Jewish Word Glossary

P

pahst (nisht)

(Yid.) (in)appropriate

parnasah

livelihood

parsha

chapter, esp. of Torah

parshat hashavua

weekly parsha read in shul; the parsha for a given week

parve

status of food containing neither dairy nor meat ingredients; wishy-washy [slang]

pashut

simple, basic; literal

pashut pshat

the simplest explanation

paskin

to answer a question on religious practice

paskudnyak

corrupt, degenerate, immoral person

pe'ah

li.=corner: section of field left for poor to glean

peh

mouth

perek

paragraph, esp. in Torah

perochet

ornamental curtain in front of aron

Pesach

Passover, in spring

pesachdik

legal for Passover use or consumption

Petach Tikva

Israeli city, east of Tel Aviv-- Chicago's Israeli "sister city"

petirah

lit.= exemption, absolution: death

peyis

sideburns, esp. long ones worn by chasidim

pidyon haben

the redemption of the bachor from Temple service; still done ceremoniously

pidyon shvuyim

lit.=the redeption of captives: the rescue of refugees

pigua

lit.=encounter, attack: terror attack

Pirkei Avot

"Ethics of the Fathers," a Mishnaic book of sages' sayings

pikuach nefesh

the tenet of violating Jewish law to save a life

pintele

(Yid.) lit.=the point of a Jew: the "spark" of Jewishness within all Jews

pisk

(Yid.) mouth; loudmouth

pisk-malocheh

lit.=mouth work: (Yid.) lip service; one who does not fulfill promises

pits'l

(Yid.) tiny bit; very young or small child

Ploni Almoni

anonymous one, John Doe

plotz

(Yid.) explode, esp. with intense emotion

pnimiyut

lit.=face-ness: the focus on essential, rather than surface, matters

pogrom

violent, anti-Semitic attack of a Jewish village or area

polke

leg or thigh, esp. of a chicken

posek

one trusted to made halachic decisions

potch

(Yid.) spank

potchkeh

(Yid.) tamper, fuss

potchkied

(Yid.) overdone, overwrought

poter

exempt, esp. from a mitzvah

pritzeh

(Yid.) princess

prust

rough, coarse; socially unrefined

pshat

explanation, interpretation

"Pum fakert"/ punkt fahrkhert

lit.=exactly wrong: "Quite the opposite, actually." (compare to "vice versa")

pupik

(Yid.) navel, belly button

Purim

spring holiday for Book of Esther events

punim

(Yid.) face

pushka

box or canister for collecting tzedakah