Questions tagged [shemos-sacred-names]
name of God printed in a way that may not be erased
1
vote
1answer
21 views
Does Shalom/“peace” need Genizah?
It is known that Shalom is a name of Hashem, thus it is forbidden to say it as salutation in some places.
And also, to not write it in a letter, because the risk of the receiver throwing it to the bin....
1
vote
0answers
13 views
Do “Shaimot” need to be buried in a certain way or place? [duplicate]
Perhaps, I'm asking an overly trivial question. People in my neighborhood sometimes ask me where they can put their shaimot (holy writings that require burial.) I also see postings on my community's ...
0
votes
1answer
44 views
How can verses from the Torah be written on paper without the paper becoming sheimos?
I often find myself mindlessly doodling psukim from Tanach on paper (especially Tehillim). Is there any way I can do this without making the paper sheimos?
4
votes
0answers
66 views
Saying Hashem's name quickly in Hallel on Sukkos
During Hallel on Sukkos, we shake the lulav during the הודו לה' כי טוב and אנא ה' הושיעה נא. The standard practice I've seen is the one the Mishna Berurah describes there - one direction per word in ...
3
votes
1answer
47 views
When did the use of the substitute word “hashem” start being used? [duplicate]
How ancient is this substitute word? I am not asking for the age of the practice of avoiding the use of the tetragrammaton with Adonai, for example, but specifically the use of this term, hashem.
8
votes
2answers
136 views
How does “Elokim” (“אלקים”) solve the problem?
Please seriously pardon my lack of Hebrew skills.
If "א-ל" is already a shem Hashem (to the point where in many contexts we might say or write "קל" - "Keyl"), how is it OK to leave the א-ל intact at ...
3
votes
1answer
59 views
Erasing the word “eloheinu”?
Can "eloheinu" (written in Hebrew letters) be erased, or is it considered mechikath hashem? I could only find prohibition of erasing "elohim", so I was wondering if this could be similar to writing "...
2
votes
1answer
58 views
List of places where Elokim is written as tetragrammaton
Can someone point me to a list of all places in Tanach where the tetragrammaton is pronounced as "Elokim" (as in, e.g., Yechezkel 28:25)? For some reason, my concordance does not list these under ...
0
votes
0answers
16 views
Question regarding the usage of two of G-d's names in Isaiah 55:7
Part of Yeshayahu 55:7 says:
וישוב אל ה וירחמהו ואל אל-הינו כי ירבה לסלוח
Loose translation - "He shall to return to Adonai and he will be merciful to him and to Eloheinu, for he is abundant to ...
3
votes
1answer
62 views
Not verbally spelling Hashem's names
Where do we find that it's forbidden to spell out Hashem's names?
For example, people will say Yud-Kay - replacing the Hay with a Kay.
Or Yud-Kay-Vov-Kay for the Tetragrammaton.
We know it's ...
2
votes
1answer
109 views
Isn't using God's name as stage name a blasphemy?
I just came to know there's a singer named Elohim
Isn't having God's name as stage name a blasphemy?
5
votes
0answers
72 views
7
votes
2answers
140 views
Did you fulfill your obligation if you pronounced the Name of G-d differently from your custom?
Would you have fulfilled your obligation to recite a blessing if you pronounced the Name of G-d in a way that was against your custom? For example, if an Ashkenazi has the custom to say "Adonoy" and ...
1
vote
3answers
199 views
Why is the Tetragrammaton unutterable?
Why is it not allowed to pronounce God's four letter name ywvh? Is there a reason for this? Is it such a great taboo as to be unforgivable?
2
votes
2answers
144 views
Can you pronounce Yehuda the way it is spelled?
I heard because there is HaShem's name in Yehuda that I should pronounce it more like "youda".
does anyone know a source for this practice?
4
votes
2answers
1k views
BS"D in the bathroom
I noticed my shampoo says בס״ד on the bottle. Is having it in the bathroom, etc., a problem? (My guess is no, or else they wouldn't put it on there, but still.)
Related: Dr. Bronner's soap
2
votes
0answers
42 views
Is Covering G-d's Name Considered Erasure? [closed]
I'm just learning to read Hebrew, and I discovered that the text I use for Kriat Sh'ma al Hamitah contains G-d's tetragrammaton, yud kei vav kei. I'm afraid of accidentally using the Ineffable Name. ...
2
votes
0answers
86 views
Doubled up names of God - pronounce יהו-ה as Elokim
Many times in Tanach, God is referred to as יהו-ה or אדנ-י. Individually, each of these is read as Adonai. However, when those two different names are mentioned consecutively, the custom is to ...
