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Making Sense Of Al Those Acronyms:
A guide to the most frequenty used acronyms in ewish life.

Elizabeth Applebaum
AppleTree Editor

n his letter to the congregation,
your rabbi was reflecting on the
. life of the Besht, cited a commen-
tary by the Rambam and lamented
the passing of the congregation's for-
mer rabbi, Z"L. At the top of his let-
ter he wrote: B"H.
All right, so your rabbi always
was a little, well, obscure in his ser-
mons. But all this? What exactly
does it mean? Here's a handy
guide to everything you've always
wanted to know about Jewish
acronyms — but were afraid to ask.
And if another one pops up that you
don't see here, don't be shy. Please
write The AppleTree and we'll be
glad find out its meaning (if you're
wondering, you can be certain
someone else is, too).

BESHT was Rabbi Israel Ben

Eliezer (c 1700-1760), the founder
of modern Chasidism in eastern
Europe. The acronym actually stands
for Baal Shem Tov, of "Master of the
Good Name," by which he was
known. The Baal Shem Tov advocat-
ed living life with complete joy and
emphasized the close relationship
each Jew (not just the scholarly and
extraordinarily pious) could have
with God — a revolutionary con-
cept at the time, (Incidentally,
Chasidism is not a "more Orthodox"
version of Orthodoxy. It is a simply
different approach, with its own

unique customs and traditions.)

is an acronym for
Rabbi Moses ben Maimon also
known as Maimonides (1 1 35-
1204). A physician and scholar, he
is regarded by most to have been
the greatest Jewish thinkeF of all
time. He was the author of the
Mishneh Torah, an encyclopedic
compilation of rabbinic commen-
taries on the Torah, and the Guide
to the Perplexed, which focuses on
the Torah, tradition and scientific
knowledge.

NM —North American

Federation of Temple Youth.
(Incidentally — it's Reform, not
"reformed.")

CONSERVATIVE
ORGANIZATIONS:
RA Rabbinical Assembly is the

—

professional organization for
Conservative rabbis.
— Jewish Theological
Seminary.
414:4 1, — United Synagogue of
America is the organization of
Conservative congregations.
USY United Synagogue Youth.

—

RASH was Rabbi Solomon bar
Isaac, one of the greatest commen-
tators on the Torah and the Talmud.
Born in France in about 1030,
Rashi wrote in a remarkably clear
and insightful way. He studied literal-
ly thousands of references to com-
pletely understand each word, and
managed to unravel mysteries that
had plagued scholars for years. He
died in 1105.

REFORM ORGANIZATIONS:
CCAR Central Conference of

ORTHODOX
ORGANIZATIONS:
Rabbinical Council
RCA

—

of America is the main associ-
ation of Orthodox rabbis.
YU Yeshiva University.
UOJCA The Union of
Orthodox Jewish Congregations of
America.
NCSY National
Conference of
Synagogue Youth.

see B"H at the top of correspon-
dence or in certain publications.

CHABAD or HABAD represents
the Lubavitchers, one group of
Chasidim (probably the most well
known, but certainly not the largest).
The acronym HABAD stands for
Hochmah (wisdom), Binah (under-
standing), Da'at (knowledge).

, stands for zichrono I'vracha,
for a man, or zichronah I'vracha for
a woman. It means: May his/her
name be for a blessing."
This is used both when speaking
of someone dead (when the entire
Hebrew phrase, rather than the
acronym, is used) and in written
material about the deceased (when
you generally see the acronym.)

—

—

—

—

American Rabbis is the professional
organization for rabbis affiliated
with the movement.
HUC JIR Hebrew Union
College-Jewish Institute of Religion is
the Reform theological seminary.
UAHC Union of American
Hebrew Congregations is an orga-
nization of Reform temples through-
out the country.

—

-

—

R"H

—

This

stands for
Baruch
HaShem, literal-
ly "Praised be
the name [of
God]." Also may
mean B'ezrat
HaShem, or "With
God's help." You often will

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1999

Detroit Jewish News

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