''Avoda'', or ''Avodah'' ( he, עֲבוֹדָה, ʿəḇoḏā, work, worship, and service) means serving God in
Judaism and in
Modern Hebrew can simply mean "work".
Original meaning
In its original, traditional sense, ''avodah'' was applied to sacrifices offered in the
Temple in Jerusalem. The word was also used to describe the epitome of sacrificial rite, the complex and fraught main service of the
High Priest of Israel
High Priest ( he, כהן גדול, translit=Kohen Gadol or ; ) was the title of the chief religious official of Judaism from the early post- Exilic times until the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 CE. Previously ...
on
Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement). Today it refers to
a liturgical reenactment of the aforementioned ceremony which is recited during the
Mussaf Amidah
The ''Amidah Amuhduh'' ( he, תפילת העמידה, ''Tefilat HaAmidah'', 'The Standing Prayer'), also called the ''Shemoneh Esreh'' ( 'eighteen'), is the central prayer of the Jewish liturgy. Observant Jews recite the ''Amidah'' at each o ...
of Yom Kippur.
In
Hasidic philosophy, ''avodah'' generally refers to divine service (or worship). For example, it is part of the divine service to serve God with joy.
Bnei Akiva: ''Torah ve'avoda''
''Avodah'' is one of the two concepts that underlie the
ideology
An ideology is a set of beliefs or philosophies attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely epistemic, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones." Formerly applied pri ...
of the
Bnei Akiva movement; the other is
Torah.
בני עקיבא – תנועה של עם ?
/ref>
In this ideological framework, the word was originally utilised in a strictly agricultural context. "Avodah" meant working on a kibbutz. In more recent years, Bnei Akiva has had to redefine the terminology. Tens of thousands of its members currently live, or plan to live in an urban setting in Israel and it is generally perceived that the needs of Israel have developed somewhat since Bnei Akiva was founded. The movement has therefore subtly redefined Avodah, to mean work that contributes towards the building up of the land of Israel.
See also
* Torah im Derech Eretz
References
{{Wiktionary, עבודה
Political philosophy
Hebrew words and phrases
Work
Jewish animal sacrifice