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| Hebrew | English |
|---|---|
If God had a business card, what would it say? God’s position might be “Creator of the Universe,” “Redeemer of Israel” or “Healer of the Sick,” or just “God.” | |
אם התפקיד הוא ”אלֹהים“ מה שמו? אדוני? הקב״ה? ”מקור החיים“? כל אלו אינם שמות אלא כינויים. שמו הוא— יו״ד–ה״א–וא״ו–ה״א |
If “God” is God’s role, what is God’s name? “Adonai,” “Holy Blessed One” or “Source of Life?” Those are designations but not God’s proper name. God’s proper name is Yod-Hei-Vav-Hei. |
הוי״ה, השם המפורש שעליו נאמר: ”ואין לפרש עילום שמך“ למזלי ”ונתנה תוקף“ אינו טקסט הלכתי, כי באתי לפרש את עילום שמו. |
The Ineffable Name of which it is said, “Whose mysterious Name cannot be interpreted.”[1] Cf. Ba’er Hetev on Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chayim 591:5, Kaf HaChayim on Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chayim 591:38:1, et al Fortunately, “Unataneh Tokef” isn’t a legal text, because I would like to interpret that mysterious Name. |
במעמד הסנה אלוהים אמר למשה: אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה… כֹּה תֹאמַר לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶהְיֶה שְׁלָחַנִי אֲלֵיכֶם. |
At the burning bush, God said to Moses, “Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh – I Will Be What I Will Be… Thus shall you say to the Israelites, ‘Ehyeh – I Will Be sent me to you.’”[2] Exodus 3:14 [3] Moses’ change from first to third person, and the possibility of switching yod for vav is based on Rashbam’s commentary on Exodus 3:14 |
כתוב ”אהיה“ בגוף ראשון, מדבר. |
God calls Godself “אהיה – I will be” in the first person, as the speaker |
כשמשה מעביר את מסר לבני ישראל הוא צריך להחליף את הלשון לגוף שלישי, נסתר: יהיה (רשב״ם). |
When Moses reports to the people he switches to the third person “יהיה – He will be,” for God is unseen.[4] In Hebrew grammar, the first, second and third persons are also known as “speaker, present, unseen (or hidden), respectively. |
היו”ד השני הוחלף ב-וא״ו (רשב״ם) ויש לנו: יו״ד–ה״א–וא״ו–ה״א |
The letter vav substitutes for the second yod, yielding the name as written, Y-H-V-H. |
השם נגזר מפועל הקיום: היה, הווה ויהיה. |
This name is derived from the state of being verb Is-Was-Will be. |
אפשר (לפחות ברמת הדרש) להבין את צורת השם הנכתב באות וא״ו כמאגד יחד את כל הזמנים הדקדוקיים, כי ”מֵעוֹלָם עַד עוֹלָם אַתָּה אֵל.“ |
The spelling with a vav can be understood as bringing together all three tenses in Biblical Hebrew: future, present, and past, because God is God for all time.[5] Psalms 90:2 |
בסנה האל דיבר בגוף ראשון. משה דיבר אליו בגוף שלישי. ואנחנו פונים אליו בגוף שני, אתה, כאילו נוכח. |
At the bush God spoke in the first person. Moses spoke about God in the third person. We approach God in the second person, “You” as if God were present. |
מרב יראה לפני המסתורין, איננו מבטאים את שמו אבל השֵם כן מופיע בסידור. |
Filled with awe by the mystery, we do not pronounce this name, but it is printed in our prayer book. |
בתפילת לחש אל תמהרו לומר מיד ”אדוני“ אלא נסו, מדי פעם, לשהות ולהשתהות עם היראה ומול ה-”היה, הווה ויהיה“ אשר מדבר, נוכח וגם נסתר. |
When praying quietly, try not to rush to say “Adonai” immediately. Take a moment to wait in wonder, in the presence of God who Is-Was-Will be, who Speaks, is Present and is Unseen. |
הוד והדר, שבת משפטים תשע״ח |
This insight was first taught orally by Shoshana Zucker in a d’var torah for Shabbat Mishpatim (5778/2018). It was first published on her blog (in Hebrew), here, and then in English, here.
Notes
| 1 | Cf. Ba’er Hetev on Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chayim 591:5, Kaf HaChayim on Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chayim 591:38:1, et al |
|---|---|
| 2 | Exodus 3:14 |
| 3 | Moses’ change from first to third person, and the possibility of switching yod for vav is based on Rashbam’s commentary on Exodus 3:14 |
| 4 | In Hebrew grammar, the first, second and third persons are also known as “speaker, present, unseen (or hidden), respectively. |
| 5 | Psalms 90:2 |
“Some thoughts on God’s proper, ineffable name — a d’var tefillah by Shoshana Michael Zucker” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.
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The Open Siddur Project is a volunteer-driven, non-profit, non-commercial, non-denominational, non-prescriptive, gratis & libre Open Access archive of contemplative praxes, liturgical readings, and Jewish prayer literature (historic and contemporary, familiar and obscure) composed in every era, region, and language Jews have ever prayed. Our goal is to provide a platform for sharing open-source resources, tools, and content for individuals and communities crafting their own prayerbook (siddur). Through this we hope to empower personal autonomy, preserve customs, and foster creativity in religious culture.
ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו "May the pleasantness of אדֹני our elo’ah be upon us; may our handiwork be established for us — our handiwork, may it be established." –Psalms 90:17
כתפקיד אפשר לרשום: ”בורא עולם“ ”גואל ישראל“ ”רופא חולים“ או פשוט ”אלֹהים“.