לפני העבודה צריך ללוש את גוש החימר.

Here, לפני means before in a time sense: before the work.

It can also mean in front of in a physical sense, depending on context. For example:

• לפני העבודה = before the work
• לפני הבית = in front of the house

So the context tells you whether it is temporal or spatial.

לפני is a separate preposition word, so it stands on its own:

• לפני העבודה

This is different from the one-letter prepositions ב־, ל־, and כ־, which attach directly to the next word.

So:

• בעבודה = at work / in the work
• לעבודה = to work
• לפני העבודה = before the work

You do not attach לפני to the noun.

העבודה means the work. In Hebrew, the definite article ה־ is added directly to the noun.

So:

• עבודה = work
• העבודה = the work

In this sentence, it refers to a specific piece of work or task, not just work in general. English may sometimes say simply before work, but Hebrew often uses לפני העבודה when talking about a specific task or activity.

In Hebrew, צריך + infinitive is often used impersonally, meaning something like:

• one needs to...
• it is necessary to...
• you need to... in a general sense

So צריך ללוש means need to knead or it is necessary to knead.

If you add a specific subject, then צריך agrees with that subject:

• אני צריך ללוש = I need to knead
• אני צריכה ללוש = I need to knead (female speaker)
• הם צריכים ללוש = they need to knead

Without a stated subject, masculine singular צריך is the normal default form.

Most often, צריך means need to or have to. Depending on context, it can sometimes sound closer to should, but its basic sense is necessity.

So here:

• צריך ללוש = need to knead

If the context is instructional, it may sound like an instruction: you should / need to knead the clay before working with it.

ללוש is the infinitive, meaning to knead.

A very common Hebrew pattern is:

• צריך + infinitive

So:

• צריך ללוש = need to knead

The ל־ at the start of the infinitive often corresponds to English to:

• לכתוב = to write
• ללמוד = to study
• ללוש = to knead

את marks a definite direct object.

It does not have a direct English translation, but it tells you that the noun phrase following it is the specific thing receiving the action.

So in:

• ללוש את גוש החימר

the thing being kneaded is גוש החימר.

You use את because גוש החימר is definite: it means the lump of clay, not just a lump of clay.

Compare:

• ללוש גוש חימר = to knead a lump of clay
• ללוש את גוש החימר = to knead the lump of clay

This is a construct chain in Hebrew, called סמיכות.

• גוש = lump / chunk / block
• החימר = the clay
• גוש החימר = the lump of the clay, which in natural English is the lump of clay

In a construct chain, the first noun usually does not take ה־. The definiteness comes from the second noun. Since החימר is definite, the whole phrase גוש החימר is definite.

That is why Hebrew says:

• גוש החימר

not:

• הגוש החימר

גוש means something like:

• lump
• chunk
• block
• mass

In this sentence, גוש החימר refers to a formed piece or lump of clay before working it.

So it is not just the material clay in general, but a particular piece/lump of clay.

The sentence is structured like this:

• לפני העבודה = time expression, before the work
• צריך = need to / it is necessary
• ללוש = to knead
• את גוש החימר = the lump of clay

A very literal breakdown is:

• Before the work, [one] needs to knead the lump of clay.

This is a very normal Hebrew structure: time expression + צריך + infinitive + object.

Hebrew often puts the time phrase first, just like English can do with Before the work, ... or Before starting work, ...