Image: Cartoon of many people speaking, different colored speech balloons. (RudieStrummer / Shutterstock)
Recently I was answering a question about the names of God. In Judaism, there is only one deity but that one deity has LOTS of names: Biblical names like
- El – name of an ancient Canaanite deity
- Yud-Heh-Vav-Hey – The name we never say. (Ex. 3:14)
- Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh – (“I am who I will be”)
- El Shaddai – (Genesis 17:1)
- Elohim – (looks like a plural, but refers to one God) (Genesis 1:26)
- Adonai – (also looks plural, and isn’t) Psalm 136:3
and newer names like
- Shechinah – the Presence of God)
- HaMaqom – “The Place” – God is everywhere, and right here.)
- HaShem – “The Name” – a substitution for the name we don’t say, and for Adonai in some communities.
- Ein Sof – The highest Kabbalistic name of God.
- HaRachaman – “The Merciful One.”
- Ribbono Shel Olam – “Master of the Universe”
- Avinu Malkeinu – “Our Father, Our King”
… to name just a few!
As I was explaining, I flashed back on a wonderful memory. At Temple Sinai we used to use the Gates of Prayer siddur , which had gendered language in reference to God. (He/him, etc.) The congregation felt that this was not appropriate, and the clergy came up with a fix. Whenever we came to any name for God or pronoun for God in the service, everyone was encouraged to say whatever name of God they liked – any of the above or dozens others.
So our prayers would periodically erupt in a glorious cacophany of names, for example:
Blessed are You, {cacophany of names}, {cacophany of names} our God, who sanctifies us with mitzvot and commands us to light the candles of Shabbat.
Soon I came to feel that the real name of God was that eruption of voices and names, all the names together. The name of God was the sound of many Jews saying all the names of God, together.
By the time I came back from rabbinical school, the new prayer books had arrived, and there was no need to worry about gendered language: it had all been written out of the new siddur. It’s nice and tidy and tame, but sometimes the wild Jew in me would love to hear once again the cacophony of all the names of God, all together, spoken in love and awe.
Love this. Yes, yes, yes!
I love this post because I am so tired of hearing G-d’s name taken in vain (mostly for curses, invectives, etc.). Learning and using other names compels us to use our imagination in approaching our Creator/Creatrix, thereby finding more meaning in our prayers and musings. 🙂
I agree! Are any names particular favorites of yours?
I’ve become accustomed to using Hashem, but am not really fond of it as it seems like a title, rather than a real presence. I do like the old Yiddish name, ‘The Abishter’ (The Almighty One) though. This one seems more natural for me to say.
The Abishter is a beautiful name. I’m partial to “The Holy One” or HaKadosh Baruch Hu (The Holy One Blessed Be … Pronoun.”