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Nadav and Daven

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Nadav and Daven
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ByVirginia Spatz
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Isn't It Time
שמות כ״ה:ב׳

(ב) דַּבֵּר֙ אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְיִקְחוּ־לִ֖י תְּרוּמָ֑ה מֵאֵ֤ת כׇּל־אִישׁ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יִדְּבֶ֣נּוּ לִבּ֔וֹ תִּקְח֖וּ אֶת־תְּרוּמָתִֽי׃

Exodus 25:2

(2) Speak to the Children of Israel,

that they may take me a raised-contribution;
from every man whose heart makes-him-willing, you are to take my contribution

raised-contribution = תְּרוּמָ֑ה (terumah -- singular. Fox uses "raised-contribution," while many use a plural: "gifts")

My contribution = תְּרוּמָתִֽי (terumati -- "yud - i" ending expresses "mine." The "tav - t" changes the word from basic noun to one that shows possession)**

heart = לִבּ֔וֹ (libo -- basic noun is lev; the first vowel shortens when adding the possessive; "o" ending for masculine possessive)

makes him willing (JPS: "is so moved") = יִדְּבֶ֣נּוּ (y'daveinu) See NaDaV below. Hebrew roots beginning with a nun often lose the "nun" in conjugation.

** This Terumati is a construct form =
terumah + ת/t (construct) + י/i (possession) = תְּרוּמָתִֽי
so "my terumah"
Basic possessives -- hers, his, mine, theirs -- are added to the end of a word. Other constructs add the tav to the word and then the word with which it is being related. For example, a Torah portion is "parashah" but becomes "parashat Terumah" when the specific name is added.
As in English, there is some ambiguity in saying "Terumati, my contribution." It could be read as "contribution FOR me [God]" or "contribution OF mine [God]," just as "Terumat Ploni," e.g., is "Ploni's contribution," which could mean "contribution OF/from Ploni" or "contribution FOR Ploni." This ambiguity allows for some of the midrash relating the person giving and God in various interesting ways.
מילון יסטרוב, נְדָבָה א׳
...
Jastrow, נְדָבָה 1
נְדָבָה f. (b. h.; preced.) free-will offering, donation. Kinn. I, 1 איזהו נדר … ואיזהו נ׳ וכ׳ a vow is called neder, when one says, I vow to dedicate a burnt-offering; ni’dabah, when one says, this animal is to be a burnt-offering. Ib. 3 בחובה ובנ׳ when an obligatory and a free-will sacrifice are mixed up. Men. I, 1 מנחת נ׳, opp. to מנחת חוטא. Ib. 2ᵃ יהא נ׳ it will be a free-will offering (and the vow itself is not yet fulfilled); opp. יהא נדר it will be the fulfillment of his vow; a. fr.—Pl. נְדָבוֹת. Kinn. I, 1. Ned. I, 1 כנִדְבוֹתָם like their (the good men’s) free-will offerings or vows; a. fr.
ויקרא י׳:א׳

(א) וַיִּקְח֣וּ בְנֵֽי־אַ֠הֲרֹ֠ן נָדָ֨ב וַאֲבִיה֜וּא אִ֣ישׁ מַחְתָּת֗וֹ וַיִּתְּנ֤וּ בָהֵן֙ אֵ֔שׁ וַיָּשִׂ֥ימוּ עָלֶ֖יהָ קְטֹ֑רֶת וַיַּקְרִ֜יבוּ לִפְנֵ֤י יְהֹוָה֙ אֵ֣שׁ זָרָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֧ר לֹ֦א צִוָּ֖ה אֹתָֽם׃

Leviticus 10:1

(1) Now Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu each took his fire pan, put fire in it, and laid incense on it; and they offered before יהוה alien fire, which had not been enjoined upon them.

דאוון
I have no information about how Hebrew is transformed into Yiddish spelling:
Davven -- Yiddish word for prayer uses a vav [ו] rather than a bet [ב] found in the Hebrew word nadav [נָדַב]
More on the word davven below.
From the site "Balashon" -- https://www.balashon.com/2007/01/daven.html -- organized by an individual English speaker living in Israel who obviously spends a lot of time studying the language.
  • from the Aramaic “d’avhatana” דאבהתנא (or d'avunon דאבונן) , meaning “from our fathers.”
  • from Hebrew “daf” דף , meaning “page”, so that “dafnen” would mean “to turn the pages.”
  • Some say that “daven” originally meant to say the morning prayer, and hence look either to the English “dawn” or to Middle High German for “tagewen”, meaning “to do one’s morning chores” or “digen” meaning “to request.”
  • from the Arabic “da’awa”, meaning “to pray”
  • the Lithuanian word “davana”, meaning gift
  • from Middle High German “doenen”, meaning to sing
  • from the Hebrew “davav” דבב , generally translated as “to move the lips” or “to speak”.
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See also the midrash from Midrash Tanchuma about "Terumah" on this sheet.