This week’s theme
Words borrowed from Hebrew

This week’s words
mitzvah
cherub
tzedakah
shekel
sabbath

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(tsuh-DAH-kuh, -dah-KAH)

MEANING:

noun: Charitable giving or charity, especially when seen as a moral obligation.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Hebrew tzedaqah (righteousness). Earliest documented use: 1959. Plural: tzedakahs or tzedakot.

USAGE:

“A homeless man sat with his knees drawn up in front of him. A little girl leaned against him, clutching a scrap of blanket. I steered over to them and dropped a dollar in his cup. Some might see it as extravagant for tzedakah, but Nathaniel and I could have been them.”
Mary Robinette Kowal; The Calculating Stars; Tom Doherty Associates; 2018.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: