Word of the day: לעבוד - to work

It's the second working day in Israel and the first working day outside Israel.

The Hebrew for "work" is עֲבוֹדָה avoda, and the corresponding verb is לַעֲבֹד ~ לעבוד la'avod:

The word לעבוד can also be applied to inanimate objects ("my computer doesn't work"). You can also use the verb לִפְעֹל ~ לפעול lif'ol in that sense: הַמַּחְשֵׁב שֶלִּי לֹא פּוֹעֵל ha-machshev sheli lo po'el.

In the context of religion, עבודה means "worship": עֲבוֹדַת ה׳ avodat ha-Shem "(Jewish) religious service" (literally: G-d-worship), עֲבוֺדָה זָרָה avoda zara "idol worship, paganism" (literally: foreign worship).

Related to לעבוד are words עֶבֶד eved "slave" and עַבְדוּת avdut "slavery". The same root עב״ד "work" is found in other Semitic languages – for example, it occurs in the Arabic names "Abdullah" (slave of Allah), "Abdurrachman" (slave of the merciful one – and note that רַחְמָן rach(a)man also means "merciful" in Hebrew). There is also a derived root שפע״ל with a causative meaning: לְשַׁעְבֵּד lesha'abed "to enslave".

Hope your עבודה is not עבדות for you. When you have a couple of minutes, listen to שִיר הָהֲבוֹדָה shir ha-avoda "The Work Song" by the band גָזוֹז Gazoz ("Soda"):

Have a nice day!