And other Hebrew Terms on the Website
L
- Lamed:
- The 12th letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
- Also see: Alef-Beit Significances;The Mystical Significance of the Hebrew Letters (including an image and audio pronunciation of each letter).
- Lamed-vavnik ([Yiddish]):
- One of the thirty-six tzadikim in every generation in whose merit the world exists. The numerical value of the two Hebrew letters lamed and vavis thirty-six.
- Lecha Dodi ("Come, my beloved"):
- A hymn recited as part of Kabbalat Shabbat.
- Levi ("Levite"; pl. Leviim):
- A Levi is a descendant of Levi, the son of Jacob (excluding the priestly descendants of Aaron), whose role was to assist the Kohen in the Temple.
- Leviathan:
- Leviathan is the name of an archetypal sea-creature, which is destined to wage battle against the Behemoth, only to be consumed by the righteous at the end of days; an animal of "the sea" (a symbol for the concealed realm), it symbolizes the category of righteous souls who are concealed in this world (and whose essential "occupation" in Torah is in its concealed aspect, the Kabbalah—esoteric tradition). (See Behemoth, as well as tzadik nistar).
- Levush (Garment; pl. levushim):
- Levush is one of the three primary "expressions" of the inner powers (the enclothed "limbs") of the soul (or "supernal sefirot")–thought, speech and action. While the inner powers of the soul are seen to correspond to the sefirot in the world of Atzilut, the three "garments" of thought, speech and action are understood to correspond to the three lower worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah—respectively.
- Lights:
- See sefirah.
- Love (Ahavah):
- "Love" is the spiritual state associated with the sefirah of chesed.
- For further explanation see The Powers of the Soul: Ahavah
- Lovingkindness (Chesed):
- "Lovingkindness" is the fourth of the ten sefirot, and the first of the emotive attributes within Creation.
- For further explanation see: The Divine Emanations–Chesed.
- Lowliness (shiflut):
- "Lowliness" is the spiritual state associated with the sefirah of malchut.
- For further explanation see: The Powers of the Soul–Shiflut.
- Lubavitch ("city of Love" [Russian]):
- The town that served as the center of the Chabad movement from 1812 to 1915; the movement became known also after the name of this town.
- Lubavitcher Rebbe:
- The Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (11 Nissan 1902 – 3 Tamuz 1994), was the seventh Rebbe of the Chabad dynasty. The Rebbe is widely acknowledged as the greatest Jewish leader of the second half of the 20th century, a dominant scholar in both the revealed and hidden aspects of Torah. He was admired and respected worldwide, by both Jews and non-Jews alike. The Rebbes fluency in many languages and his expertise in all facets of human experience — from the spiritual and emotional to the scientific and technological — drew tens of thousands from throughout the world to consult with him at his New York headquarters. With his extraordinary love and concern for every Jew on the planet, the Rebbe sent thousands of emissaries around the globe, dedicated to strengthening Judaism in the four corners of the earth.
- Lubavitcher:
- 1. someone from the town of Lubavitch.
- 2. [someone or something] belonging to or of the Chabad movement.
- Lulav ("palm branch"):
- A Lulav is one of the four species taken up and ritually shaken on the holiday of Sukkot. It is bound up with two other species–the hadas("myrtle branch") and the aravah ("willow branch"). These species are held together with the Etrog during the performance of the ritual.
Luria, Rabbi Isaac: See Ari.
