nichum aveilim

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Pronunciations

nichum aveilim (nee-KHOOM ah-vay-LEEM)
nichum avel (nee-KHOOM ah-VEL)

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Definitions

  • n. The obligation of comforting mourners; sharing memories, making a shivah call, taking part in a minyan at the mourners’ home.

Example Sentences

  • "Not only does nichum aveilim allow one to perform an act of kindness by visiting the mourners and offering them words of comfort and encouragement, but we are taught that the soul of the deceased is comforted when one performs nichum aveilim, as well." (source)

  • "The whole community came to the house to do nichum avel." (Glinert)

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Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew

Etymology

  • ניחום אבלים, lit. 'comforting mourners'

      • 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).
      • 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

      nikhum aveilim, nichum aveylim, nikhum aveylim, nichum avaylim, nikhum avaylim, nichum avel, nikhum avel

Notes

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