From: warren@nysernet.org (Warren Burstein)
Subject: Re: G-d or G*d?
Reply-To: warren@nysernet.org
Organization: Mail to News Gateway at Wang Labs
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 09:45:20 GMT

I think what Eli is getting at with G-b is that since we already
substituted the four letter name with adon-ai why should we then be
careful with the substitute name?  Or if that isn't his question, at
least I think it's a good one - since I have an answer :).  Adon-ai
was already a Divine name before it was decided to use it in place of
the four letter name.  So while we don't have permission to use the
four letter name at all (under current conditions), we have permission
to use the substitute where required, but not to use it for no reason,
and we can't destroy a piece of paper containing either name or any
other divine one.

I suppose if people forgot that a letter heh or the name HaShem was a
substitute for the Divine name adon-ai, and started to treat it as if
it were itself a Divine name, and decided to replace those with
something else, this would be an example of what Pirkey Avot means by
"an ignoramous cannot be pious".

I did once see Ha-Shem in an ad in the Jerusalem Post, I imagine this
was either the work of a copywriter/printer of the "pious ignoramous"
type, or a typographical error.  Or maybe I ought to call the chumra
hotline ...

I spell non-Hebrew Divine names without dashes, by the way.

I also sometimes pronounce the name elo-him in Hebrew conversation, as
I've heard other people do so.  And sometimes I say elokim.  Here's
something that I posted to scj in May 1991, the responses then I seem
to recall went like "well *I* never heard an O person say elo-him" and
"he's wrong".  If anyone knows how Mendell Lewittes can be reached I'd
like to ask him more about this.  I'll try to remember to ask someone
at the Post.

    It's from a book review by Mendell Lewittes.  I don't know anything
    about the writer's credentials, if someone does, please let me know.
    The review appeared in The Jerusalem Post.  I didn't write the date on
    the article and I discarded the rest of the page, but if anyone wants
    to know what was on Kol Hamusika that day I can tell you what's on the
    back of the page :-)

    In a parenthetical note, he says (dashes in names added by me)

    > In this connection I would like to register my objection to the
    > extreme manifestations of such displacement current among Orthodox
    > speakers and writers.  I refer to the substitution of Elokim for
    > Elo-him, or the harsh-sounding Tzevakot for Tzeva-ot, and the
    > insertion of a dash between the yod and the heh in a word or name
    > ending with those two letters.  These are new humrot uneard of two
    > generations ago.  Halachic warrant may be found for the substitution
    > of Hashem for Ado-nai (cf. Tosafot to Shevuot 35a) but not for other
    > names of the Divine.

    The way he refers to "Orthodix speakers and writers" might give one
    the impression that he is not, himself Orthodox, but I would rather
    find out for sure before reaching this conclusion.

    I'm also not persuaded by his reference to Tosafot, who says (I have a
    divrey hamatchil B"PRCH which I think is a typo, it should be in Rashi
    font, not divrey hamatchil font, and the real d"h is "B-aleph dalet",
    Tosafot is quoting from Rabbenu Chananel)

        "Aleph-dalet may not be erased".  Why is this different from
        tzadi-bet from tzeva-ot or shin-dalet from shad-dai which
        may be erased since none of these are a name on their own?
        Perhaps because this (WB: Aleph dalet nun yod) is the special
        name and one should be stricter with it".

    On the other hand, the context in the Gemora lists "names which may
    not be erased" which includes elo-him.

    On the third hand, I do hear lots of people with kippot who pronounce
    elo-him.
-- 
/|/-\/-\          Adif tzav pinui metzav shmoneh.
 |__/__/_/    
 |warren@         "Warren's slogan is an Anti-semite slogan."
/ nysernet.org 			    Gideon Ehrlich
Newsgroups: soc.culture.jewish,alt.conspiracy