Glossary

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Transliteration	Hebrew	Definition
Sefer Torah	סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה	Torah scroll.
Shabbat	שַׁבָּת	The Jewish Sabbath, from sundown Friday evening through sundown Saturday evening.
Shabbat Shalom	שַׁבָּת שַׁלוֹם	The typical greeting for Shabbat.
Shacharit	שַׁחֲרִית	The morning prayer service.
Shalom	שָׁלוֹם	Peace; also a word for greeting and for farewell.
Shana Tova	שַׁנָה טוֹבָה	Happy New Year. The typical greeting for Rosh HaShanah
Shavua Tov	שַׁבוּעַ טוֹב	A Good Week; the typical greeting after Shabbat ends.
Shavuot	שַׁבוּעוֹת	Festival of the Giving of the Torah.
Shehecheyanu	שֶׁהֶחֱיָנו	Special blessing recited on holidays, lifecycle milestones, upon receiving new clothes, or other special beginnings.
Sheloshim	שְׁלוֹשִׁים	The 30-day period after a loved one dies.
Shema	שְׁמַע	In Jewish prayer, the declaration of God’s unity (from Deuteronomy 6:4).
Shemini Atzeret	שְׁמִינִי עֲצֶרֶת	“Eighth Day of Assembly,” a festival which brings Sukkot to a close.
Shiva	שִׁיבַע	The seven-day period immediately after a funeral.
Shoah	שׁוֹאָה	“The Holocaust,” the Jewish term for the genocidal annihilation of Europe’s Jews during the Nazi era.
Shofar	שׁוֹפַר	Ram’s horn sounded on Rosh HaShanah and at the end of Yom Kippur.
Siddur	סִידוּר	Prayerbook.
Simchat Torah	שִׂמְחַת תּוֹרָה	Celebration of completing the annual cycle of Torah reading.
Sivan	סִיוָן	The third month of the Jewish Calendar. Shavuot is on the 6th of Sivan.
Sukkot	סֻכּוֹת	Fall harvest festival.