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What do the 4 letters (הויה) stand for or mean? This appears at the beginning of Hatrat Nedarim.

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The word הֲוָיָה is not an acronym or abbreviation! It's a word, meaning to bring into being - as in Hashem brings the entire world into being.

In the context of Hatarat Nedarim it refers to the ineffable name of Hashem - YHVH.

אם נשבעתי בהשם הֲוָיָה ברוך הוא

would, therefore, translate to

If I swore with the ineffable name of Hashem - YHVH - blessed be He.

We see הֲוָיָה being used in this context in the Tur (O"C 5):

ויכוין בברכותיו פירוש המלות שמוציא מפיו
ובהזכירו השם יכוין פי' קריאתו באל"ף דל"ת לשון אדנות שהוא אדון הכל
ויכוין עוד פירוש כתיבתו ביו"ד ה"א לשון הֲוָיָה שהוא היה והוה ויהיה. ...‏

One should concentrate on the meaning of the words when making a blessing.
When mentioning The Name [of Gcd] he should have in mind the meaning of what he says - i.e. A-d-o-n-a-y - being The Master of the world.
One should also concentrate on the way the word is written - i.e. Y-H-V-H - meaning הֲוָיָה - to bring into being, the he always was, is and will be.

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  • If it is a word, why is it not translated (in the several siddurim I have checked).
    – Yehuda W
    Oct 7, 2019 at 13:53
  • @YehudaW - that's a question for the editors of those Siddurim. :-)
    – Danny Schoemann
    Oct 7, 2019 at 14:28
  • Which is it? Does it mean" to bring into being" or does it "refers to the ineffable name of Hashem - YHVH."
    – Yehuda W
    Nov 1, 2019 at 16:01

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