hagba

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Pronunciations

hagba (HAHG-buh) listen

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Definitions

  • n. The ceremonial raising of a Sefer Torah for all the congregation to see.

Example Sentences

  • "We need a strong lefty to do hagba today because we're at Parashat Bereshit, so all the weight is on the left side."

  • "He's a massive man--the sort that always gets asked to do hagbe." (Glinert)

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Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • Heb. הַגְבָּהָה hagbahah 'lifting, raising' > Yid. הגבה(ה) hagbeh

      • Who Uses This

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

      Regions

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

      Dictionaries

      • The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).
      • The Joys of Hebrew, by Lewis Glinert (New York, 1992).
      • Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Popular Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms, by Sol Steinmetz (Lanham, MD, 2005).

      Alternative Spellings

      hagbah, hagbaha, hagbahah, hagbe, hagbeh, hakama, akama

Notes

  • See also gelilah.


    See also magbiah


    In Ashkenazi congregations, hagba is done after the Torah is read, but before the haftorah is read; in Sephardi congregations, hagba is done before the Torah is read. However, some congregations mix these traditions.


    The (h)akama pronunciation is common among Sephardi Jews.

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