Glossary — Torah Restoration

A

Aleph-Bet: The Hebrew alphabet, named after its first two letters — Aleph (א) and Bet (ב). Unlike the English alphabet, Hebrew letters are also used as numbers and carry ancient pictographic meanings. The Torah is written entirely in this 22-letter alphabet, with no vowels in the original text (vowel marks were added later by the Masoretes).
Akedah: "The Binding" — from the Hebrew root akad, to bind. The name given to the near-sacrifice of Isaac on Mount Moriah in Genesis 22. At the moment Abraham raised the knife, Yehovah provided a ram — which died tachat beno, "instead of his son" (Genesis 22:13). The Akedah is the Torah's first unmistakable establishment of substitutionary atonement: one life provided by Yehovah Himself to stand in place of another. Restoration scripture identifies the Akedah as a "similitude" (Moses 5:7, cf. Jacob 4:5) — a deliberate shadow of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten. Abraham named the place Yehovah-Yireh — Yehovah will provide — a declaration that outlived the moment and pointed forward.
Atonement: Reconciliation between a sinful human being and a holy God through the covering or removal of sin. In Torah, atonement is accomplished through blood: "For it is the blood that maketh atonement for the soul" (Leviticus 17:11). The Hebrew root is kapar (כָּפַר), meaning to cover, to wipe clean, to appease. In the Levitical sacrificial system, atonement required a substitute — an animal that bore the consequence the worshiper deserved. The annual system of Yom Kippur made atonement at national scale. Restoration scripture identifies the limitation of the animal system and insists on the need for something greater: "It must needs be an infinite and eternal sacrifice" (Alma 34:10), capable of fully resolving what annual repetition could only temporarily address. For Latter-day Torah-keepers, understanding atonement means understanding what the sacrificial system was always pointing toward, and why.
Agency: The God-given ability and responsibility to choose. One of the foundational principles of the Restoration — the capacity to act, not merely to be acted upon (2 Nephi 2:26). Agency is the reason revelation respects stewardship boundaries: a prompting received about someone else does not give authority over their choices. It also means discipleship is always voluntary. Yeshua never compelled. He invited. He taught. He let the rich young man walk away.
Ashkenazi: Jews whose ancestry traces to medieval Central and Eastern Europe (Germany, Poland, Russia, etc.). Ashkenazi tradition developed its own pronunciation of Hebrew, liturgical customs, and legal rulings that sometimes differ from Sephardic (Spanish/Middle Eastern) traditions. Many commonly-known Jewish practices come from Ashkenazi custom rather than written Torah.

B

Babylon: In the Hebrew prophets and in Revelation, "Babylon" refers not only to the literal ancient empire but to any system — religious, commercial, or political — that substitutes human authority for Yehovah's covenant order. Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Daniel develop this image at length before John uses it in Revelation 18. The call to "come out of her" (Rev. 18:4) is a call to live according to Yehovah's Torah rather than the world's systems.
Broken Heart / Contrite Spirit: The inner posture Yehovah requires of those returning to Him. David wrote: “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise” (Psalm 51:17). Yeshua echoes this directly in 3 Nephi 9:20: “Ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit.” A broken heart is not self-hatred or despair — it is the end of self-defensive pride before Yehovah. A contrite spirit is a humbled, repentant spirit that no longer argues with God’s assessment. Together they describe the inner condition that makes genuine teshuva possible. The sacrificial system could not substitute for them — the prophets rebuked Israel precisely when offerings were brought while the heart remained hardened.
Berean: A Berean is one who tests all teaching against scripture before accepting it. The name comes from Acts 17:10–11, where Paul and Silas traveled to Berea and found a community who “received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” The Bereans did not simply defer to the apostle — they verified his words against the written text. Luke calls this behavior “more noble” than credulity. For Torah-keeping Latter-day Saints, the Berean posture is not insubordination — it is obedience to Yehovah’s own standard: “To the law and to the testimony — if they speak not according to this word, there is no light in them” (Isaiah 8:20). A Berean honors prophets by comparing their words to the Prophet Moses.
Blood Prohibition: The Torah's repeated command not to consume blood (Leviticus 17:14, Deuteronomy 12:23). The reason given is that "the life of the flesh is in the blood." This applies to all meat — not just ritually slaughtered meat — and requires draining blood before eating. It is one of the earliest dietary commands, repeated to Noah (Genesis 9:4) before Sinai.
Bikkurim / Firstfruits: Hebrew bikkurim (בִּכּוּרִים) — the first and choicest portion of the harvest dedicated to Yehovah before any of it is consumed. The Torah commands bringing the firstfruits to the house of Yehovah (Exodus 23:19). Bikkurim is not merely about chronological order — it is about priority: Yehovah receives the premier portion of one’s substance before the remainder is used for anything else. The principle underlying “Honor Yehovah with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase” (Proverbs 3:9).

C

Clean / Unclean: Torah categories (Leviticus 11, Deuteronomy 14) that describe which animals may be eaten (clean/tahor) and which may not (unclean/tamei). These categories existed before Sinai — Noah was told to bring seven pairs of clean animals onto the ark (Genesis 7:2). "Clean" does not mean hygienically clean; it describes covenant fitness. An animal can be physically clean in every way and still be unclean in Torah terms.
Covenant: A binding agreement between Yehovah and His people, sealed with blood, an oath, or a sign. The Torah is not a list of rules — it is the terms of an existing covenant relationship. Yehovah initiated this covenant with Abraham (Genesis 15, 17), renewed it at Sinai with all Israel, and the terms have never been abrogated. In LDS theology, the Restoration revives covenant Israel rather than replacing it.
Contention: Speech or behavior that stirs strife, division, or conflict among people. In Restoration scripture, contention is directly attributed to the adversary: "He that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil" (3 Nephi 11:29). The Torah's framework of guarding speech addresses contention through the prohibition on talebearing (Leviticus 19:16) and the command not to spread gossip that divides. Contention is not the same as honest disagreement or righteous reproof — it is speech whose purpose or effect is to damage relationships and create division for its own sake.
Chesed: Lovingkindness, steadfast covenant love, unfailing faithfulness. One of the richest words in the Hebrew Bible, chesed describes the bond of loyalty between covenant partners. When Yehovah demonstrates chesed, He acts in faithfulness to His covenant regardless of the worthiness of the recipient. It appears over 240 times in the Hebrew scriptures and is often translated “mercy,” “kindness,” or “steadfast love.” In Exodus 34:6, Yehovah describes Himself as “abounding in chesed and emet (truth).” Chesed is not mere sentiment — it is covenant action; the relentless faithfulness of One who keeps His word.

