The personal name affixes listed below are abbreviations of phrases which denote respect for the person and recognition of his/her Torah and Talmud learning. Proverbs 10:7 The Proverbs of Solomon: "Remembrance of a righteous one brings blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot."   The affixes are included here because they form a group with shlit"a which is sometimes incorporated into a hechsher design as an extension to the name of the certifying rabbi.   Instances of these affixes may be found in editorial and advertising material in newspapers such as Hamodia, The Jewish Press (USA), The Jewish Tribune (London). Several of the definitions below are derived from postings to a Jewish-interest Internet discussion group by Prof. Rudman, Gilad Gevaryahu and Mordecai in August, 1999. Some definitions from the soc.culture.jewish newsgroup, 1996, are also included.   Typical usage: Rabbi Chanoch Auerbach shlit"a, Leah Mandel a"h, Chaim Levy zt"l.   ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: My thanks for additional information go to Sam S and S-BF.
p r e f i x e s
Hagra"M
HaRav HaGaon	הרה"ג. Gaon = a Jew having exceptional Jewish knowledge.
mara d'asra (Aramaic)	מוֹרָה דְאַתְרָא. Mara in Hebrew means Moreh-teacher/tutor, d'Asra in Hebrew means d'-shel-of, Asra-Asar-place. In Aramaic, a terminal א means 'the.' Thus, the phrase means 'The teacher/tutor of the place.' Grand rabbis are known as "Admorim" (Hebrew אדמו"ר, which is the acronym for "אדונינו מורינו ורבינו" "Adonainu Morainu V'Rabainu", "Our master, our teacher, and our Rabbi"). Chief Rabbi or spiritual head of a Kehillah (community), town or place. The legal authority or posek in a community who decides issues in the area of halacha (Jewish Law), matters of procedure.
R'	Rabbi or Reb. A title given to any married religious Jewish male (similar to Mr.)
yblch"t	e.g. yblch’t HaRav Chaim Kanievsky, Shlita
s u f f i x e s
a"h	ע"ה. USAGE: 1.. עַם הָאָרֶץ, people of the land. Refers to someone who has not distinguished themselves in Torah-Talmud scholarship. 2.. עָלָזו הַשָׁלוֹם, for any deceased Jew. TRANSLATION: Peace Be Upon Him/Her
admo"r	אדמו"ר Adonainu, Morainu, VeRabbeinu. אדונינו מורינו ורבינו. TRANSLATION: Our Master, Our Teacher, and Our Rebbe. Grand rabbis are known as "Admorim." USAGE: Honorific title given to scholarly leaders of a Jewish community: e.g. Admo"r of Tiberius.
amoos, amush	TRANSLITERATION: Ad Maia Veesrim Shana. USAGE: For a salutation in correspondence; Dear Shimon, AMU"Sh. TRANSLATION: He or she should live to 120 years.
hy"d	הי"ד May G-d avenge their blood.
hy"v	הי"ו
n"y	נ"י may his light shine
o.b.m., ob”m	of blessed memory
segal	USAGE: An abbreviation of "segan le-kohen". "Segen" means lieutenant whilst "segal" means "assistant to the priest." (Levite).
shlit"a	שליט"א; she'yichyeh l'orech yo'mim to'vim, amen. "May he be worthy to live a long, good life." Denotes a scholar.
	תחי. USAGE: Rebbetzin Rochel Berliner 'תחי
tlyt"a	תליט"א, female form of shlit"a
ylch"t
ylctv"a	may they have a long life
ym"sh	USAGE: yemach shemoh v'zichro. TRANSLATION: may his name and memory be obliterated. May be appended to the name of Adolf Hitler and other evil people.
z"l or zal	ז"ל, zichronot livracha; "May her/his memory be a blessing."
ztl, zt"l	זצ"ל, zeicher tsadik livracha; "The memory of the righteous [shall be] for a blessing."
ztvk"l	זצוק"ל, zeicher tsadik v'kadosh livracha; "the memory of the righteous and holy [shall be] for a blessing"
ztz"l	זצ"ל. zeicher tzadik livracha. "The memory of the righteous [shall be] for a blessing." Same as zt"l, זצ"ל.
ztzuka"l
ztzvkllh"h	זצוללה"ה zecher tzadik vikadosh livracha lichayei haolam haba.
zy"a	זי"א
miscellany Sentence fragments are shown below
a"y	ע״י. A word, not a personal affix. It is an abbreviation of al yedei = by. See hechsher 717 for an example.
l"a	.. if a member is ill, l"a, then the other members must visit him ...
lhbc"l
R"l
tblchtv"a	... and tblchtv"a his wife Elisheva ...
yblcht	... The Stanislover Rebbe with yblcht the Munkaczer Rebbe ...