Aharon	Aaron the High Priest.
Amalek	The first nation to attack the Jewish people after the exodus from Egypt (Exodus, ch. 17). Subsequently, G-d commanded the Jews to wipe out this mention entirely. The emnity between Israel and Amalek has continued for all time, and it is not until the Era of the Redemption when that nation will be entirely obliterated.
Avraham	Our patriarch Abraham.
Bamidbar	The Book of Numbers.
Beis HaBechirah	"[G-d's] Chosen House," a name used to describe the Temple.
Beis HaMikdash	The Temple in Jerusalem.
Bereishis	The Book of Genesis.
bittul	Self-nullification, a commitment to G-d and divine service that transcends self-concern.
cheftza	Lit. "entity." A term used to imply that the halachic obligations associated with an entity affect or involve the inner nature of the entity itself.
chiyuv gavra	An obligation incumbent on a person.
Courtyard	The Temple Courtyard was 135 cubits wide, and 187 cubits long. In it were situated the outer altar, the slaughtering area, and the Temple building. More particularly, it subdivided into several portions including the Courtyard of the Israelites and the Courtyard of the Priests.
Courtyard of the Israelites	The portion of the Temple Courtyard, 11 cubits long and 135 cubits wide where the Israelites were allowed to enter to observe the Temple proceedings. Beyond this area, they were allowed to proceed only when required to perform a ritual function as part of the offering of certain sacrifices.
Devarim	The Book of Deuteronomy.
Divrei HaYomim	The Book of Chronicles.
Entrance Hall	Ulam in Hebrew; a porch-like structure on the eastern side of the Temple building. It served as a transition between the Temple building and its courtyard. Significantly, there was no parallel to the Entrance Hall in the Sanctuary that accompanied the Jews in the desert.
Eretz Yisrael	The Land of Israel.
Foundation Stone	In Hebrew, even hashtiah, a stone located in the Holy of Holies, which served as the foundation for the creation of the entire world.
Givon	One of the places which served as a center for the sacrificial worship for the Jewish people between the destruction of the sanctuary of Shiloh and the construction of the Beis HaMikdash.
Halachah	A term used in two contexts throughout the text: a) Jewish law in its totality; b) a specific law in the Mishneh Torah; each chapter is subdivided into several halachos.
Hilchos Beis HaBechirah	"The Laws of [G-d's] Chosen House," the portion of the Mishneh Torah which concerns itself with the structure of the Beis HaMikdash.
Hilchos Melachim	"The Laws of Kings," the Rambam's treatment of the subject of monarchy according to Torah law. This text also includes an explanation of the ultimate concept of monarchy as will be expressed by Mashiach in the Era of the Redemption.
Kesef Mishneh	The gloss to the Mishneh Torah authored by R. Yosef Karo who compiled the Shulchan Aruch.
Mashiach	The Messiah.
Melachim	The Book of Kings.
Menorah	The seven-branched candelabrum in the Sanctuary.
Middos	The tractate of the Talmud that concerns itself with the structure of the Beis HaMikdash.
mikveh	A ritual bath in which a person immerses himself as part of the transition from purity to impurity, or from a lower state of holiness to a higher state.
Mishnah	The first compilation of the Oral Law authored by Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi (approx. 150 C.E.). It serves as the basis for the Talmud.
Mishneh Torah	The Rambam'smagnum opus which serves as a compendium of the entire Oral Law.
Mitzvah, pl. mitzvos	A Divine commandment. The Torah contains 613 mitzvos whose observance is incumbent on the Jewish people.
Nov	One of the places which served as a center for the sacrificial worship for the Jewish people between the destruction of the sanctuary of Shiloh and the construction of the Beis HaMikdash.
Mount Moriah	The Temple Mount.
Moshe	Moses.
Rambam	Maimonides, Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon (1135-1204). One of the foremost sages of the Medieval period whose classic work, the Mishneh Torah, serves as a compendium of the entire Oral Law. His Commentary on the Mishnah is an earlier text with a greater breadth of explanation in certain areas.
Ramban	Nachmanides, Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman (1194-1270). A sage whose commentaries on the Torah and the Talmud are Torah classics, author of a commentary on the Rambam's Sefer HaMitzvos, "Book of Commandments."
Rashi	Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (1040-1105). The sage whose commentaries on the Torah and the Talmud are regarded as the classic guides to these texts.
Rogatchover Gaon	Rabbis Yosef Rosen, one of the foremost Talmudic commentators of the present century.
Sanctuary	A term used in two different contexts: a) the Tabernacle in which the Divine Presence dwelled during the Jews' journeys through the desert. b) The portion of the Temple building before the Holy of Holies which contained the inner altar, the table for the showbread, and the menorah.
Sefer Avodah	Literally, the "Book of Divine Service," the eighth of the fourteen books of the Mishneh Torah which focuses on the service in the Beis HaMikdash.
Sefer HaMitzvos	The text authored by the Rambam for the purpose of defining the 613 mitzvos.
shamir	A wormlike creature that was miraculously able to chew through stone and which was used in the construction of the First Beis HaMikdash.
Shiloh	The location of a sanctuary which housed the Holy Ark, and which served as the center of sacrificial worship for the Jewish people. The sanctuary at Shiloh stood for 369 years.
Shlomo	King Solomon, who constructed the First Beis HaMikdash.
Shmos	The Book of Exodus.
Shmuel	The prophet Samuel.
Showbread	The bread offered on the sacred table in the Sanctuary each week. See Leviticus 24:5-9.
Tehillim	The Book of Psalms.
Teshuvah	Turning to G-d after separation as in repentance after sin.
Tamid	The tractate of the Mishnah which concerns itself with the daily service in the Temple and therefore, concerns several particulars concerning the Temple's structure.
Ulam	The entrance hall of the Temple Building; see that entry.
Urim VeTumim	According to some the stones embedded in the High Priest's breastplate. They served as oracles in the time of the First Temple.
Women's Courtyard	An area 135 cubits by 135 cubits positioned before the Temple Courtyard. It was given its name, because it included a balcony on which women stood when they attended the celebrations of Simchas Beis HaShoevah and other events.
Yaakov	Our patriarch Jacob.
Yechezkel	The prophet Ezekeiel.
Yitzchak	Our patriarch Isaac.
Yirmeyahu	The prophet Jeremiah.
Yoma	The tractate of the Talmud which concerns itself with the sacrificial worship of Yom Kippur. Accordingly, it serves as a source for much of our information concerning the structure of the Temple.
Zohar	The fundamental text of the Kabbalah, Judaism's mystic tradition.