D

Dead Sea Scrolls: A collection of approximately 900 Jewish texts discovered between 1947 and 1956 near Qumran, on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea. They date from roughly 250 BC to 70 AD and include the oldest surviving manuscripts of most books of the Hebrew Bible. Crucially, many scrolls contain the divine name יְהֹוָה (Yehovah) fully vocalized — supporting the manuscript evidence Nehemia Gordon cites for the name's pronunciation.
Doctrine and Covenants (D&C): A volume of LDS scripture containing revelations given primarily to Joseph Smith during the early years of the Restoration (1830s–1840s). For Torah-keeping Latter-day Saints, many passages in the D&C read differently — and more deeply — when read alongside the Torah that originally gave them their vocabulary and structure. Section 89 (dietary code), Section 132 (plural covenant), and others contain unmistakable Torah echoes.
Davar: Word, spoken word, matter, command. In Hebrew thought, God’s davar is not merely sound — it is creative power. “By the word (davar) of Yehovah were the heavens made” (Psalm 33:6). When Yehovah speaks, reality responds. The Ten Commandments are literally the “Ten Words” (Aseret haDvarim, Exodus 34:28) — not merely rules, but spoken acts of God that establish reality and covenant. The same word used for God’s creative speech is used for His commandments, His promises, and His revealed Torah.
Derech: Way, path, road, manner of life. Derech describes not just a physical path but the entire course of one’s life — one’s habits, values, and direction. The Torah describes Yehovah’s will as “the way” His people are to walk. Jeremiah speaks of “the good way” (Jeremiah 6:16). Walking in the derech of God means ordering one’s entire life according to His instruction, not merely assenting to it mentally. The New Covenant community was originally called “the Way” (Acts 9:2) — a profoundly Hebraic identifier.
Discernment: The spiritual ability to recognize the difference between truth and error, light and darkness, God’s voice and counterfeit voices. John commands it: “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God” (1 John 4:1). Discernment is not cynicism — it is careful reverence. The primary instrument of discernment is scripture: “To the law and to the testimony — if they speak not according to this word, there is no light in them” (Isaiah 8:20). Sincere people can mistake emotion for revelation. Discernment is what keeps personal experience answerable to the revealed word.
Double-Mindedness: A fractured spiritual allegiance in which a person attempts to trust simultaneously in worldly security and in Yehovah’s covenants. James defines the victim as a dipsychos — literally “two-souled” — who is “unstable in all his ways” (James 1:8). The Shema’s demand to love Yehovah with the totality of one’s heart is the direct scriptural cure. Prophets from Elijah to Alma diagnosed this condition as the root cause of covenant failure. The law of tithing was instituted in part to heal it by requiring a concrete, first-fruits declaration of where one’s true allegiance lies.

E

Echad: Hebrew for "one." The word used in the Shema — "Yehovah our God, Yehovah is echad" (Deuteronomy 6:4). Importantly, echad is used throughout the Torah for a composite or unified one: one cluster of grapes (Numbers 13:23), one flesh in marriage (Genesis 2:24), one community (Genesis 11:6). It does not inherently mean absolute, indivisible singularity. Compare with yachid.
Ephraim / House of Joseph: One of the twelve tribes of Israel; the son of Joseph (son of Jacob). In LDS theology, many Latter-day Saints are identified as being of the tribe of Ephraim through lineage or adoption, making them literal heirs to the covenant promises given to Israel. Ezekiel 37 describes a "stick of Ephraim" being joined to the stick of Judah — which Joseph Smith identified with the Book of Mormon joining the Bible.
Emunah: Faith, faithfulness, steadfast trust, reliability. Emunah is not primarily intellectual belief — it is the faithfulness of one who acts on what they know to be true. Related to the root aman (to be firm, reliable, trustworthy), from which we also get “Amen.” When Habakkuk writes “the righteous shall live by his emunah” (Habakkuk 2:4), he is describing a life of faithful covenant action, not merely an internal state. Biblical faith always moves the hands and feet. The Lectures on Faith Revisited place emunah at the center: faith that does not produce covenant obedience is not yet fully biblical faith.

F

Fasting: A spiritual discipline that joins physical restraint with prayer, humility, and seeking God. The Torah does not mandate a weekly fast, but Yom Kippur is called a day of “afflicting the soul” — universally understood as fasting (Leviticus 23:27). The prophets, including David, Elijah, and Daniel, fasted in times of seeking. Alma testified: “I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself” (Alma 5:46). Fasting is not a formula. It is the deliberate silencing of the body’s demands so that the spirit has room to hear. The preparation it creates is often as important as the answer it opens.

