Apostatized
The condition of having renounced one’s former religion.
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Apostolic See (Holy See)
The central government of the Catholic Church overseen by the Pope, located in the Vatican, Rome.
Read moreArba Kanfot
See tsitses (tzitzit) Example used in this letter from Rebecca Samuel (c. 1790s).
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memorial prayer for the soul of people who have died. What Ashenazi Jews would call yizkor. For more on this
Read moreAshkenazi (pl. Ashkenazim)
Jew(s) of Central of Eastern European family origin, from a Jewish diasporic group which settled in the Holy Roman Empire
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This refers to an approach to Jewish history and culture which has historically been dominated by attention towards the Ashkenazi,
Read moreAssimilation
The gradual cultural and social integration Jews into the surrounding culture, wherein the former gradually come to adopt the identity
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literally “act of faith,” this refers to the public penance of those convicted of heresy by the Catholic church.
Read moreBalkan Wars
Consisting of two wars fought throughout 1912 and 1913, these conflicts were rooted in the Ottoman occupation of the Balkans.
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