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Recent Questions:

Writing the Name "God"

When I was a young kid going to Hebrew school, I was taught that we never write the full name of God; that it should always be written with a dash in place of the "O". What's the reason for that? And why do I see it spelled out on Aish.com?

Also, I often see Jewish printed material that says: "This contains the Name of God - please dispose of reverently." I would be grateful if you could give me advice on how this is done.

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

There are two separate issues here. One is the legal issue of erasing God's Name; the other is the emotional issue of treating the Name with proper respect.

First the legal side: Any Hebrew name of God is forbidden to erase. From the Torah's exhortation to destroy idolatry, we learn the injunction not to destroy the name of God. (see Deuteronomy 12:3-4; Talmud - Sanhedrin 56a)

The question is whether this applies only to Hebrew names of God, or to the English word "God" as well. The common rabbinic opinion is that "God" written in any language other than Hebrew, has no holiness and can be erased. (Shach Y.D. 179:11; Mishnah Berurah 85:10)

This explains why we are able to bring a U.S. dollar bill into the bathroom, even though it contains the words, “In God We Trust.”

There is still the other issue of giving the Name proper respect. This means not taking genuine Torah material into the bathroom, and not throwing it out with the rest of the garbage. Instead, you should bring the printed material to the synagogue and place it in a box called "Geniza" (a.k.a. "Sheimos"). This box is used to discard unusable holy objects - including Torah scrolls that have become old and invalid, old tefillin and tzitzit, and papers that contain words of Torah.

When the box is full, it is taken to be buried.

If this is not possible, as long as you do not treat a printout with disdain (such as throwing it directly into a garbage can), you may just put it into a separate bag, and then dispose of it. It may even be given for recycling. (Igrot Moshe O.C. 4:39)

Even in Hebrew, partial or altered verses, when not written in Torah script (Ktav Ashurit) and when printed on paper (not written by a scribe on parchment), are all mitigating factors for not considering the writing holy. (source: Pischei Teshuva Y.D. 276:11; Chavas Yair 109; Minchas Yitzchak 1:17)

Now what about spelling the English name "God"? Even though it does not technically have "holiness," some people go beyond the letter of the law and show extra respect, by spelling God with a dash.

Why doesn't Aish.com spell it with a dash? Because many of our readers have limited Jewish background, and spelling God with a dash might look strange and pose some block to learning the material. So in consultation with leading Torah scholars, we simply follow the halacha stated above, that non-Hebrew names do not technically have holiness.

An interesting extension of this topic is the issue of deleting God's name from a computer screen. It seems that nothing is being written or erased, except for electromagnetic impulses. Actually, any word displayed on a screen is erased and rewritten 50 or 60 times a second. So when you scroll down the screen, you're not doing anything worse than was just done thousand of times in the last few minutes.

And one more corollary: Rabbi Moshe Feinstein writes that although there does not appear to be anything wrong with erasing cassette tapes containing God's name, when possible one should refrain from doing so as a sign of reverence. (Igros Moshe - Y.D. 1:173)

Security Threat

Between Iran's pursuit of the Bomb, and missiles from Hezbollah and Hamas, I fear that Israel is facing a Holocaust. Should we start running away from there? Or are we going to forget the mistakes of 1939 and wait until it's too late?

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

Not being a prophet, I cannot say with certainty what the future holds for us in Israel. But there are two basic factors at work here:

First of all, Israel is home. We've been running for two millennia and we simply have nowhere else to run!

Secondly, we must trust that God did not bring millions of Jews here to simply be snuffed out. That element of trust and belief is part and parcel of the challenge – and the spiritual growth – inherent in living in Israel. If we are going by regular sociological norms, the Jewish people would have disappeared long ago. And we certainly would never have returned to the Land of Israel, surrounded by 300 million Arabs. As David Ben Gurion, not known to be a big theologian, said: "In Israel, to be a realist is to believe in miracles."

Attaining Spirituality

I want to become a more spiritual person. I feel my life is stuck in a swamp of fashion, technology, and consumption. How do I break out of this and get in touch with my spiritual side?

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

Simply put, when a person is seeking spirituality, it usually means trying to connect to a Power that transcends the mundane, that will connect to eternity.

However, there is another perspective.

Close your eyes for a moment and mentally draw a painting. It could be a picture of anything. Fill in the details and try to see it clearly.

That picture is completely unique because it is an expression of you. You are its creator; your signature is written all over it. And because it's an expression of you, that painting in your mind can teach us a lot about you.

What happens to the painting in your mind when you open your eyes? It's gone. It only exists as long as you will it to be.

Our universe is created by God. That means that everything in this world is an expression of Him since it all stems from Him. The world is united by a single, common thread - God - who is continuously creating and sustaining this image we call the universe.

How do we see this oneness in action? What impact does it have on our understanding of spirituality?

Let's take a look at some moments of spirituality we may have experienced. Everyone has encounters with the unmatched power of Niagara Falls, or standing in the Grand Canyon looking at the expansive night sky and sensing the infinite universe.

Consider the underlying properties in our moments of spirituality: Unity, Perfection, Eternity, Oneness, Absolute Power. All of these are aspects of God - the Infinite source of creation. The source of all of our spiritual experiences is God. During those intense moments of connecting to the spiritual, we feel ourselves transcend - literally lifting beyond the confines of this world - because we are touching God, the Infinite that transcends time and space.

The more we sensitize ourselves to the underlying unity of creation, the more we can sense and feel spirituality in everything we do. The best way to obtain that sensitivity is by learning Torah, which is a direct expression, so to speak, of the "mind of God." Torah also teaches us how to plug every aspect of life - food, relationships, even business - into the awesome unity of God.

I will just mention one example to illustrate this idea. Everyone must eat and drink in order to survive. Very often though, the act of eating is at best a transitory experience and doesn't provide any lasting pleasure. A Jew is obligated to say blessing before and after eating food. That means that one must pause for a moment before he eats anything and appreciate that what he is about to ingest is a gift designed with love and infinite precision by the Creator of the Universe. This small act can significantly enhance the experience of eating - changing it from a mundane act into a spiritual, meaningful experience. All aspects of Jewish life follow this basic pattern.

Best of luck in your search!

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