G

Grace: Grace is Yehovah's unearned, freely given favor toward His people. It has two inseparable dimensions in Scripture: pardon (forgiveness of sin through the atoning work of Messiah) and power (strength supplied to do what we cannot do on our own — "my grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness," 2 Corinthians 12:9). The Hebrew concept closest to grace is chen (חֵן, favor) or the richer chesed (חֶסֶד, steadfast covenant love) — Yehovah's loyal, promised faithfulness toward His covenant people that persists despite their failure. Grace is not permission to ignore the standard; it is the means by which the standard becomes achievable. The Restoration tradition adds important nuance: "it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do" (2 Nephi 25:23) — grace completes what our effort cannot.
Godhead: The LDS term for the divine council of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost — understood as three distinct, separate personages who are perfectly unified in purpose and will, not one substance. This differs from Nicene Trinitarian doctrine (which describes one substance in three persons). For Torah-keeping Latter-day Saints, the Hebrew Shema's use of echad (composite unity) rather than yachid (absolute singularity) is consistent with the LDS Godhead.
Go’el / Kinsman-Redeemer: From the Hebrew root ga'al (גָּאַל), meaning to redeem, reclaim, or restore. In Torah law, the go'el was the nearest male relative who held the legal responsibility and right to act on behalf of a family member who could not act for themselves: redeeming a relative sold into slavery (Leviticus 25:47–49), reclaiming family land that had been sold under duress (Leviticus 25:25), or avenging the blood of a murdered kinsman (Numbers 35). The go'el's action was not optional charity — it was a covenantal obligation of family loyalty. Ruth 3–4 illustrates the concept vividly: Boaz acts as go'el for Naomi and Ruth, reclaiming what was lost and restoring the family line. The concept illuminates Yeshua's role: as one who shares in our nature (Hebrews 2:14–17), he has the standing of a kinsman. As one who is divine, he has the capacity for an infinite redemption. The go'el redeems what the debtor cannot redeem for themselves.
Gentiles: From the Latin gentilis — nations or peoples outside the literal lineage of Israel. In Scripture, “Gentile” does not mean “outside the covenant” — it means outside the biological bloodline. The Torah explicitly provides one law for both the native-born and the stranger who dwells among Israel (Exodus 12:49, Numbers 15:15–16). Paul’s Gentile converts gathered on the seventh-day Sabbath alongside Jewish believers (Acts 13:42–44, 18:4). In LDS theology, most members are identified as Ephraim — literal or adopted heirs of the house of Israel — placing them squarely within the covenant.
Great Apostasy: The Latter-day Saint teaching that the original gospel authority, covenant structure, and pure knowledge of God were lost following the deaths of the apostles — replaced over centuries by human councils, creeds, and institutional traditions. Apostle Orson Pratt documented that the shift from Sabbath to Sunday was a direct product of this drift: “Who authorized them to do this? There is no scriptural authority for it” (Journal of Discourses 16:167). Apostle Parley P. Pratt noted that the early church had “changed the laws, broken the covenant, and altered the ordinances” (A Voice of Warning, 1837). The Restoration was designed to reverse exactly this kind of human alteration of divine covenant.

H

Hebrew: The ancient Semitic language in which the Torah and most of the Old Testament were written. Modern Hebrew, revived in the 19th–20th centuries, is descended from Biblical Hebrew. Reading the Torah in Hebrew reveals wordplays, root connections, and nuances that are invisible in English translation. Many key terms on this site — Shema, Torah, echad, Yehovah — are best understood in their original Hebrew.
Halak: To walk, to go, to conduct oneself. One of the foundational verbs of covenant life in the Hebrew Bible. Yehovah’s call to Abraham is halak lefanai — “walk before me” (Genesis 17:1). “Walking” in Torah describes the sustained, daily, habitual ordering of one’s life in accordance with God’s instruction. From this root comes the word halachah (הֲלָכָה) — the body of practical Torah application, literally “the walking.” To walk in the covenant is not a metaphor for passive belief; it is active, directional, daily faithfulness.
Hearken: To listen with the full intention of obeying. A stronger word than merely hearing. The distinction between Samuel and Saul is precisely the difference between hearing and hearkening: Saul heard Yehovah’s command but kept the best of the spoil, dressing disobedience as devotion. Samuel’s response — “Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth” — was the posture of genuine hearkening. Samuel’s response implied: command me, and I will obey. The Hebrew concept underlying this is connected to shema, which means to hear, receive, and respond. Biblical hearing was never passive. The one who truly hears walks differently as a result.
Halakhah: From the Hebrew root halak (to walk) — the body of traditional rabbinic legal rulings that govern the practical details of religious observance in Jewish life. Halakhah is not the written Torah itself but a fence built around it, accumulated over centuries through rabbinic interpretation. Yeshua repeatedly and publicly challenged halakhic traditions that elevated human ruling above the written commandment (Mark 7:9). He healed on the Sabbath, permitted His disciples to pluck grain, and defended the act — not by abolishing the Sabbath, but by clarifying that rabbinic halakhah had buried the Sabbath’s original purpose under layers of restriction.

J

Jots and Tittles: In Matthew 5:18, Yeshua says: "For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." He was speaking in Hebrew or Aramaic to an audience that knew exactly what he meant:; The Jot is the yod (י) — the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet, barely larger than an apostrophe. Yod is the first letter of the divine name Yehovah. It is so small that careless scribes could easily drop it, yet even it is binding.; The Tittle (Hebrew: tag, meaning "crown") is the tiny ornamental stroke or serif added to certain Hebrew letters. These miniature marks differentiate letters that look nearly identical — for example, ד (dalet) from ר (resh), or ב (bet) from כ (kaf). A single misplaced tittle can change the meaning of a word entirely.; There is a direct connection to the divine name: the vowel points added by the Masoretes are themselves tiny marks — dots and dashes no larger than tittles — placed on the consonants of the text. Yeshua's statement is a defense of the Torah's precision down to its smallest written details. The vowels of the divine name, preserved in those tiny marks across a thousand manuscripts, are exactly the kind of scribal detail Yeshua said would not pass away.
Justification: The forensic act by which a person is declared righteous before Yehovah — not on the basis of their own law-keeping, but through the atoning work of Messiah Yeshua received by faith. Justification is not earned; it is granted. It answers the question: how does a sinful person stand before a holy God? The answer is: through the righteousness of Messiah credited to them. Paul's argument in Romans and Galatians is that justification has always been by faith — Abraham was justified before circumcision, before Sinai, before the law was given (Romans 4). Justification is the starting point of covenant life, not the destination. It is distinct from sanctification: justification is the declaration; sanctification is the ongoing transformation that follows.

