LikuteiTorah.comThe Chassidishe Parsha
Sign in

Glossary · Torah Ohr · Likkutei Torah

Avodas Hashem

עבודת ה׳

Divine service (avodas Hashem) · also: עובד אלקים

Serving G‑d as a servant: doing the King’s will and changing one’s nature, as hides are tanned, so the middos are for G‑d alone.

The word עבודה is also plain work or labor (the six weekdays of "ששת ימים תעבוד", tanning hides), and in the Sages’ phrase "עבודה שבלב" it is prayer specifically. As a term, avodas Hashem is the whole service of the servant of G‑d; when the text sets “Torah, avodah and kindness” side by side, avodah is prayer (Torah Ohr, Shemot 2:26; Likkutei Torah, Sh’lach 16:18), not Torah study.

Where it’s explained

  1. Likkutei Torah, Balak 3, ¶25The meaning of the word avodah is to draw the revelation of Or Ein Sof below, a dwelling in the lower realms, and to add light in Gan Eden (“to work it” is the 248 positive mitzvos), by keeping the positive and negative mitzvos. Since mitzvos need kavanah, which is prayer, the light is drawn through the service of the heart.והנה מכ״ז נתבאר פי׳ וענין לשון עבודה מה ענינה שהוא להמשיך גילוי אור א״ס למטה דירה בתחתונים וכן תוספת אור בג״ע
  2. Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 27, ¶6The natural love of the soul, like that of brother and sister, is not avodah, and one is not called a servant of G‑d for it. Avodah is from “tanned hides”: changing one’s nature and habit, through iskafya and ishapcha, which comes from the intellectual soul’s contemplation of the greatness of Ein Sof and needs toil of soul and body.אך אין זו עבודה ולא נקרא עובד ה׳ כי עבודה היא מלשון עורות עבודים להיות עבודת עבד ועבודת משא
  3. Likkutei Torah, Reeh 2, ¶17A servant serves his master wholeheartedly to fulfill his will though he has no reason or understanding in the work, because he accepts his master’s yoke; so one accepts the yoke of Heaven and keeps the mitzvos because the King commanded. This is lower than joy in the love of G‑d, yet has its own advantage of submission and bittul, and it binds the level of action to G‑d.כמו העבד שהוא עובד את אדונו שאין כונתו רק לעבוד את אדונו למלאות רצונו הגם שלא יהיה לו שום טעם והשגה בעבודתו
  4. Torah Ohr, Shemos 2, ¶26The three pillars, Torah, avodah (prayer) and kindness, are themselves the repairs of the middos; “all their labor” in the verse is the repair of the middos, worked from within them. It needs great toil to turn one’s way and nature from one extreme to the other, and is called avodah as hides are tanned, so the middos are made fit for G‑d alone.ולזה צריך טורח עמל ויגיעה גדולה להפך מן ההפוך אל ההפוך ולשנות דרכו וטבעו ונק׳ עבודה מלשון עורות עבודים
  5. Likkutei Torah, Beshalach 1, ¶32The weekday service is plowing: a broken heart and iskafya, which draws down in concealment. What was toiled for on weekdays is revealed on Shabbos, when the service is delight in G‑d through ishapcha, turning darkness to light.אלא בשבת העבודה הוא בבחינת התענגות על ה׳ ע״י אתהפכא חשוכא לנהורא

Stated differently

Whether being an oved Elokim is the iskafya of the weekdays, with ishapcha belonging to Shabbos, or is itself the turning of darkness to light

Likkutei Torah, Balak 3, ¶33שהעבודה זו הוא עמל ויגיעה כנ״ל והוא בחי׳ אתכפייא וזהו בחי׳ עובד אלקים

The weekday service is toil and labor, iskafya, and this is the level of oved Elokim; on Shabbos is ishapcha, turning darkness to light, a rest with no toil at all.

Torah Ohr, Toldos 2, ¶4ירדה הנשמה למטה להיות עובד אלקים דהיינו לעבוד ולתקן את בחי׳ החשך וההסתר הנמשך משם אלקים לאהפכא חשוכא לנהורא

The soul descended to be an oved Elokim: to work and repair the darkness and concealment drawn from the name Elokim, turning darkness to light, through bittul of the yesh, mesirus nefesh in prayer, and Torah and mitzvos.

