Vaera 5784-Jan. 12, 2024

Why did God command that Moses meet Pharaoh at the Nile River first thing in the morning, as the Pharaoh was about to exit the water? Why not wait until he was fully dressed and at the bank of the river or in his palace? The commentary Chizkuni suggests that within the palace walls were found many ritual abominations, and that Moses could not utter God’s name in such a place. Another commentary suggests that 1) since the River Nile was considered to be a sacred place, deified as the crocodile god Sobek and 2) that Pharaoh considered himself to be a deity, Moshe could actually utter God’s name in the holy tongue, to challenge the Egyptian concept of the deity, and to express Hashem’s power. Perhaps it was for that reason that the first plague involved changing the water of the Nile to blood. 

Moreover, each plague showed God’s power over nature, discrediting the Egyptian polytheism. The blood in the Nile, was directed as a means of making a statement to the Egyptians of the blood that was on their hands for following through with Pharoah’s command to throw the Hebrew male infants into the Nile.

The commentary Chizkuni’s explanation provides us with our thought for today. There are times when one should not recite the name of God, in the Hebrew, because we are in places that are less than kadosh, holy. For example, there is a blessing that we recite after using the bathroom. One might think that one should recite the prayer as soon as one is finished whatever it is that he or she is doing. But not so. On a recent visit to the Crown Market in W. Hartford, I was pleased to see that the new owners had moved the actual blessing placard that is affixed to the wall out of the actual bathroom and placed on a wall just outside. While Moshe might have intoned the actual tetragrammaton (YKVK) we refrain from doing so, and instead use alternatives such as Ado-nai when actually intoning a prayer, and Hashem, when stating God’s name. We do so in order to maintain a holiness to the name of God and God’s presence in our words.  In a similar vein, we take off a tallit and tefillin, when entering a bathroom, and we do not bring holy books, such as a siddur or chumash into the commode. In today’s digital world, it would mean not opening a digital text of a holy sefer (book) in such a situation.

What about the use of God versus G-d?  As a student at JTS, I had a heated debate with one of my fellow rabbinical students – Daniel Gordis with regard to this matter. I had always been taught at my very traditional Jewish day school in Toronto, that one would never write God’s name in vain, and so one uses G-d. Danny, on the other hand, had sent me a note that used the word “God” within it. I was flabbergasted that the grandson of a major Conservative rabbi would write the full name of God on a piece of paper, that he sent to “traditional me.” We both agreed to go to our mentor Rabbi Joel Roth, Dean of the Rabbinical School, and ask him for him to adjudicate not only who was correct, but also what should be done with the note. Could it be simply placed in a trash can or did it need to be placed in a genizah for burial at a later time?

Rabbi Roth was quite clear – God is not the name of God. It is an English affirmation; but it is not the name of God. Hashem, which means the name, which is used in a manner so as not to profane God’s name, is not holy either.  Technically neither is Ado-nai. That is in the English form. In the Hebrew, only the words Elokeynu (notice the change from k from h, and which we pronounce Elo-heinu) and the tetragrammaton (YKVK), the four Hebrew letters making up God’s name, or the two “yuds” next to each other, would be considered holy and if written down might need to be buried.

There is a true story of a left-wing Conservative rabbi in Portland, ME, whose synagogue housed the community religious school. One day, just to utz the Orthodox rabbi in the community, he wrote on the blackboard the letters “God” together. The Orthodox rabbi walked in, took one look, and drew a box around the word, and then added in bold letters (P.L.O. or please leave on.) He then went to the Conservative rabbi and demanded an explanation as to why he had the gumption to put God’s name on the board, knowing that it could not be erased. So, the Conservative rabbi walked into the classroom with the Orthodox rabbi, took a chalk eraser, and wiped it clean. To which the Orthodox colleague turned and said that what he did was a chilul k turned and stated precisely what Rabbi Joel Roth taught me, that God is not the name of God and walked out of the room. Personally, I thought that the rabbi should never have challenged the beliefs of his Orthodox colleague.

The question that Moshe was faced with was, what actually is a desecration of God’s name? And we are faced often with that same question. One may note that whenever I provide a sheet with the Hebrew name of God I use.ה׳   Sefaria, which is a digital platform of most Jewish texts, provides me with that option, when I prepare study sheets. In that way, the printed text does not contain the four holy letters that create God’s name. Likewise, as per a teshuva, a rabbinic ruling, I place photocopies of Jewish texts to be placed in recycle bins. However, actual texts in Hebrew in book form with God’s name with either Ado-nai or Elokim, in their full form, require burial.

I know that each of us have been taught one way or the other regarding the use of God’s name and to empower it with sanctification due to Hashem. Nothing should change what has been handed down to us or imparted within us.  This is just an explanation for each of us to ponder. May we find comfort knowing the place of Hashem in our lives.

Shabbat shalom,

Rabbi K