I

Idle Words: Speech that is empty, purposeless, or careless — words spoken without weight or intention. Yeshua warned that "every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment" (Matthew 12:36). The Hebrew concept of speech connects directly to this: words have power, they create and destroy, and the tongue is one of the most consequential tools a covenant person possesses. Idle words are not necessarily evil words — they are words spoken without considering their weight. The Torah's framework of guarded speech (Lashon Hara, Leviticus 19:16) begins with the basic recognition that words matter and will be judged. Not every thought needs to become speech.
Interest / Increase: The 19th-century English legal and theological equivalent of the Hebrew te’vuah. “Interest” refers specifically to the net surplus — the profit remaining after necessary living costs and honest debts are settled. This is the precise word used in D&C 119:4: “one-tenth of all their interest annually.” Brigham Young explicitly taught that a person who has no surplus over their living expenses and honest debts “has no interest, and therefore owes no tithing” (Journal of Discourses 15:163). This is the Torah definition of te’vuah — tithing is on the increase, not on gross revenue.

K

Karaite / Karaism: A movement within Judaism — originating in the 8th century AD but drawing on older traditions — that holds the written Torah as the sole binding authority for Jewish life. Karaites reject the Oral Torah (Talmud, Mishnah) as a later human invention that often contradicts or expands beyond what the text actually says. The name comes from the Hebrew root kara (קָרָא), meaning "to read" — they are "people of the reading," those who go directly to the text. On this site, a Karaite perspective means we ask: what does the written Torah actually say, without adding layers of rabbinic interpretation?
Kippah: A small head covering worn by Jewish men, also called a yarmulke (Yiddish). Despite being a nearly universal symbol of Jewish male identity today, the kippah does not appear as a command in the written Torah. The Torah does command headgear for the priests (Exodus 28:40 — migba'ot, turbans or caps), but this was a specific priestly garment, not a general directive for all Israelite men. The practice of wearing a kippah is rabbinic in origin, rooted in a sense of reverence before God and awareness of His presence above. Some trace it to Talmudic discussions about covered heads during prayer. As with the tallit, the kippah can serve as a meaningful optional symbol of covenant identity — but it should not be treated as a Torah obligation when it is not one.
Kashrut / Kosher: Kashrut is the body of dietary laws found in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14. Kosher (from the same root, meaning "fit" or "proper") describes food that meets those standards. The written Torah defines clean and unclean animals, prohibits blood, and gives a few other specific rules. The extensive modern kosher certification system — with its many additional rules about meat and dairy separation, separate dishes, waiting periods, and institutional supervision — goes well beyond the written text. On this site, we follow written Torah's dietary laws, not the full rabbinic kosher system.

L

Lashon Hara: Literally "evil tongue" in Hebrew — the category of forbidden speech defined in Jewish law and grounded in the Torah's prohibition in Leviticus 19:16: "You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people." Lashon Hara covers speaking negative, damaging, or demeaning information about another person even when the information is true. This distinguishes it from slander (motzi shem ra), which involves falsehood. Truth does not automatically make speech permissible. The key question is whether the speech serves a righteous purpose — warning, protection, necessary accountability — or whether it exists simply to diminish a person's standing in others' eyes. The classic treatment of this subject in Jewish ethics is found in the writings of the Chofetz Chaim (Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan, 1838–1933).
Legalism: The misuse of commandments as a way to earn salvation, prove superiority, or replace a living relationship with God. Legalism treats the law as a transaction — a score to be managed before Yehovah — rather than as the covenant shape of a love relationship. It is not the same as obedience. Yeshua said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15) — that is discipleship, not legalism. The Pharisees’ error was not that they kept commandments; it was that they added human rules, sought public honor for their observance, and treated mercy as less important than ceremonial exactness. Paul’s argument against legalism in Galatians is not an argument against commandment-keeping. It is an argument against using the law to earn justification.

M

Manuscript: A handwritten document, as distinguished from a printed book. The Hebrew Bible was copied by hand for centuries before the printing press. Scholars study surviving manuscripts to trace textual history, identify variants, and verify the accuracy of the text we have today. Nehemia Gordon's research on the divine name Yehovah involved examining over 1,000 Hebrew manuscripts of the Bible — a massive primary-source investigation.
Masoretes / Masoretic Text (MT): The Masoretes were Jewish scholars active from roughly the 6th to 10th centuries AD who standardized the Hebrew Bible text and added a system of vowel marks (nikud) and cantillation marks to preserve the precise pronunciation of each word. Their work produced the Masoretic Text, which is the basis of virtually all modern Old Testament translations. The vowel points they added to the divine name — יְהֹוָה — are the primary evidence for the pronunciation "Yehovah."
Mezuzah: Literally "doorpost" in Hebrew. Deuteronomy 6:9 commands Israel to write the words of the Shema "on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." Rabbinic tradition fulfills this by placing a small decorative case (also called a mezuzah) containing a handwritten parchment on the doorpost. The Karaite interpretation takes the command more literally: write the words directly on the doorpost or display them prominently in the home. The mezuzah is a permanent, visible declaration that this home belongs to Yehovah's covenant.
Mishnah: The first major written compilation of Jewish oral law, edited by Rabbi Judah the Prince around 200 AD. Before the Mishnah, oral traditions were passed down verbally; the Mishnah put them in writing for the first time. It forms the basis of the Talmud. Karaites reject the Mishnah's authority because it represents human tradition, not the written Torah — and in many places contradicts or significantly expands what the text says.
Motzi Shem Ra: Literally "bringing out a bad name" — Hebrew for slander or defamation. While Lashon Hara involves speaking damaging truth without righteous purpose, Motzi Shem Ra is the graver offense: spreading false or fabricated negative information about a person. It is the deliberate destruction of a reputation through lies. In Torah law this was taken with the utmost seriousness — Deuteronomy 19:16–21 prescribes that a false witness receives the punishment they intended to bring on the accused. In Restoration scripture, bearing false witness (Exodus 20:16) remains among the most serious violations of covenant community life.
Mitzvot: Commandments; plural of mitzvah (מִצְוָה). The individual instructions Yehovah has given His covenant people. A mitzvah is not an arbitrary rule but a specific act of covenant faithfulness — an opportunity to express love and loyalty to God through concrete obedience. Yeshua summarized: “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). The 613 mitzvot traditionally enumerated from the Torah cover every domain of life — speech, diet, business, worship — forming a complete picture of covenant living. Keeping mitzvot is not the basis of salvation; it is the natural expression of covenant love.
Moedim: Appointed times, sacred assemblies; plural of moed (מוֹעֵד). The feast days Yehovah declared in Leviticus 23 — Passover, Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot — along with the weekly Sabbath. The word moed comes from a root meaning “to meet by appointment” — these are not Jewish holidays but divine appointments on Yehovah’s calendar, times He has set to meet with His people. They are called “the appointed feasts of Yehovah” (Leviticus 23:2), not the feasts of Israel. For Torah-keeping Latter-day Saints, the moedim form the covenant calendar of the restored community.
Ma'aser / Tithe: Hebrew ma’aser (מַעֲשֵׂר) — literally “a tenth.” The ancient scriptural standard of returning ten percent of one’s net increase to Yehovah. Ma’aser is a patriarchal covenant predating the formal Mosaic system: Abraham voluntarily gave a tenth of battle spoils to Melchizedek (Genesis 14:20), and Jacob vowed a tenth at Bethel (Genesis 28:22). The Torah later codified the tithe as applying to agricultural produce and livestock — the te’vuah (increase) of the land — not a flat percentage of gross wages. Malachi’s “windows of heaven” promise (Malachi 3:10) is attached to this covenant standard.
Ma'aser Ani / Poor Tithe: Hebrew ma’aser ani (מַעֲשֵׂר עָנִי) — the “poor tithe,” designated in the third and sixth years of the seven-year Sabbatical cycle. Rather than going to the Levites, this tithe was distributed locally to sustain the poor, the fatherless, the widow, and the sojourner within the community (Deuteronomy 14:28–29). The existence of Ma’aser Ani demonstrates that biblical tithing was never a simple one-size system — it was an integrated, rotating covenant mechanism designed to eliminate poverty from among the covenant people. Tithing was built to eradicate poverty, not to create it.

