Many languages have multiple words for one thing. For instance, the Sami languages of Norway, Sweden and Finland have over 180 words relating to snow and ice. By contrast, the Jewish language often has one word that means many things.
Adovah is such a Hebrew word. According to Rabbi Michael Strassfeld, Adovah means vocation, a calling or service. It also is the word of slavery—which is involuntary service. It is the same word used for prayer.
Andrew Teitelbaum in his blog on Builttolead.com states, “Many work Monday through Friday and worship on the weekend. Masters integrate the three, finding flow while pursuing their Opus. When integrated, work, worship and service reflect a well-aligned core.”
As an example, he notes that when you look at the ancient temples, medieval castles, and mosques, you can imagine the artisans living all aspects of Adovah, as their “work, worship, and service were brought together in these architectural masterpieces.”
Teitelbaum gives a more modern day example. He has a friend who built a faith-based recovery center for persons with drug and alcohol addictions. The treatment model he has created takes longer than traditional treatment timeframes. “After five months, participants engage in work programs replicating another integration of Adovah as their work, worship, and service support the organization that is supporting them on their road to recovery.” Teitelbaum notes that it’s the kinds of work “you aren’t sure you want to start, but once you do, it’s the kind of work you don’t want to stop.”
Rabbi Strassfeld shared a story told to him by Rabbi Jeffrey Salkin that illustrates Adovah:
The boss of a moving crew was a delightful, crusty gentleman, a dead ringer for Willie Nelson. I have never met anyone so enthusiastic about his or her work, and I asked him the source of that enthusiasm.
“Well, you see, I’m a religious man,” he answered, '“and my work is part of my religious mission.”
“What do you mean?” Rabbi Salkin asked.
“Well, it is like this. Moving is hard for most people. It’s a very vulnerable time for them. People are nervous about going to a new community, and about having strangers pack their most precious possessions. So I think God wants me to treat my customers with love and to make them feel that I care about their things and their lives. God wants me to help make their changes go smoothly. If I can be happy about it, maybe they can be too.” (from Being God’s Partner).
The Apostle Paul states this same concept in his Epistle to the Colossians. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Colossians 3:23-24.
A global poll conducted by Gallup in 2019 revealed that of the world’s one billion full-time workers, only 15% are engaged with their work while they are at work. An estimated 65% of workers dislike their jobs and at least 15% hate them.
What if we took a new view of work? What if we truly saw our work as work and service and worship? What if we took the Apostle Paul’s guidance seriously and viewed each moment at work as serving and worshipping the Lord? How would that change how we feel about work?
Adovah can give us renewed joy. Knowing that God has place you where you are for this time can give us peace.