עמוד

, in Hebrew, is a pole or a pillar (not the North or South Pole – that’s קוטב

).

The central pillar of a structure – the one that really holds it up – is עמוד התווך

. This works metaphorically too:

הם עמודי התווך של הקהילה.

They are the pillars of the community.

תווך

means “in between.” Its root ת.ו.כ

or ת.י.כ

appears in הים התיכון

– the Mediterranean Sea (the sea between the continents).