2
votes
0answers
51 views
אדנ-י יהו-ה - Significance to these two names of God used together?
In many places in Tanach, God is referred to as אדנ-י יהו-ה.
For example: David's speech in Shmuel II, 7:18-29 includes seven such references.
What is the significance for God being addressed in ...
0
votes
0answers
34 views
When it comes to desecrating Hashem's names, is printing Hashem's names on paper electronically equal to writing the name by hand on parchment? [duplicate]
Jewish law takes extreme precaution when writing out Hashem's name. We famously have locations for placing old Siddurs and texts in order to keep Hashem's name and word in places of sanctity.
When ...
5
votes
1answer
54 views
How does saying “pasim” help us safely enunciate the name of Hashem?
I'm reading an article about the kesones pasim and birchas kohanim here, and one paragraph had me confused. The article is discussing the portion of the yehi ratzon in which we ask Hashem to act like ...
4
votes
2answers
181 views
Using 'ד for Hashem's Name
Many tallitot have the bracha before putting on the tallit written on the atarah. But as you can see in the picture below, the Name of Hashem is abbreviated as a 'ד when it is usually rendered 'ה. The ...
8
votes
2answers
470 views
Would a Jew violate the prohibition to pronounce the name of YHWH by saying “Yahweh” and/or “Yehowah”?
Based on a previous post that the pronunciation of YHWH as a subject is not disrespectful to be asked here, I hereby ask these:
1.) Are the pronunciation of "Yahweh" and "Yehowah" to be considered ...
1
vote
1answer
41 views
May one leave a paper having G-d's name in a place where it is likely to be descrated?
A few days ago, at the Atlantic Ave. subway station in Brooklyn, I noticed some Chaba"d-oriented segulah pamphlets sitting on the staircase ledge. I took one and notice that it hadTehillim with the ...
4
votes
1answer
41 views
Explain the difference in usage of G-d's name in parshat Balak
It seems that Bil'am refers to G-d using the name אדונ-י but when G-d appears to him, the name אלוהי-ם is used. For example, compare:
Bemidbar 22:8 Bil'am uses יי ; next verse (9) when G-d speaks to ...
3
votes
0answers
94 views
source for using יי (two yuds) as Hashem's name? [duplicate]
When did the use of two yuds becone a כינוי for the שם הוי"ה?
Is this perhaps the two yuds of "יאהדונהי"?
What's the source for using this abbreviation in place of other shemos in davening?
4
votes
0answers
69 views
How far from the correct pronunciations and spellings must one differ to avoid saying God's names?
It's my understanding that there are halachic reasons to avoid saying or writing some of God's Names for no reason. How far from the correct spelling or pronunciations must one deviate to avoid these ...
1
vote
1answer
78 views
Can one throw out a Kipah [duplicate]
Obviously there are certain restrictions as to what one is allowed to throw out and what one must put in שמות.
To what do the laws of שמות apply? Can I throw out a Kipah?
1
vote
0answers
98 views
Is “HaGevurah” really a name of God?
I am translating the "Thirteen Foundations of the Torah" (י"ג יסודות תורתנו) from the Qafih ("Kapach") edition of the Rambam's Pirush HaMishnayot. As usual, I run into philosophical difficulties with ...
1
vote
0answers
87 views
Saying Hashem instead of Adonoy in a bracha
This question's answer cites a section from the Shulchan Aruch that says you are yotzei if you say "Rachamana" instead of "Adonoy" in a bracha.
What about if you say "Hashem" instead of "Adonoy" or "...
8
votes
0answers
71 views
Can I bury my own sheimos? [duplicate]
If I don't want to pay to have someone bury sheimos for me, is it ok to bury them in my backyard? Is there any procedure that I would have to follow as far as how to deep to bury it or any certain ...
2
votes
2answers
113 views
Explanation of kri u-khtiv vowel for first letter of tetragrammaton
In Kri u-Khtiv, the vowels provided are for those of the Kri. The Kri of YHVH is usually Adonay. The first vowel of Adonay is Hataf-Patah. Why then is the first vowel of YHVH given as Shva in those ...
4
votes
2answers
200 views
Did Jews at the time of the Bavli refer to God as *allah*? A question on Berakhot 56b
In Berakhot 56b, two different reasons are brought as to why seeing a camel in one's dream is a sign of being spared from death. Both reasons are scriptural verses:
Rabbi Hama bar Rabbi Hanina quotes ...
