From: backon@vms.huji.ac.il
Newsgroups: soc.culture.jewish
Subject: Re: G-d or G*d?
Date: 20 Nov 92 15:54:58 GMT
Organization: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

In article <2855@israel.nysernet.org>, warren@nysernet.org (Warren Burstein) writes:
> 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.
> 

Rabbi Mendell Lewittes is an *Orthodox* rabbi living in Jerusalem (Rechov Harav
Berlin 18). 

Josh
backon@VMS.HUJI.AC.IL




>     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
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