Torah Ohr, Mishpatim 3, ¶3וזהו ההפרש בין עובד אלקים לאשר לא עבדו. ועבוד וכבוס זה הוא ע״י התהפכות המדות מחשוכא לנהורא

The difference between one who serves G‑d and one who does not is this tanning and washing, done by turning the middos from darkness to light and bitter to sweet, through the waters of Daas in prayer.

Whether avodah comes from accepting the yoke, above reason and understanding, or from contemplation

Likkutei Torah, Reeh 2, ¶17הגם שלא יהיה לו שום טעם והשגה בעבודתו וגם אינו יודע טיב העבודה ומהותה

Avodah is the servant’s service: he does his master’s will wholeheartedly because he accepts his yoke, even with no reason or understanding in the work. It is the lower level, set against joy in the love of G‑d, and for one whose intellect cannot bring him to strong love it is his complete service.

Torah Ohr, Mikeitz 5, ¶11שהעבודה שמצד הרצון והבחירה שמחמת השגת המשכילים קרבת אלקים כי טוב אין זו נק׳ בשם עבודת עבד

Service that comes from will and choice, because the intellect grasps that nearness to G‑d is good, is not called a servant’s service; the essence of avodah is accepting the yoke of Heaven, which is above reason and understanding.

Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 27, ¶6והיא באה מחמת התבוננות נפש המשכלת בגדולת א״ס ב״ה איך דכולא קמיה כלא

Changing one’s nature in the manner of avodah comes from the intellectual soul’s contemplation of the greatness of Ein Sof, how all before Him is as nothing.

Torah Ohr, Vayakhel 1, ¶25שא״א להיות הולדת והמשכת האהבה מההתבוננות אא״כ ייגע א״ע לקשר דעתו בחוזק

Avodah is the “service of love” of the six weekdays: the toil without which love cannot be born from contemplation, binding one’s mind firmly.

Whether avodah draws Or Ein Sof down from above, or is the ascent from below, with Torah and kindness the drawing down

Likkutei Torah, Balak 3, ¶25פי׳ וענין לשון עבודה מה ענינה שהוא להמשיך גילוי אור א״ס למטה דירה בתחתונים

The meaning of avodah is to draw the revelation of Or Ein Sof below, a dwelling in the lower realms, and to add light in Gan Eden, through the mitzvos and prayer.

Likkutei Torah, Shelach 16, ¶18פי׳ עבודה הוא העלאת מ״ן שמלמטה למעלה דהיינו ביטול היש

Among the three pillars, avodah is the raising of mayin nukvin from below to above, bittul of the yesh (Shema, the Exodus and prayer); Torah and kindness are the drawings down from above.

Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 23, ¶15עבודה היא בחי׳ העלאה ותורה וגמ״ח הן בחי׳ המשכות

Avodah is ascent; Torah and kindness are drawings down.

Main sources

Likkutei Torah, Balak 3, ¶25Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 27, ¶6Likkutei Torah, Reeh 2, ¶17Torah Ohr, Shemos 2, ¶26Likkutei Torah, Beshalach 1, ¶32Likkutei Torah, Balak 3, ¶33Torah Ohr, Toldos 2, ¶4Likkutei Torah, Balak 3, ¶3

Where it appears

In 439 paragraphs of 225 maamarim.

Written with AI from the paragraphs of Torah Ohr and Likkutei Torah, each entry checked by a second AI reader and every Hebrew quote checked by code; not yet reviewed by a person. Our English: CC BY-NC 4.0.

Text size

Theme

How I learn

Calendar

Language

English

This page is in English only for now. Also in, so far:

العربية72 maamarim so farDeutsch72 maamarim so farEspañol72 maamarim so farفارسی72 maamarim so farFrançais72 maamarim so farעברית72 maamarim so farItaliano72 maamarim so farPortuguês72 maamarim so farРусский72 maamarim so farУкраїнська72 maamarim so far中文（简体）72 maamarim so far中文（繁體）72 maamarim so far

Send us a suggestion

Corrections, ideas, questions. Leave your email so we can answer.

We send it by email to the editor, with the page you’re on. Nothing is published.
Ask Freg about any paragraph