Glossary

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A

‘agunah

(pl., ‘agunot; lit., “chained” or “anchored”) A married woman who either cannot prove the death of her husband or has been refused a get. [See glossary entry get.] Under Jewish law she is prohibited from remarrying until she has been released from their union by her husband.

agadah

(commonly aggadah or hagadah; pl., agadot) Sections of classical rabbinic literature of an exegetical or homiletical (as opposed to legal) nature. Agadah generally includes folklore, legends, and aphorisms as well as speculations of a nonlegal nature.

aktion

(Pol., akcja) Term used by the Nazis to mean the often brutal and murderous rounding up and deportation of Jews from occupied cities and towns.

Arba‘ah turim

(lit., “Four Rows”) Legal code written by Ya‘akov ben Asher (ca. 1270–1340). Yosef Karo based his Shulḥan ‘Arukh on the structure of the four sections in Arba‘ah turim:Oraḥ ḥayim, Yoreh de‘ah, Even ha-‘ezer, and Ḥoshen mishpat.

arenda

(related: arendar; Yid., render) Polish term for the lease of real estate or income deriving from monopolies associated with it such as fish ponds, forests, mills, and especially the right to produce, distribute, and sell alcoholic beverages. The holder of the arenda was called arendarz (pl., arendarzy) or arendator (pl., arendatores). [See Leaseholding.]
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