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Annie & Eric

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  7. For our Jewish friends

    in Abrazo's Chapel Potluck

    Posted

    I received this recently from the URJ (Union for Reform Judaism) (I get weekly

    emails from them on various topics). I thought this midrash was relevant for all PIW!

    -------------------------

    A story about emunah, confidence, trust, is told about the Chasid (Orthodox Jew)

    who sought advice from his Rebbe because he and his wife were childless:

    The Rebbe counseled the Chasid to go home and pray daily and, within a

    year, a baby would be born. The Chasid did so for a year-then two

    years, then three, and still no baby. One day the Chasid stopped at an

    inn. He and the Jewish innkeeper began chatting and very soon the

    innkeeper confided his sorrow that he and his wife had no children. "My

    Rebbe assured me that I would have a child," said the Chasid. "Go to

    see him." The innkeeper went and received the same advice as the

    Chasid. The next morning, he prayed; then he went to buy a crib.

    A year later, the Chasid revisited the inn and was delighted to see a

    baby lying in the crib. But he was also troubled. He returned to his

    Rebbe, complaining: "You gave him the same advice you gave me, yet he

    has a child and I have none."

    "Ah," replied the Rebbe, "but he went out and bought a crib!"

  25. For our Jewish friends

    in Abrazo's Chapel Potluck

    Posted

    Hi Elizabeth! Glad that your "Jewish roots" are giving you a reason (or excuse!) to celebrate!!

    It's funny you bring up the G-D issue, as we just discussed this in one of the theology classes I take with our Rabbi. This is a really interesting topic on which there is a LOT of information!

    Some people believe that once you write the name of God down, at some point it will be erased or destroyed. That is, if you write it on a blackboard you will have to erase it, or if you write it on a piece of paper, you may have to discard or destroy it one day. And erasing or destroying God's name may not be permitted (Deuteronomy 12:3-5) and at the very least is disrespectful. Some also analogize it to the tradition/belief that you should not ever tear/burn/destroy a Torah scroll because it contains the name of God. (Although I believe there are halakhic (or jewish legal) ways to get rid of a Torah once it has become unusable -- it may be that you have to bury it?).

    Fascinatingly, some Jews believe that since writing on a computer is not permanent, it cannot be destroyed. But once it is printed out, it can be. Therefore, you are permitted to write God's name on a computer, but if it is printed out you must protect that piece of paper.

    http://www.mechon-mamre.org/jewfaq/name.htm

    In addition, some people believe that God's name itself has power. http://us.geocities.com/changes1611/name41.html

    For example, if you say God's name, you will be able to perform (or will have God perform) certain acts. There is also a belief that the High Priest (Gadol Kohen) was the only one allowed to know and speak God's true name, (which may have had 72 letters) on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetragrammaton.

    God gives Moses a name that can be translated as "I AM the ONE I AM" or "I AM Whatever I need to become" OR "He Who Causes To Exist". Exodus 3:13. Subsequently God says that the Jews may call him by a four-letter name, the Tetragrammaton (Greek for the 4 letters). Exodus 3:13. Jews do not pronounce the Tetragrammaton. Instead whenever Jews read the Tetragrammaton in a prayer, they substitute the word "Adonai" which means My Lord. http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Names_of_...nai/adonai.html

    When referring to God outside of prayer, Jews usually call God "Hashem" which means "The (ineffable) Name".

    Jews do not agree on the "true" pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton, which has apparently been lost. Ancient Hebrew did not include any vowels, and so there is disagreement over how to pronounce it. The word evidently fell out of use following the destruction of the Temple. The Tretragrammaton has been translated into English as YWHH or Yahweh.

    There many names for God in the Torah. http://www.bibletopics.com/BIBLESTUDY/154.htm Some believe that each of these names represents the way in which He reveals himself through His behavior toward the world. For example, the Patriarchs knew God as El Shaddai (Genesis 35:9-14), to indicate that He could exercise His mastery over nature and perform miracles or "Elohim" when He exercises strict judgment (Genesis 15:2-8). The Tetragrammaton represents His mercy and compassion.

    Now back to your question. Should you write G-d or God? Some people find that it is more respectful of God to not write His name (for the reasons stated above - it will be erased, etc.). But others who may agree that God's name shouldn't be pronounced, do not agree that you must write "G-d", since the word "God" is an English translation of a Hebrew word, which is not even one of the names of God in the Torah.

    So to make a long, long story short - whether you write God or G-d, is up to you. But some people will disagree with you either way! :blink:

    Sorry to have gone on and on, but I find this really interesting! If anyone else has other thoughts about the use of G-d, please chime in!

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