5
votes
1answer
78 views
Is it forbidden to utter the shortened form of HaShem's Name (yod and hey)?
What rulings and opinions are there in regards to speaking HaShem's Name in its short form, namely [pun intended] י, qamatz, and ה?
1
vote
1answer
100 views
Use of the tetragrammaton in other names
One of the most striking things to me about Jewish practice is the reverence shown for the Tetragrammaton and, I suppose by extension, all other ways of referring to the Creator. It occurred to me ...
2
votes
1answer
152 views
Tetragrammaton in Non-Jewish Books
If there was a New Testament in Hebrew and it contained the Tetragrammaton in it, how would you get rid of it? Obviously it cannot be buried next to Sifrei Torah or other Holy works.
1
vote
1answer
91 views
Clear online Shivisi
Where can I find a nice clear online (not a scan or photo of some old document) Shivisi for printing?
4
votes
2answers
171 views
What are the reasons or rules for the different variations in vowels on the Tetragrammaton?
I'm aware that the vowels of the Tetragrammaton are unknown and i'm not asking what they are.
I see a lot of variation in the vowels placed or not placed, on the Tetragrammaton.
Sometimes a hataph ...
4
votes
2answers
82 views
Why the שם אדנות in “אתה גבור”?
The second benediction in the amida usually starts "אתה גבור לעולם ה׳". This is not, as far I can tell, part of a verse in Tanach, that prayer books should assume a certain wording or spelling based ...
1
vote
2answers
184 views
Why the masoretes wrote the tetragrammaton this way?
I am aware that there is already another question about the pronunciation if the tetragrammatron which is here:
What is the correct pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton?
But no one mentionned that ...
0
votes
0answers
31 views
Writing on a book containing the Lord's name
Shanah tovah!
In my (secular) middle school class, we are reading Night by Elie Weisel. For those who haven't read it, it is a true story about a Jew's experience in the Holocaust. However, it ...
1
vote
1answer
100 views
Is there a source for Og throwing a mountain?
There is a well known aggadata from maseches Brachos 54b concerning Og desiring to throw a mountain on klal yisroel and how Hashem arranged his demise.
However, I was reading to one of my children ...
4
votes
1answer
224 views
Reading God's 4 letter name
In both the Torah reading and הפטרה of פרשת עקב (from 49th and 50th chapters of ישעיה), we find some examples of when the written word in the Torah or Prophets scroll is the four letter name of God, ...
1
vote
0answers
29 views
R' Yehoshua and the Athenian Elders: The floating Rav
This is part of a series of questions on the Gemara in Bechoros 8b-9a. Below is a summary of the relevant parts of the Gemara. After being challenged by Caesar, R' Yehoshua went to Athens to defeat ...
0
votes
0answers
33 views
Pronouncing Shem Havayah in Chol Context [duplicate]
Coming back from a road trip, we passed by this street.
How would one say the name of the street? Is it considered Shem Havayah to pronounce it that way? If not, what if it was pronounced the way the ...
1
vote
0answers
16 views
Standing at elokeinu in zimmun [duplicate]
Whenever I am in a situation of saying ברכת המזון with 10 people, some of the ציבור will stand for saying the word אלקנו in the זימון, others will not move at all, with lots of people somewhere in ...
-5
votes
1answer
57 views
YHWH and Elyon separate deities? [duplicate]
In Deuteronomy 32:8-9 states:
When Elyon gave to the nations their allotted inheritances,
when he divided the sons of Adam,
he established the boundaries of the peoples
according to the number of the ...
-2
votes
1answer
92 views
Why the term “Lord God” in Genesis 2–4?
We sometimes see the term "YHVH Elohim", like in Genesis 2-4. I don't understand why it doesn't just say one or the other, like in many other places in the torah.
According to the Documentary ...
3
votes
1answer
154 views
Are there any fonts that allow for the name of Hashem to be typed the way it is in Sephardi siddurim?
I'd like to be able to typeset various tefilos on my computer, so I'd like to be able to type the name of Hashem the way it appears in Sephardi siddurim, like this:
Are there any fonts that allow for ...
1
vote
3answers
183 views
In which historical periods was it allowed to pronounce the tetragrammaton?
We know that Boaz introduced the possibility of greeting people using the tetragrammaton.
The Mishnah in Berochos 54a says
והתקינו שיהא אדם שואל את שלום חברו בשם שנאמר והנה בעז בא מבית לחם
ויאמר ...
