What is "avodah"

Avoda, or Avodah , is a Hebrew word, literally meaning "work".

In a modern context, usually refers to business-type activities, it can also mean agricultural work and, more traditionally, serving God.

In its original, traditional sense, "avodah" was applied to sacrifices offered in 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 on Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement). Today it refers to a liturgical reenactment of the aforementioned ceremony which is recited during the Musaf Amidah of Yom Kippur.