d'var torah

Alternative Spellings

devar torah, dvar torah

Definitions

• a brief teaching from Jewish sources [lit. "a word of torah"], "A short speech" (JPS)

Example Sentences

• "Amanda will give a d'var torah this Shabbos."

Languages of Origin

Textual Hebrew

Etymology

דבר תורה

Who Uses This

Religious: Jews who are engaged in religious observance and have some Jewish education

Regions

North America

Dictionaries

The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).

Notes

In liberal Jewish communities, sometimes shortened to just "d'var," as in, "Who is giving the d'var at shul this Shabbos?"