N

Nehemia Gordon: An Israeli Karaite scholar and Dead Sea Scrolls researcher who spent years examining Hebrew manuscripts in archives across Europe and the Middle East. His primary contribution to this site's subject matter is his research demonstrating that the divine name Yehovah — with its vowels fully preserved — appears in over 1,000 Hebrew manuscripts. His work challenges the widespread assumption that the vowels of the divine name were intentionally hidden or lost. His website is nehemiaswall.com.
New Covenant: The covenant described in Jeremiah 31:31–34 and fulfilled through the atoning work of Messiah Yeshua. The most common misunderstanding of the New Covenant is that it replaces or abolishes the Torah. But Jeremiah 31:33 says explicitly: "I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts." The change is not in the content of the covenant — it is in the medium. The Torah moves from stone tablets to the human heart, written there by the Spirit through grace. The New Covenant is the Torah fulfilled from the inside out: the same standard, a new mechanism, a transformed people. Hebrews 8–10 applies Jeremiah's prophecy to the ministry of Yeshua as high priest — emphasizing the superiority of his atoning work, not the cancellation of the law's requirements.
Nikud / Vowel Points: The system of small dots and dashes added below and above Hebrew letters to indicate vowel sounds. Biblical Hebrew was originally written without vowels — only the consonants appeared. A reader had to know the language well enough to supply the vowels from context. The Masoretes standardized vowel notation (nikud) to preserve exact pronunciation. Because these vowel marks appear on the divine name in the manuscripts, we have strong evidence for how "YHWH" was actually pronounced.

O

Oral Torah / Oral Law: The body of legal interpretations, rulings, and traditions that Rabbinic Judaism teaches was given to Moses at Sinai alongside the written Torah, and transmitted orally through the generations until it was written down in the Mishnah and Talmud. Rabbinic Judaism holds both the written Torah and Oral Torah as equally binding. Karaites — and this ministry — reject that claim, holding that Deuteronomy 4:2 ("You shall not add to the word") means only the written text carries divine authority. The Oral Torah is the source of most of the rules that distinguish modern "kosher" from written Torah dietary law.

P

Parashah: A weekly Torah portion. The five books of Moses are divided into 54 portions (parashot), and Jewish communities read one portion per week on a yearly cycle. This tradition is ancient — by the first century AD it was already established practice. Reading through the entire Torah annually means every word of the five books is heard at least once a year. Our Torah Study section follows this weekly cycle.
Pharisees: An influential Jewish religious movement of the Second Temple period (roughly 150 BC – 70 AD) known for their strict interpretation of Torah and their belief in an Oral Law alongside the written Torah. After the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD, Pharisaic Judaism became the dominant form and evolved into Rabbinic Judaism. Most modern Jewish practice descends from Pharisaic tradition. Yeshua often engaged (and debated) the Pharisees, distinguishing the commandments of God from the "traditions of men" (Mark 7:8).
Personal Revelation: Guidance, correction, comfort, light, or instruction from God to an individual within that person’s proper stewardship. The Restoration affirms that Yehovah speaks not only through prophets and apostles, but to ordinary people seeking to live faithfully. Personal revelation is real — but it must be tested. Not every feeling is the Holy Ghost. Not every impression is from God. Isaiah’s standard applies: “To the law and to the testimony” (Isaiah 8:20). The Spirit of Yehovah will not contradict the word of Yehovah. Personal revelation that conflicts with scripture, covenant, or the proper order of stewardship should be examined carefully before being acted on.
Prayer: Covenant communication with God — asking, thanking, confessing, listening, surrendering, and aligning our will with Yehovah’s. Prayer is not a mechanism for obtaining divine endorsement of our preferences. Hannah’s prayer was covenantal: she asked in faith and kept her vow when Yehovah answered (1 Samuel 1:11, 1:19). Yeshua’s prayer in Gethsemane remains the perfect model: honest request, complete surrender — “Nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42). Specific prayer (as modeled by Abraham’s servant in Genesis 24) makes it possible to recognize the answer when it comes.
Prophet: A messenger called by Yehovah to deliver His word to His people. The Torah establishes the test of a true prophet with precision: his words must come to pass (Deuteronomy 18:22), and they must not lead the people away from Yehovah’s established covenant (Deuteronomy 13:1–4). A prophet does not redefine the covenant — he calls people back to it. Joseph Smith clarified that “a prophet was a prophet only when he was acting as such” (History of the Church, 5:215), implying that not every statement carries prophetic authority. In the Restoration framework, prophets are essential — but always measured against the prior, unchanging standard of the written word.

