God has a Name

Oddly enough, one of the words that I really, really dislike is a name [that academics and those generally not Jewish use] for the Divine. Academics tend to intellectualize ‘religion’ from afar and therefore don’t really grasp the Jewish concept of God. In my readings, whenever I come across this word, I wince and actually feel a little nauseous.

I can not and will not be able to deeply connect with any Entity whom others refer to as “YAHWEH”.

What is it about that word that I find so distasteful?

First of all, in Hebrew, there is no “W” sound, so the very name is wrong. Secondly, the name in our tradition is not pronounceable¹. Perhaps my whole distaste for seeing the name in print and pronounced goes back to when I was in college, taking an undergraduate course in “Comparative Religion” where required readings were replete with the name. But it was the pairing of the name that really got to me.

Textbooks said that “Yahweh” was the name of the god (note the small letter g) given by the ancient Israelites (note the word ancient and the presumption that is was we who provided the name), and the text unabashedly named this “Yahweh” as just one among other ‘gods’ of foreign and long-gone nations within the same paragraph. Yuck.

No surprise, but generally, within biblical scholarship, words like “Old Testament”, “Tabernacle”, “Sacraments” and the like are borrowed terms from Old English and Christianity, but don’t really reflect Jewish concepts or are even an accurate translation of the Hebrew words².

God actually provides a name. When Moses asks God “Who shall I say sent me?” when being coached by God into going before Pharaoh and the Egyptians, God responds with “Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh”, I will be what I will be. Embedded in that description is an incredibly spiritual lesson for us.

God is a verb, a state of be-ing. You can’t explain it, you have to feel it. In our culture, which tends to value outputs and results, the deeper meaning is that what we should emulate and live in the process. Put another way, as with most spiritual teachings, the focus should be on the journey, not the destination. Not that the goal isn’t important, or of value, but it shouldn’t cloud your vision.

So, getting back to YAHWEH, it is a name that is actually not possible to be pronounced. In the Hebrew, the letters Yud-Hey-Vov-Hey are mostly letters without sounds. It is most like a breath. Hmmm.

For those of you who feel in the least bit spiritual, or a connection to the larger universe, I recommend naming the “Divine Energy” or “Universal Oneness” that you experience deep within you. Or that you know, on a deeper level, to be true.

Why? Because naming something has a power all its own. It brings a thought into reality. It starts a relationship. Doing so actually engages you in a deeper conversation about what you believe.

Here are just a few to choose from, in both English and (Hebrew), but there are so many more! Let the name sit with you. Make sure you feel a connection. Nothing is permanent, your choice can reflect what you’re thinking or how you’re feeling. Let me know how it goes for you.

God (Elohim) 

The Living God (Elohim Chayyim)

Without End (Ayn Sof)

Giver of Peace (Oseh Shalom)

The Awesome One ( HaNorah)

Adon Olam (Master of the Universe)

Gracious One (Chanun)

The Place (HaMakom)

Compassionate One (Rachum)

Shepherd of Israel  - (Ro-eh Yisrael)

The Great One (HaGadol)

The One God (Adonai Echad)

The Creator (Ha’Borei) 

Our Father [Who is] in Heaven (Avinu SheBa’Shamayim)

The Mighty One (HaGibur)

Guardian of Israel (Shomer Yisrael)

Our Father, Our King  (Avinu Malkeynu)

The Name (HaShem)

Shield of Abraham (Magen Avraham)

The Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh)

1. The name was said in ancient times only by the Kohein HaGadol, on Yom Kippur, in the Holies of Holies. That name has been lost since then, and we are not to even try to pronounce it. The letters themselves are as a breath….

2. Not to mention the fact that in Judaism, there is no such thing as “Old Testament”, which confers a subjective and pejorative opinion on our biblical canon.