aliyah

[ Sephardic Hebrew, English ah-lee-ah; Ashkenazic Hebrew ah-lee-awor, English, uh-lee-uh ]

noun

, plural a·li·yahs, a·li·yos [ah-lee-, yahz, ah-, lee, -awz, uh, -, lee, -, uh, z], a·li·yot [ah-lee-, awt].

1. the act of proceeding to the reading table in a synagogue for the reading of a portion from the Torah.
2. the immigration of Jews to Israel, either as individuals or in groups.
3. any of the major waves of Jewish immigration to Palestine or Israel.

aliyah

noun

1. aliˈja -yoth-ˈjɒt immigration to the Holy Land
2. əˈliːə the honour of being called to read from the Torah

Word History and Origins

Origin of aliyah¹

From the Hebrew word ʿăliyyāh, literally, “ascent, rise”

Word History and Origins

Origin of aliyah¹

from Hebrew, literally: act of going up, ascent

Example Sentences

Her journey was organised by Zaka, an Israeli emergency rescue and recovery group, while Bendersky was flown here by the Jewish Agency, which provides "aliyah", or "ascent", to Israel for Jews around the world.

From Reuters

"As a Jewish person you can make aliyah, which means to emigrate to Israel, and it was one of those things that, with the sport, just set off and sparked this amazing adventure for me."

From BBC

Netanyahu’s office said the decision comes “out of his commitment to the continued aliyah of Jews to Israel.”

From Seattle Times

Her was an ardent proponent of aliyah, the reunification of the Jewish people.

From New York Times

The 8,000 are descendants of Ethiopian Jews forcibly converted to Christianity about a century ago, and the Israeli government views bringing them to Israel as family reunification rather than “aliyah,” or Jewish immigration.

From Washington Post