Definitions by Nickidewbear
Cohen
The head caste in Ancient and future Israel, the koheinim (priests) are Levi'im (Levites) who are descended from Aharon ben-Amram-v'Yokheved HaLevi.
"Cohen" is a variant of "Kohein". In turn, "Cohen" has variants such as "Katz" ("Kohan Tzedek", as in Phoebe Katz (Cates) Klein), "Kagan" or "Kajan" (variants of "Kahan" or "Kahane"; as in Associate SCOTUS Justice Elena Kagan), "Kohn" and "Kahn" (as in John Kohn (changed to Kerry by his granddad, Fritz Kohn)), and "Cohan" (a variant of "Kohein" not to be confused with the variant for the Irish "Keohane", though that may have some, if any, origins among koheinim based in Ireland).
Cohen by Nickidewbear August 22, 2011
Novak
A Slavic and Ashkenazic Jewish surname meaning "new" (e.g., "Novy"), "Nov-ak" could also be a play on "Nov akh" or "frutiful brother" (Hebrew).
Bearers of the "Novak" surname include actress Kim Novak (who took "Novak" as her stagename), columnist and cancer victim Robert Novak, the psychotic astronaut and honorably-discharged Navy servicewoman Lisa Nowak, and Marysia "Maria" Novakova Rusnakova (1855-c. 1907) -- who was married to Jakub Rusnak (a member of the late Kosice, Slovakia Jewish Rusnaks) and was the paternal grandmother of Sgt. and Veterans of Foreign Wars Commander Carl Stephen Rusnak (January 2, 1922 - November 7, 1999; US Army, WW2, European Theater, honorably discharged after the war). By the way, Maria's relative Leopold Novak was an early victim of the Holocaust in then-Czechoslovakian Zlata Idka: he was murdered in a then-Aranydka mine in 1936.
Novak by Nickidewbear August 22, 2011
Baez
A Hispanic and Jewish last name, such as folk singer Joan Baez has. An infamous bearer of the "Baez" surname is an unethical and immoral Puerto-Rican New Yorker named Jose "Juanie Cochran" Baez; who shamed the Hispanic, New Yorker (including Hispanic New Yorker), and legal and law-enforcement communities by conspiring to perjure and witness tamper in order to help acquit a infantocidal sociopath named Casey Marie Anthony.
"Look; at least that guy wasn't a Jose Baez-- so you can't down the legal system completely. Cochran, Baez-- who cares? At least he recused himself from representing Levi Aron when he knew that he murdered Leiby Kletzky."
Baez by Nickidewbear August 22, 2011
Hell on wheels
Figurative for a hard-driven person with a mean streak.
An infamous nun in the Seton Keough community in Baltimore County, Maryland was actually called "Hell on Wheels"-- because of her name (Sister Helen Mercedes, which was obviously to pun) and her reputation for cruelty toward students at Seton Keough High School (which was two separate schools while "Hell on Wheels" was there).
Hell on wheels by Nickidewbear August 22, 2011
Yeshu
Variant of "Yeshua" or "Yushke" used in Hebrew- or Yiddish-speaking and other Jewish communities. Sometimes derogatory, "Yeshu" is usually just used by Non-Messianic Jews who just don't know better.
The derogatory use of "Yeshu" is an acronym to refer specifically to the Messianic Jewish (Christian) and historical figure Yeshua in terms of "Yemach shemo uv'zichrono"-- literally, "May his name and memory be wiped out."
Yeshu by Nickidewbear August 22, 2011
Messianic Jew
An Ethnically-Patrilineal and/or -Matrilineal Jew who believes that the historical Jesus of Nazareth (Yeshua HaNotzri) is the Messiah and that the New Testament is a part of TaNaKH(i.e., Torah, Nevi'im, Ketuvim, Hadashah-- literally "New" or "News").
A Messianic Jew does not necessarily keep all 613 mitzvot in the Torah, may not hold the Talmud as part of the Jewish Bible, and may be a member of a church as opposed to a Messianic shul or synagogue. Also called "Jews for Jesus", Messianic Jews are often targeted for persecution by Antimissionaries such as the Antimissionary organization Jews for Judaism.
Messianic Jew by Nickidewbear August 22, 2011
Jews For Jesus
The term comes from a Messianic Jewish organization founded by the late Moishe (ne Martin, 1932-2010) and Celia Starr Rosen. Called "Jews for Jesus", the organization is a 501(c)3 Messianic Jewish ministry which is often targeted for vile persecution by groups such as the Antimissionary organization Jews for Judaism.
Jews For Jesus by Nickidewbear August 22, 2011