R

Reproof / Rebuke: Direct, honest correction addressed to a person who has sinned or is in error. In Torah, reproof is not only permitted — it is commanded: "You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him" (Leviticus 19:17). The Hebrew word is tokhechah (תּוֹכֵחָה). Reproof is the righteous alternative to gossip: rather than speaking about someone's fault to third parties, you speak to them directly. This is also reflected in Restoration scripture (D&C 42:88–89: reprove betimes with sharpness, then showing forth love). The distinction matters in the Lashon Hara framework — telling a third party what someone did wrong is Lashon Hara; going to them directly with love is reproof.
Restitution: The act of repairing, restoring, or making right what was damaged by sin, where repair is possible. The Torah is concrete about this: “They shall confess their sin which they have done: and he shall recompense his trespass” (Numbers 5:7). Restitution was built into the Torah’s legal structure — if you stole, you returned what you stole, often with added recompense (Exodus 22:1–4). The principle distinguishes genuine teshuva from confession without accountability. True repentance does not merely name the wrong; it makes every effort to undo its damage. Some harms cannot be fully repaired — Yehovah sees the heart and does not demand the impossible — but where repair is available, teshuva reaches for it. Doctrine and Covenants 58:43 ties this together: to repent is to confess and forsake; restitution is the practical expression of forsaking in the direction of the person harmed.
Restoration: The Latter-day Saint doctrine that the original gospel and priesthood authority were lost from the earth following the deaths of the apostles, and were restored through Joseph Smith beginning in 1820. For Torah-keepers within this tradition, the Restoration is understood more broadly: the recovery of Israel's covenant life, including the Torah itself. The Restoration didn't introduce something new — it recovered what was ancient. This ministry reads the Restoration through that lens: the Restored Gospel and the Torah are not two separate things but one covenant, restored.
Ruach: Spirit, breath, wind. The same Hebrew word covers all three meanings — and the overlap is intentional. In Genesis 1:2, the ruach of God hovers over the waters of creation. In Ezekiel 36:27, Yehovah promises: “I will put my ruach within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes.” The ruach is not an impersonal force — it is the active presence of Yehovah working within and among His people, enabling covenant faithfulness that flesh alone cannot sustain. When God breathes ruach into Adam (Genesis 2:7), the same word is used as when He moves upon the chaos of creation.

S

Sabbath / Shabbat: The seventh day of the week — from Friday sunset to Saturday nightfall — designated by Yehovah as a day of complete rest. The Sabbath is grounded in creation itself (Genesis 2:3), formalized at Sinai as the fourth commandment (Exodus 20:8–11), and called a "sign forever" between Yehovah and Israel (Exodus 31:13). It was never reassigned to Sunday in the written Torah. Yeshua observed it, the apostles observed it, and the earliest believers observed it. The shift to Sunday worship is historically post-apostolic, tied to Roman anti-Jewish sentiment and the Council of Laodicea (AD 363).
Sanctification: The ongoing process of becoming holy — growing in covenant faithfulness, empowered by the Spirit. Where justification is the forensic declaration of righteousness (a one-time event), sanctification is the lifelong journey of actually becoming what you were declared to be. Paul describes it as working out your salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). Torah-keepers understand the commandments as the practical shape of sanctification: not a means of earning favor, but the form that covenant growth takes. The Hebrew root קָדַשׁ (kadash) means to set apart, to make distinct.
Septuagint: The Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures, produced roughly 280–130 BC for Greek-speaking Jewish communities. Often abbreviated LXX (70), after the tradition that 70 (or 72) scholars translated it. The Septuagint was widely used in the first century — most New Testament quotations of the Old Testament follow the LXX rather than the Hebrew. Significantly, early Septuagint manuscripts preserve the divine name Yehovah rather than substituting the word "Lord." This supports the argument that the name was never truly lost — it was suppressed by later tradition.
Shema: "Hear, O Israel: Yehovah our God, Yehovah is one" (Deuteronomy 6:4). The central confession of Israel's faith, recited daily in traditional Jewish practice and called by Yeshua the greatest commandment (Mark 12:29). The word shema (שְׁמַע) means "hear" — not merely to perceive sound, but to obey. The declaration that Yehovah is "one" uses the Hebrew word echad, which describes composite or unified oneness (one flesh, one cluster of grapes), not absolute singularity. This is significant for understanding the nature of the Godhead.
Shmita / Sabbatical Year: Hebrew shmita (שְׁמִטָּה) — literally “release.” The Torah’s command that every seventh year, the land rests completely and all debts between covenant brothers are cancelled (Deuteronomy 15:1–2; Leviticus 25:1–7). Shmita is Yehovah’s built-in structural protection against the accumulation of permanent poverty within the covenant community. It also has direct implications for the law of tithing: if a person carries crushing debt and has no net surplus, they do not possess a true te’vuah (increase), and therefore have no tithing obligation. Brigham Young taught this principle explicitly. The Shmita year illustrates that covenant economics are governed by justice, not merely by financial rules.
Sin: "Transgression of the law" (1 John 3:4). The apostolic definition of sin requires that a standard exist — and that standard is the Torah. Without law there is no sin (Romans 4:15). This means the Torah cannot have been abolished: if it were, sin itself would have no definition, and Messiah's atoning work would have nothing to atone for. Sin is not merely moral failure in a generic sense; it is covenant violation — specific, definable, and correctable through repentance and the atonement of Yeshua.
Still Small Voice: The quiet form of divine communication described in 1 Kings 19:12. After the wind, the earthquake, and the fire, Yehovah came to the discouraged Elijah in a “still small voice” (Hebrew: qol demamah daqah — a sound of gentle stillness). This passage is often used to teach that God speaks quietly, personally, and tenderly. That is true. But the story does not end there: the still small voice immediately gave Elijah specific direction — where to go, whom to anoint, and what work remained. The comfort and the command came together. God does not speak only to soothe us. He speaks to bring us into alignment.
Stewardship: A God-given sphere of responsibility. In the Restoration framework, revelation is normally given within proper stewardship. An individual can receive revelation for their own life and responsibilities. Parents can receive revelation for their children. Leaders receive revelation within their callings. But personal revelation does not grant authority over another person’s agency or life. One of the most common misuses of spiritual language is turning an impression about another person into a claim of authority over them — “God told me that you need to…” Revelation that respects stewardship boundaries produces service, not control.
Stick of Joseph: The Latter-day Saint identification of the Book of Mormon with the "stick of Ephraim" in Ezekiel 37:15–19. In that passage, Yehovah commands Ezekiel to take two sticks — one for Judah and one for Joseph/Ephraim — and join them into one in his hand. LDS teaching identifies the Bible as the stick of Judah and the Book of Mormon as the stick of Joseph. For Torah-keepers, this is significant: both sticks testify to the same Torah covenant, and the joining of the sticks represents the re-gathering of all Israel under one covenant.

