Authors: Eishes Chayil,Judy Brown

Tags: #Juvenile Fiction, #People & Places, #United States, #Other, #Social Issues, #Sexual Abuse, #Religious, #Jewish, #Family, #General

Hush (41 page)

BOOK: Hush

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mitzvah
(MITS-vuh),
singular
;
mitzvos
(MITS-voys),
plural
:
commandment(s) or good deed(s).

Mitzvah Tantz
(MITS-vuh TAHNTZ): mystical ceremony concluding
Chassidic
weddings; the bride “dances” with the groom and ancestors are believed to come down to bless the couple.

modernishe
(mud-ER-nish-ih): modern; pertains to anyone or anything not exactly in accordance with tradition or what is currently acceptable.

moser
(MOY-sir): traitor, snitch.

nachas
(NAH-chis): pride. Example: “She has such
nachas
in her children.”

nebech
(NEH-bich): expression of pity. Example: “
Nebech
, he is ill.”

nisht
(NIHSHT): not.

nosh
(NAHSH): junk food.

oy gevald
(OY gih-VALD);
also
,
oy vey
(OY VAY): “oh boy.”

past nisht
(PAHST NIHSHT): inappropriate. Example: “It’s
past nisht
that a girl should go out in such a short skirt.”

payos
(PEYE-is): side curls worn by boys and men.

pipikel
(PIH-pih-kul): penis.

pish
(PIHSH): to urinate.

plotz
(PLOTS): to go crazy with frustration.

rabbonim
(rah-BAH-nim): grand rabbis of the community.

rashanta
(rih-SHAHN-tuh): evil woman.

rav
(RUHV): certified rabbi, knowledgeable in all legal matters of Torah.

Reb
(REHB): mister.

Rebbe
(REHB-ih): teacher of boys in elementary school.

Rebbitzen
(REHB-ih-tzin): wife of the
rebbe
.

rofeh
(ROY-feh): to heal.

Rosh kollel
(ROYSH KOY-lel): head of the
kollel
.

rosh yeshiva
(ROYSH yih-SHEE-vuh): head of the
yeshiva
.

schnitzel
(SHNIH-tzul): fried chicken breasts.

Sefat Emet
(SFAHS EH-mes):
Language of the Truth
, a widely studied commentary on the Torah, written by the Grand
Rebbe
of Gur.

segulah
(sih-GOO-luh): omen.

Shabbos
(SHAH-bis): Sabbath, the day of rest; begins Friday at sundown and ends Saturday at sundown.

shadchan
(SHAHD-chin),
singular
;
shadchanim
(SHAHD-chah-nihm),
plural
: matchmaker(s).

shah
(SHAH): be quiet!

shaitel
(SHEYE-til): wig.

shaygetz
(SHEYE-gitz): bad goy.

sheineh bachur
(SHEYE-nih BOO-chir): good boy.

Shema Yisroel
(shih-MAH yis-RUH-el): “Hear O Israel”; the beginning of the most important prayer in Judaism, said during the morning and evening prayers; the words religious Jews hold as their rallying call; a call of identity, martyrdom, faith, and belief.

sherayim
(SHREYE-im): chocolates or nuts handed out by the Grand
Rebbe
, often at the
tish
.

sheva brachos
(SHEV-ah BRUH-choys): seven blessings recited for seven consecutive nights for the week following a wedding.

shidduch
(SHID-ihch): match between a boy and a girl; an engagement.

shiksa
(SHIK-sih): female gentile or non-Jew.

shluch
(SHLUHCH):
unorganized person.

shmutz
(SHMOOTZ): dirt.

shnorrer
(SHNUH-rer): beggar.

shnuck
(SHNOOK): stupid person.

shtetle
(SHTEH-tul),
singular
;
shtetlech
(SHTEHT-lech),
plural
: small village(s) where most Eastern European Jews lived before the Holocaust.

shtiper
(SHTIH-pir): to push; a pusher.

shtism
(SHTIH-sim): nonsense.

shtreimel
(SHTREYE-muhl): fur hat worn by
Chassidim.

shul
(SHEWL): synagogue.

siddur
(SID-der): prayer book.

stiyah
(STEE-yuh): contradiction.

sugvaniyot
(SOOG-van-NEE-yuht): doughnuts.

taavah
(TAH-ah-VIH): a desire that needs to be suppressed.

Talmud
(TAHL-mid): the Book of Laws, a written record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs, and history.

Talmud Chacham
(TAHL-mid CHAH-chahm): Torah scholar.

tefillin
(ti-FIL-in): phylacteries; two small, black, cubic leather boxes with leather straps. The boxes contain scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah; attached to the head and on the arm, they are worn by observant Jewish men during weekday morning prayers.

tehillim
(tih-HILL-ihm): psalms.

teshuvah
(tih-SHEW-vuh): repentance.

tish
(TIHSH): joyous celebration in which
Chassidim
stand around the Grand
Rebbe’
s table and watch as he celebrates with a small entourage.

Tizsku Li’mitzvos
(TIZ-kew lih-MITS-voys): “May you be worthy to perform additional positive commandments.”

totty
(TAH-tee): father.

tzaddekes
(tzah-DAY-kihs): saintly female.

tzaddik
(TZAH-dihk): saintly male.

tzaddikim
(tzah-DEE-kihm): saintly people.

tzeddakah
(tzih-DAH-kuh): charity.

tziztis
(TZIH-tzihs): four-cornered tassled garment worn by religious men in accordance with the law of the Torah, Numbers 15:38: “Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them throughout their generations fringes in the corners of their garments, and that they put with the fringe of each corner a thread of blue.”

tzniesdig
(tznee-ihs-DIHG): modest.

vildeh
(VIHL-dih): wild, in reference to wild behavior.

V
us ken min tun
(VOOS KEN MIHN TEEN): “What can one do?”

yeshiva
(yih-SHEE-vah),
singular
;
yeshivos
(yih-SHEE-vihs),
plural
:
high school(s) for boys.

Yichud
(yee-CHOOD): laws about the need to separate males and females in every potential situation.

yichus
(YEE-choos): prestigious family background, wherein the family is descended from ancestors who played a crucial role in the
Chassidic
world. Example: “
Yichus
enables one to make a good match.”

Yiddishe
(YIHD-ihsh-eh): Jewish.

Yiden
(YEE-din): Jews.

Zah shoin shtill
(ZAH SHOYN SHTIHL): “Be quiet already!”

zaida
(ZAY-dah): grandfather.

zemiros
(ZMEE-rihs): songs sung on the Sabbath.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

These are the people who gave me a voice: Nadia Cornier, my agent and only reader for too long; Emily Easton, editor and publisher at Walker, who held the book close to her heart and never let go; Regina Castillo, Melissa Kavonic, Alexei Esikoff, and Stacy Cantor, who read the book again and again, who knew the details more than I, and whose silent hand I remain indebted to. Your time, your thoughts, your skills grace the pages of this story.

And to those whose names I cannot mention, whose haunted voices echo in my heart, your loving support and silent suffering are etched in the words I write.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

First published in the United States of America in September 2010
by Walker Publishing Company, Inc., a division of Bloomsbury Publishing, Inc.
E-book edition published in September 2010
www.bloomsburyteens.com

For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to Permissions, Walker BFYR, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10010

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
available upon request
ISBN 978-0-8027-2088-7 (hardcover)
LCCN: 2010010329

ISBN 978-0-8027-2270-6 (e-book)

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