The Jerusalem Bridge
תְּנוּפָה
tenufah
wave offering; a waving, brandishing motion · noun, feminine
Illustration for tenufah

Hebrew compresses a whole ritual gesture—hands lifted, the offering swung back and forth before God—into a single noun.

וְשַׂמְתָּ הַכֹּל עַל כַּפֵּי אַהֲרֹן וְעַל כַּפֵּי בָנָיו וְהֵנַפְתָּ אֹתָם תְּנוּפָה לִפְנֵי יְהוָה׃

"You shall place it all on Aaron's palms and on his sons' palms, and wave them as a tenufah before the LORD." (Exodus 29:24)

Is there a ritual gesture from your own home or synagogue that carries more meaning than the words around it?

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Yaacov, native Jerusalemite

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