T

Tachat: Hebrew preposition meaning "instead of" or "in place of." The word appears in Genesis 22:13 — "the ram went up as a burnt offering tachat [instead of] his son." This is the Torah's own vocabulary for direct substitutionary atonement: one life given in the place of another. The same word is used throughout the Hebrew scriptures for substitution and exchange. Tachat is the textual foundation for understanding Yeshua's death not merely as a moral example, but as a genuine legal substitute — the innocent in place of the guilty.
Talebearer: One who carries damaging reports from person to person through a community. The Hebrew word is rachil (רָכִיל), related to a merchant or peddler — one who trades in information. Leviticus 19:16 commands: "You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people." This is the Torah's foundational Lashon Hara prohibition. The talebearer doesn't necessarily lie — the reports may be true — but truth alone does not make speech permissible. The damage done to the recipient's reputation and to communal trust is the harm Torah prohibits.
Tallit: A rectangular prayer shawl worn with fringes (tzitzit) attached to its four corners. The tallit itself is not commanded in the Torah — it is a practical garment designed to carry the commanded fringes. Numbers 15:38 commands tzitzit on the corners of any four-cornered garment; since modern clothing rarely has four corners, the tallit was developed specifically to fulfill that commandment. Some wrap it over the head during prayer as a symbol of being enveloped in the covenant. The practice varies widely across traditions.
Talmud: The central text of Rabbinic Judaism, consisting of the Mishnah (compiled ~200 AD) and the Gemara — centuries of rabbinic commentary and legal debate on the Mishnah. The Babylonian Talmud was completed around 600 AD; a shorter Jerusalem Talmud was also produced. The Talmud is not considered scripture in any Protestant, LDS, or Karaite framework. Torah-keepers following the written text recognize the Talmud as historically important and intellectually rich, but not authoritative. Many common Jewish practices (extended Sabbath restrictions, kosher dairy/meat separation) come from the Talmud, not the written Torah.
Tefillin: Small leather boxes containing Torah passages, worn on the arm and forehead during prayer — fulfilling the rabbinic interpretation of Deuteronomy 6:8 ("bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes"). Karaites and some Torah-keepers read this language as figurative — meaning keep these words close to your actions and thoughts — rather than as a command to wear literal boxes. Tefillin use is an ancient practice attested in the Dead Sea Scrolls, but its mandatory status depends on accepting the rabbinic reading of the text.
Tekhelet: The blue thread commanded in the fringes (tzitzit) in Numbers 15:38 — "they shall put on the fringe of each corner a cord of blue (tekhelet)." The dye came from the Murex trunculus sea snail. The knowledge of which creature produced the dye and how to extract it was lost for many centuries, during which observant Jews either omitted the blue thread or used other dyes. In the 19th–20th centuries, researchers identified the Murex trunculus as the source, and the Ptil Tekhelet foundation began producing authentic tekhelet thread. Many Torah-keepers today include it in their tzitzit.
Teshuva: Commonly translated “repentance,” but the Hebrew is more precisely return. The root is shuv (שׁוּב) — to turn back, to come again, to go home. Teshuva is not primarily a feeling of guilt or a religious ritual; it is a directional movement: away from sin and back toward Yehovah, His covenant, and His commandments. Moses uses the word directly in Deuteronomy 30:2: “Thou shalt return unto Yehovah thy God and obey His voice.” Ezekiel commands it as active turning, not passive sorrow (Ezekiel 18:30–31). Latter-day Saint scripture describes it as the second first principle of the gospel (Articles of Faith 1:4) and teaches it is exercised through “faith unto repentance” (Alma 34:17) — trust in Yeshua the Messiah that moves the heart and the feet. True teshuva includes: honest acknowledgment of sin before Yehovah, searching the written Word to understand the path back, confession, forsaking the sin, restitution where possible, and walking forward in faith. It is not perfectionism — the just man “falleth seven times and riseth again” (Proverbs 24:16) — but it is also not license: the destination is covenant walking, not managed failure.
Tetragrammaton: The four Hebrew letters יהוה (Yod-Heh-Vav-Heh) that form the personal name of the God of Israel. "Tetragrammaton" simply means "four letters" in Greek. The name appears 6,828 times in the Hebrew scriptures — far more than any other divine title. Jewish tradition replaced the name in reading with Adonai ("Lord"), and most English translations follow this by rendering it LORD in small capitals. Nehemia Gordon's examination of over 1,000 Hebrew manuscripts demonstrates that the full pronunciation — Yehovah — was preserved in the vowel markings, never truly lost.
Torah: Often translated "law," the Hebrew word torah actually means "instruction" or "teaching" — from the root yarah (יָרָה), to aim, to direct, to teach. In its narrowest sense, Torah refers to the five books of Moses (Genesis through Deuteronomy). More broadly, it refers to the entire Hebrew covenant — Yehovah's instructions for how His people are to live. Torah is not a legal burden imposed on an unwilling people; it is the covenant's terms, the shape of the relationship. Yeshua said He did not come to abolish it (Matthew 5:17), and the New Covenant promises not its removal but its internalization (Jeremiah 31:33).
Te'vuah / Increase: Hebrew te’vuah (תְּבוּאָה) — the actual yield, produce, or net increase generated in a given period. In Deuteronomy 14:22, the tithe command is explicit: “You shall tithe all the yield [te’vuah] of your seed that comes from the field year by year.” This is not gross revenue, not wages before expenses, not what merely passes through one’s hands — it is the real, net expansion of what Yehovah has blessed you with. Early LDS leaders used the English word “interest” (D&C 119:4) to convey the same meaning. Paul captured the principle behind it: “If the root is holy, so are the branches” (Romans 11:16) — sanctifying the first of the increase consecrates everything that follows.
Tzitzit: Fringes commanded to be worn on the four corners of garments (Numbers 15:38–40; Deuteronomy 22:12). The purpose is explicit in the text: "that you may look upon it and remember all the commandments of Yehovah and do them." Tzitzit are a tangible, visible reminder of covenant obligation — woven memory. They include a thread of blue (tekhelet). The command is addressed to the children of Israel throughout their generations — one of the commands explicitly given without time limit. Yeshua wore tzitzit; the woman who was healed touched the fringe of his garment (Matthew 9:20).

