Glossary “The Lost Mirror. Jews and ‘Conversos’ in the Middle Ages”

Afikoman: last piece of the matzah eaten at the end of Passover.

Aljama: Jewish community subject to Christian rule.

Bimà (or bimah): raised platform in a synagogue used for Torah readings.

Circumcision or Brit milah: Jewish practice of removing the foreskin from male children on the eighth day after birth, sign of the enduring covenant between God and Abraham and his descendants.

Dayan: rabbinic judge.

Haggadah (pl. Haggadot): tells the story of The Exodus and must be read at Passover Seder.

Hanukkah: festival commemorating the purification of the Temple, observed by lighting a candelabrum with eight candles.

Hekhal (or Torah ark): ornamental chamber in the Eastern wall of a synagogue.

Charoset: sweet blend of fruit, spices and wine spread on the bitter herbs eaten at the Passover Seder.

Judaisers or Crypto-Jews: converts who practised Judaism in secret.

Liber iudeorum: record of loans granted and debts owed by Jews.

Maror: bitter herbs that must be eaten at Seder.

Marrano: Converso practising Judaism secretly.

Matzah (pl. matzot, matzos): unleavened flatbread that must be eaten at Seder.

Menorah: candelabrum from the Temple in Jerusalem and, by extension, any seven-branched candelabrum.

Mishneh Torah: canonical compilation of the oral law that enshrines the rules of the Torah.

Mitzvah (pl. mitzvot): the 613 religious commandments that must be performed by observant Jews.

Passover: holiday commemorating the exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Family celebrations begin with the Seder.

Rimmonim (or Torah finials): literally pomegranates in Hebrew. Decorative pieces that often adorn the ends of the rollers on a Torah scroll.

Sabbath: Saturday, day of rest and worship observed by not lighting fires or doing any work.

Seder: ritual Passover feast when Jews eat matzah, maror and other herbs with charoset, break the afikoman and read the Haggadah.

Sukkot: holiday commemorating the Israelites’ pilgrimage through the desert to the promised land.

Tallit: prayer shawl worn by Jewish men.

Talmud: canonical compilation of the oral law in the Mishneh and other classical rabbinical sources.

Tiq: rigid wooden or metal case that houses the Torah scroll.

Torah: book or scroll with the Mosaic Law and doctrine of Judaism traditionally considered important in Sinai.

Tzitzit: knotted fringe on a tallit.

Yom Kippur: holiday centred on atonement and repentance, observed with fasting and asceticism.

Zohar: foundational text of the Jewish Kabbalah.