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I am a member of the Jewish Community Center. I had a T shirt designed that says "Jewish Community Center" with a design of olive branches and the word's "God is Life". Is this acceptable? Must the word be "G-d"? I am a Christian and do not want to offend anyone. The design "God is Life" was found in a group of "Jewish emblems and designs".

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  • Interesting question! I know that there are rules for Jews to spell it as G-d, and there are various opinions regarding this. However, I don't know if this same rule applies to non-Jews.
    – DanF
    Apr 3, 2015 at 15:06
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    Welcome to Mi Yodeya, Robert, and thanks very much for your concern. I hope you get an answer.
    – Scimonster
    Apr 3, 2015 at 15:10
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    I'll second @Scimonster's thanks for your sensitivity. If you intend this shirt to be worn by a JCC-sponsored team or the like, then you may wish to run the idea by the JCC folks to ensure that they don't mind, even if answers here indicate that there's no problem with it as far as Judaism is concerned.
    – msh210
    Apr 6, 2015 at 13:08
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    I don't think I've ever heard the phrase "God is life" (or its translation in Hebrew) in a Jewish context. But I'm no big expert.
    – msh210
    Apr 6, 2015 at 13:09
  • Rabbi Haskel Lookstein makes a big point of writing God and not V-Day because (I think) it's not really a name if God.
    – andrewmh20
    Apr 8, 2015 at 15:18

1 Answer 1

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The term in English is acceptable, however many people put in the dash (or the number zero) instead of the letter o in order to emaphasize the respect for the Name and to avoid the possibility of it being erased.

Rabbi Soloveitchik once wrote the letters G O D on the blackboard at the Rambam school in Boston and erased it to show that it was not a sacred name. This was certified by one of the people who was in the class at the time and who was involved in writing the FAQ.

When I helped writh the soc.culture.jewish FAQ on usenet, we explained it as follows.

Why do some people write "G-d" with a hyphen instead of an `o'?

Question 11.3.1: Writing: Why do some people write "G-d" with a hyphen instead of an `o'?

Answer:

Based on the words in Deut. 12:3-4, the Rabbis deduced that it is forbidden to erase the name of G-d from a written document. Since any paper upon which G-d's name was written might be discarded and thus "erased", the Rabbis forbade explicitly writing the name of G-d, except in Holy Books, with provisions for the proper disposal of such books.

According to Jewish Folklore, G-d has 70 names. However, only one of these names is the ineffable name, which cannot be erased or pronounced. Further, of the 70 names, seven may not be erased but they can be pronounced on certain occasions (such as when reading the Torah). The other names may be erased and pronounced, but still must be treated with respect. The Talmud (Shevuot 35a-b) makes it clear that this prohibition applies only to seven Biblical names of G-d and not to other names or attributes of G-d, which may be freely written. The prohibition was later codified by Maimonides (Mishneh Torah, Yesodei HaTorah 6:1-2). The practice of writing "G-d" is supported in Shut Achiezer, 3:32, end, where it is endorsed and accepted as the prevailing custom. Rambam cites Deut. 12-03:04, which states "and you shall destroy the names of pagan gods from their places. You shall not do similarly to G-d your Lord." The intent of this is to create an atmosphere of respect for G-d's name vs pagan gods names.

As a result of this, people acquired the habit of not writing the full name down in the first place. Strictly speaking, this only applies to Hebrew on a permanent medium, but many people are careful beyond the minimum, and have applied it to non-Hebrew languages. Hence, "G-d". One explanation is that using G-d is a reminder that anything which we may say about G-d is necessarily metaphorical. Spelling out the Name (even in a language other than Hebrew) would imply that one could speak meaningfully (not just metaphorically) about G-d.

However, the Shach (Yoreh De'a 179:11) ruled that "God" spelled in a foreign language does NOT have the status of a "shem" and thus may be erased, lehatkhila. There is a story about Rav Soloveitchik (z"l) intentionally writing GOD on the board while teaching a class and then just as deliberately and intentionally erasing it, so as to demonstrate by his own example that this was not a halakhically a problem.

Conservative (ref: http://communities.msn.com/JudaismFAQs&naventryid=160) and Reform practice is to use "God". However, even some who are not strict (or even observant) in general will write "G-d", to emphasize that Jewish conceptions of G-d are meant.

Note: There is one exception to the destruction of G-d's name. In Numbers 6, the Suspected Wife Ceremony, a man who suspects his wife of adultery (with witnesses seeing a forbidden seclusion) brings his wife to the temple. The Priests test the women by pronouncing the horrible Biblical curse. After reading the curse it is written on parchment and dissolved in water (which the women drinks). If she is guilty she dies and otherwise the couple gets their marriage back. Thus, G-d actually allows the ineffable name to be dissolved in water that the women drinks. As the Talmud notes: G-d allows the ineffable name to be erased for the sake of bringing peace between a husband and wife.

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  • Well you didn't really address whether or not it would be acceptable, only if writing G-d was OK in full or with a hyphen.
    – ezra
    Sep 15, 2017 at 0:40
  • @ezra From reading your question, that seemed to be what you were worried about. Must the word be "G-d"? Offhand, I would not like the entire phrase but that is not what you are asking. Sep 15, 2017 at 1:30

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