Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Cohen, Izzy" <Izzy_Cohen AT bmc.com>]

DoVeN-ing
=========
An essential element of [Yinglish] DoVeN-ing = 
"(congregational) praying" is the requirement 
to face in the direction of Jerusalem.

The nave of older Western churches usually was 
oriented towards Jerusalem. Compare navigate.

Random House online contains:

orient
9.  to place so as to face the east, esp. to build 
     (a church) with the chief altar to the east and 
     the chief entrance to the west.

Likewise, Muslims face Mecca when praying.

Bear with me and I'll try to explain the connection 
between DoVeN-ing and facing the right direction.

The two stars that form the pouring edge of the bowl of 
the Big Dipper [Ursa Major = big bear] point to ...

Polaris
1. the polestar or North Star ... in the constellation 
   Ursa Minor [Little Bear]: the outermost star in the 
   handle of the Little Dipper.

This explains why, in English, the process of determining 
the direction you face is called "getting one's bearings".

bearings
9. a horizontal direction expressed in degrees east 
    or west of ... north ... 

The Hebrew word for bear is DoV.
Hence, DoVen-ing.

izzy, the tail-bearer
izzy_cohen AT bmc.com