fbpx
42.4 F
Spokane
Sunday, November 10, 2024
spot_img
HomeCommentaryAskAsk A Jew: What is God's Name?

Ask A Jew: What is God’s Name?

Date:

Related stories

A tale of two states: Hope and progress vs. the hate and fear of Christian nationalism

Uncover the threat of Christian nationalism discussed at a recent conference. Explore the impact and implications of this ideology and why coalitions are important.

Spokane Pastor: It’s not time to gloat over your candidate’s win. It’s time to build bridges.

Dealing with post-election fallout? Discover strategies to build bridges and heal wounds in a divided America.

On religion: Who did hell endorse in this year’s election?

Discover a satirical take on the current election season. Read 'Screwtape Endorses a Candidate' and delve into the hellish options presented in this thought-provoking piece.

What Buddhism can teach in this moment of deep divisions: No person is ‘evil,’ only ‘mistaken’

Explore the power of words in democracy. Discover how the rhetoric of 'enemyship' undermines civic cooperation and peaceful coexistence and how mindfulness and Buddhist thought can minimize that.

From childhood lies to political deception: How we lost our reverence for truth

Delve into the world of political deception and the prevalence of lies in today's society. Find out why politicians lie and why it matters.

Our Sponsors

spot_img
spot_img

What questions do you have about Judaism? Submit them online, or fill out the form below.

By Neal Schindler

What is God’s name?

In accordance with Reform Judaism’s penchant for cheekiness, Rabbi Paul Kipnes has written that “God is a four-letter word” according to Torah. What he means is that God’s proper name consists of four Hebrew letters: Yod, Hey, Vav, and Hey (יהוה). Jews typically pronounce this combination of four letters, often called the tetragrammaton, as “Adonai,” which would normally be written as follows in Hebrew: אדוני. As Rabbi Kipnes notes, Adonai is a euphemism, since it means “Lord.” The fact is, we no longer know the correct pronunciation of the tetragrammaton. The rabbi explains that “the correct pronunciation was lost when the priesthood collapsed with the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE.”

God goes by quite a few names in the Hebrew Bible. Rabbi Bonnie Margulis, also from the Reform tradition, notes that El, Elohim, and El Shaddai are among these names. You may know that some Jews write “G-d” instead of “God.” Yet another Reform rabbi, Victor Appell, explains that the medieval French rabbi Rashi believed Jews “should not erase or destroy God’s name and should avoid writing it.” The idea that writing or destroying God’s name is a no-no likely derives from Deuteronomy 12:3-4, which not only urges destruction of pagan altars but also commands: “… wipe out their names from those places. You must not worship the Lord your God in their way” (NIV).

Religious Jews, whether mystically inclined or not, tend to see God as too holy and beyond comprehension to be summed up in a name. And for many Jews, even the euphemistic terms we use to describe God aren’t to be tossed around lightly. As Rabbi Appell indicates: “Some Jews will avoid discarding paper or books in which God’s name appears in Hebrew. Rather than being thrown out or destroyed, they may be stored in a genizah (a storage place) and buried in a Jewish cemetery.”

Neal Schindler
Neal Schindler
A native of Detroit, Neal Schindler has lived in the Pacific Northwest since 2002. He has held staff positions at Seattle Weekly and The Seattle Times and was a freelance writer for Jew-ish.com from 2007 to 2011. Schindler was raised in a Reconstructionist Jewish congregation and is now a member of Spokane's Reform congregation, Emanu-El. He is the director of Spokane Area Jewish Family Services. His interests include movies, Scrabble, and indie rock. He lives with his wife, son, and two cats in West Central Spokane.

Our Sponsors

spot_img
spot_img
spot_img
0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x