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Specifically, if I intended to write a tzadei (צ) and I begin by making the two top yuds (') [Hashem's name] - can I complete my tzadei?

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Two yuds is not a Name of Hashem. It is just an abbreviation or "placeholder."

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Right, but that means only that the example in the question is not a good one: the question remains, though, I think. – msh210♦ Sep 26 '11 at 15:58
@msh210, you're right that the question remains, but I think that the type of mistake one needs to make to actually write a Divine Name accidentally is significantly different from and less probable than the letter-forming example that zaq described. – Isaac Moses Sep 26 '11 at 17:02
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@IsaacMoses, how about writing the first two letters of Y'chiel or yichye and accidentally writing a he instead of a ches? – msh210♦ Sep 26 '11 at 17:33
@msh210 - That is only half of the Divine Name, so you didn't write it. Yechiel brings up another question. What if you write a name like that, and then erase all of the letters except the final two. That would leave you with another Divine Name. (By the way, why did Dave and IsaacMoses capitalize the word Name? Zaq didn't do it, and I don't know why it would be halakhically obligatory. The only reason why I did it in this comment was just to be safe.) – Adam Mosheh Jul 12 '12 at 20:51
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@AdamMosheh See this. It is definitely not halachically obligatory. I don't think it's even obligatory according to the rules of English. I think it's just an acceptable alternative. – Daniel Aug 16 '12 at 18:42

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