The titles of Rebbe and Admor, which used to be a general honor title even before the beginning of the movement, became, over time, almost exclusively identified with its Tzadikim.
Menachem Mendel Schneersohn also known as the Tzemach Tzedek was an Orthodox rabbi, leading 19th-century posek, and the third rebbe of the Chabad Lubavitch Hasidic movement.
Shneur Zalman of Liadi was a rabbi and the founder and first Rebbe of Chabad, a branch of Hasidic Judaism. He wrote many works, and is best known for Shulchan Aruch HaRav, Tanya, and his Siddur Torah Or compiled according to the Nusach Ari.
The Dardaim or Dor Daim, are adherents of the Dor Deah movement in Orthodox Judaism. That movement took its name in 1912 in Yemen under Rabbi Yiḥyah Qafiḥ, and had its own network of synagogues and schools, although, in actuality, the movement existed long before that name had been coined for it. According to ethnographer and historian, Shelomo Dov Goitein, author and historiographer, Hayyim Habshush had been a member of this movement before it had been given the name Dor Deah, writing, “...He and his friends, partly under European influence, but driven mainly by developments among the Yemenite Jews themselves, formed a group who ardently opposed all those forces of mysticism, superstition and fatalism which were then so prevalent in the country and strove for exact knowledge and independent thought, and the application of both to life.” It was only some years later, when Rabbi Yihya Qafih became the headmaster of the new Jewish school in Sana'a built by the Ottoman Turks and where he wanted to introduce a new curriculum in the school whereby boys would also learn arithmetic and the rudiments of the Arabic and Turkish languages that Rabbi Yihya Yitzhak Halevi gave to Rabbi Qafih's movement the name Daradʻah, a word which is an Arabic broken plural made-up of the Hebrew words Dör Deʻoh, and which means "Generation of Knowledge."
Tzadik is a title in Judaism given to people considered righteous, such as biblical figures and later spiritual masters. The root of the word ṣadiq, is ṣ-d-q, which means "justice" or "righteousness". When applied to a righteous woman, the term is inflected as tzadika/tzaddikot.
Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag (1885–1954) or Yehuda Leib Ha-Levi Ashlag, also known as the Baal Ha-Sulam in reference to his magnum opus, was an orthodox rabbi and kabbalist born in Łuków, Congress Poland, Russian Empire, to a family of scholars connected to the Hasidic courts of Porisov and Belz. Rabbi Ashlag lived in the Holy Land from 1922 until his death in 1954. In addition to his Sulam commentary on the Zohar, his other primary work, Talmud Eser Sefirot is regarded as the central textbook for students of Kabbalah. Ashlag systematically interpreted the wisdom and promoted its wide dissemination. In line with his directives, many contemporary adherents of Ashlag's teachings strive to spread Kabbalah to the masses.
Kehot Publication Society is the publishing division of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.
Dovber Schneuri was the second Rebbe of the Chabad Lubavitch Chasidic movement. Rabbi Dovber was the first Chabad rebbe to live in the town of Lyubavichi, the town for which this Hasidic dynasty is named. He is also known as the Mitteler Rebbe, being the second of the first three generations of Chabad leaders.
The primary texts of Kabbalah were allegedly once part of an ongoing oral tradition. The written texts are obscure and difficult for readers who are unfamiliar with Jewish spirituality which assumes extensive knowledge of the Tanakh, Midrash and halakha.
Hillel HaLevi Malisov of Paritch, a levite by birth, commonly known as Reb Hillel Paritcher (1795-1864) was a famous Orthodox Jewish Chabad Rabbi born in Khmilnyk, Ukraine. Specifically, he served as a Mashpia and communal rabbi in the towns of Paritch, near Minsk, Russia, and Bobroisk, Belarus. He was considered exceptional in his scholarship and piety, and is referred to as a Tzadik, and even as a "half Rebbe."
Epikoros is a Jewish term figuratively meaning "a heretic", cited in the Mishnah, that refers to an individual who does not have a share in the World to Come:
כָּל־יִשְׂרָאֵל יֵשׁ לָהֶם חֵלֶק לָעוֹלָם הַבָּא. וְאֵילּוּ שֶׁאֵין לָהֶן חֵלֶק לָעוֹלָם הַבָּא הָאוֹמֵר אֵין תְּחִייַת הַמֵּתִים מִן הַתּוֹרָה וְאֵין תּוֹרָה מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֶפִּיקוּרוֹס.
All of Israel have a part in the World to Come. But the following have no part in the World to Come: One who says that the resurrection of the dead is not biblical, or that the Torah is not from Heaven, or the Epicurean.
כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל יֵשׁ לָהֶם חֵלֶק לָעוֹלָם הַבָּא, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר וְעַמֵּךְ כֻּלָּם צַדִּיקִים לְעוֹלָם יִירְשׁוּ אָרֶץ נֵצֶר מַטָּעַי מַעֲשֵׂה יָדַי לְהִתְפָּאֵר. וְאֵלּוּ שֶׁאֵין לָהֶם חֵלֶק לָעוֹלָם הַבָּא, הָאוֹמֵר אֵין תְּחִיַּת הַמֵּתִים מִן הַתּוֹרָה, וְאֵין תּוֹרָה מִן הַשָּׁמָיִם, וְאֶפִּיקוֹרֶס.
All of the Jewish people have a share in the World-to-Come, as it is stated: “And your people also shall be all righteous, they shall inherit the land forever; the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, for My name to be glorified”. And these [are the exceptions,] the people who have no share in the World-to-Come [...] One who says: There is no resurrection of the dead derived from the Torah, and one who says: The Torah did not originate from Heaven, and an epikoros[.]
Chabad philosophy comprises the teachings of the leaders of Chabad-Lubavitch, a Hasidic movement. Chabad Hasidic philosophy focuses on religious concepts such as God, the soul, and the meaning of the Jewish commandments.
Dirah betachtonim, is a significant theological concept in Chabad philosophy describing the ultimate desire of God as relating to the manifestation of the divine presence within the material world.
Yosef Yitzchak "Yossi" Jacobson, also known as YY Jacobson, is an American Chabad rabbi and speaker from Monsey, New York.
Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Hillel is the head of the Kabbalistic Yeshiva Ahavat Shalom in Jerusalem. He has been described as a prolific author and publisher of sefarim. The majority of his works are about Kabbalah.
Beit Rebbe is a book of Chabad Hasidic history written by Hayim Meir Heilman, published in Berditchev in 1902. The work is seen as among the first to establish a Hasidic tradition of historiography.