avodah

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Pronunciations

avodah (uh-VOH-duh) listen
avodah (ah-voh-DAH) listen

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Definitions

  • n. A part of the Musaf service on Yom Kippur that describes the sacrificial ritual in the Temple in ancient Jerusalem on the Day of Atonement.

  • n. Service and worship of God.

  • n. Work, generally.

  • n. The name for a unit at camp in which campers help with such duties as service in the dining hall, laundry, etc.

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Example Sentences

  • "Davening is a big part of avoda."

  • "We will now be doing the Avoda service. The shaliach tzibbur will be prostrating completely at certain points, and you are encouraged to do so as well."

  • "Many of the first year staff here are part of the Avodah cohort, a Hebrew word that translates to “work”. As incoming college freshmen, we work as extra eyes, ears, and hands for different specialty areas around camp such as the Tower, the Kutz Kids Club, and the kitchen". (source)

  • Found on a website for a Reform institution: "The mission of our organization is to foster the vibrancy of Reform Judaism through Torah, avodah and gemilut chasadim."

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Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • Modern Hebrew

Etymology

  • TH עבודה > MH עבודה avoda 'work, worship'

      • Who Uses This

      • Religious: Jews who are engaged in religious observance and have some Jewish education
      • Orthodox: Jews who identify as Orthodox and observe halacha (Jewish law)
      • Camp: Jews who attend or work at a Jewish overnight summer camp

      Regions

      • North America
      • Australia / New Zealand
      • Great Britain
      • South Africa

      Dictionaries

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

      Alternative Spellings

      avoda, avoyde, avode, avodeh, avoydeh, avoyda, avoydah

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