V

V'ahavta: "And you shall love" — the opening word of Deuteronomy 6:5, the verse immediately following the Shema: "And you shall love Yehovah your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength." In Hebrew, love (ahavah) is not primarily a feeling but a loyal action — the kind of love that shows itself through faithfulness and obedience. Yeshua quoted the V'ahavta as the greatest commandment alongside loving your neighbor (Matthew 22:37–39). Together with the Shema, the V'ahavta forms the core of Torah devotion in both Jewish and Restoration practice.
Vowel Points / Nikud: Tiny dots and dashes added beneath and above Hebrew consonants by the Masoretes (6th–10th century AD) to preserve exact pronunciation of the Hebrew text. Ancient Hebrew was written without vowels; readers relied on tradition to know how to pronounce each word. The Masoretes developed a precise notation system to lock that tradition in writing. Yeshua's reference to "jots and tittles" (Matthew 5:18) — the smallest strokes in the Hebrew script — likely refers to elements of this precise notation. The divine name Yehovah's vowels were preserved in this system, documented in over 1,000 manuscripts.

W

Word of Wisdom: The LDS health code given in Doctrine and Covenants 89. It prohibits alcohol, tobacco, hot drinks (interpreted as coffee and tea), and encourages wholesome food, herbs, and grains. Torah-keepers often read the Word of Wisdom alongside Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 — both treat diet as a covenant matter rather than merely a health guideline. While the Word of Wisdom does not replicate the clean/unclean animal categories of Torah, it reflects the same principle: what you put into your body is a spiritual and covenantal concern, not just a physical one.

Y

Yachid: The Hebrew word for absolute singularity — one and alone, with no parts or components. This is the word used when Abraham is told to offer his "only son" Isaac (Genesis 22:2). Significantly, yachid is NOT the word used in the Shema. The Shema uses echad, which describes composite or unified oneness. This distinction matters for Godhead theology: those arguing for an absolute unity (classical Trinitarian oneness of substance) must explain why the Torah chose echad rather than yachid to describe Yehovah's unity.
Yehovah: The personal name of the God of Israel as vocalized in the Hebrew manuscripts. The four consonants יהוה (YHWH) appear 6,828 times in the Hebrew scriptures. For centuries it was taught that the name's pronunciation was lost, with "Jehovah" dismissed as a medieval hybrid and "Yahweh" proposed as a scholarly reconstruction. However, Israeli Karaite scholar Nehemia Gordon examined over 1,000 Hebrew manuscripts and documented that the Masoretes consistently preserved the vowels e-o-a, yielding Yehovah. This form also appears in ancient texts including the Septuagint and Dead Sea Scrolls material. This ministry uses Yehovah as the most textually supported pronunciation.
Yeshua: The Hebrew name of Jesus of Nazareth. Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ) is a shortened form of Yehoshua (Joshua) meaning "Yehovah saves" or "Yehovah is salvation." Using the Hebrew form matters because it directly encodes his mission and his covenant context — he is the one in whom Yehovah's act of saving is embodied. The Greek form "Iesous" (from which "Jesus" derives) is a transliteration without the embedded meaning. This ministry uses Yeshua to emphasize his Jewishness, his Torah observance, and his identity as the fulfillment of Israel's covenant promises — not the abolisher of them.
Yom Kippur: The Day of Atonement — the holiest day in the Torah calendar (Leviticus 16, 23:26–32). On this day, the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies once a year to make atonement for all Israel. Two goats were chosen: one was slain as a sin offering; the other — the scapegoat — had Israel's sins confessed over it and was sent into the wilderness. Together they form a complete picture: the blood covers the sin before Yehovah; the scapegoat carries it away. This dual pattern — propitiation and expiation — is the template Hebrews 9 applies directly to Yeshua's work as both sacrifice and high priest.

Z

Zion: In LDS theology, Zion is the community of the pure in heart (D&C 97:21) — a people "of one heart and one mind" who dwell in righteousness with no poor among them (Moses 7:18). For Torah-keepers, Zion is the direct opposite of Babylon: where Babylon substitutes human authority for Yehovah's covenant order, Zion embodies it. The Enoch account in Moses describes Zion as a people so covenant-faithful they were translated. The building of Zion in the last days is understood as the restoration not just of the Church but of Israel's full covenant life — Torah on the heart, the Name on the lips, and the community structured around Yehovah's instruction.