ch 1 vocab

1. Synagogue – a Jewish house of prayer. The family traveled to the synagogue for worship every week.



2. Timidity- shyness. The kitten explore his new home with certain timidity.



3. Waiflike- Appearing homeless. The young girl was dirty and waiflike.


4. Cabbala- A body of mystical Jewish teachings based on an esoteric reading of the Hebrew Scriptures. The pop star studied Cabbala, and made the readings more popular than ever.



5. Encumbered- Weighted down, loaded sufficiently to make slow. The tourists were encumbered by their heavy luggage.




6. Indulgently- showing or ready to show favor; favorable; indisposed to be severe or harsh, or to exercise necessary restraint: as, an indulgent parent; to be indulgent to servants. The teacher smiled indulgently as he realized the students understood the lesson.


7. Revelations- The act of revealing or disclosing; something dramatically disclosed; a manifestation of divine truth. The inventor had a miraculous revelation that helped him complete his project.


8. Mysticism- the pursuit of communion with, identity with, or conscious awareness of an ultimate reality, divinity, spiritual truth, or God through direct experience, intuition, instinct or insight. Karma is a type of mysticism beliefs.


9. Sighet - a city in Maramureş County near the Iza River, in north-western Romania. During their stay in Sighet, they stopped at a market.




10. Lorries – British English name for trucks. The British man referred to the cargo trucks as lorries.



11. Betrothals- formal term for a marriage engagement. She was very exited about the betrothals.


12. Emigration- the act of leaving one's native country or region to settle in another. The family had to prepare for their emigration.



13. Billeted - A billet is a term for living quarters to which a soldier is assigned to sleep. Historically, it referred to a private dwelling that was required to accept the soldier. The family was billeted into a small room to live in.


14. Fascists- Fascists advocate the creation of a single-party state. Fascists believe that nations and/or races are in perpetual conflict whereby only the strong can survive by being healthy, vital, and by asserting themselves in combat against the weak. At first they were more scared of the Fascists that the Nazi’s


15. Firmament - is the usual English translation of the Hebrew "raqiya`" meaning an extended solid surface or flat expanse, considered to be a hemisphere above the ground. ?


16. Premonition- A premonition is an impression, often perceived as warnings of a future event to for warn. The elder had a premonition of a warning.


17. Avid - enthusiastic; ardent; dedicated; keen. She was an avid reader from the time she learned how to read.





18. melancholy- a gloomy state of mind, esp. when habitual or prolonged; depression. At the funeral, everyone was in a melancholy mood.