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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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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“.