Illustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
Halakhah הֲלָכָה
The כֹּהֲנִים (kohanim, priests) worked hard! In the mishkan, and later in the בֵּית הַמִּקְדָשׁ (Beit Ha-Mikdash, Temple in Jerusalem), they had many jobs and altogether these are often called עֲבוֹדָה (avodah), which can mean “work,” “service,” and “worship” (for example, see Shemot 38:21, Bemidbar 4:23).
But avodah goes beyond the Beit Ha-Mikdash! The Gemara explains that avodah is also something that happens in our hearts:
אֵיזוֹ הִיא עֲבוֹדָה שֶׁהִיא בַּלֵּב? הֱוֵי אוֹמֵר: זוֹ תְּפִלָּה.
Avodah of the heart
Many aspects of Jewish prayer can be traced back to korbanot, the original kind of avodah:
- WHEN: Jewish prayer services happen at specific times, and these are connected to the times the korbanot were offered (Talmud Bavli Berakhot 26b).
- WHAT: Our prayers talk about korbanot. At the beginning of Shaharit, there’s a whole section about the daily avodah in the Beit Ha-Mikdash. Look it up in a Siddur! Musaf on holidays is basically all about korbanot.
- WHY: Korbanot were sometimes required and sometimes voluntary, and that’s true of prayer, too. Rambam says you can pray all day long, if you want. You can even say the Amidah more times than is required, as a תְּפִלַּת נְדָבָה (tefillat nedavah, voluntary prayer). But each time, you should try to change your words a bit, to highlight your specific situation (Hilkhot Tefillah 1:9-10). And if you can’t focus well on all the words, it’s best not to say the Amidah more than you have to (Shulhan Arukh Orah Hayyim 107:4).
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