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Curious as to what my fellow Jews' favorite parts/verses of Torah (and I do mean Torah) are. It's easy to find motivational passages in the Nevi'im and Ketuvim, but not always so easy in the Five Books.
Personally, I think mine is Devarim, Chapter 30 (Moses's speech where he states that we have choice between life and death, blessing and curse, and he commands us to chose life).
For me, it summarizes all the reasons to embrace Torah in a couple of sentences.
Curious as to what my fellow Jews' favorite parts/verses of Torah (and I do mean Torah) are. It's easy to find motivational passages in the Nevi'im and Ketuvim, but not always so easy in the Five Books.
Personally, I think mine is Devarim, Chapter 30 (Moses's speech where he states that we have choice between life and death, blessing and curse, and he commands us to chose life).
For me, it summarizes all the reasons to embrace Torah in a couple of sentences.
Since I am not one of your "fellow Jews" (and/or you are not asking gentiles), I won't answer your question, but I looked up your favorite, and another question comes to my mind that perhaps you or one of your fellow Jews can answer for me...
When I read Devarim, Chapter 30, I came across the word "HaShem." Not familiar with this word, I looked it up and found this explanation; "Hashem is a Hebrew term for God. Literally, it means “the name.” In the Bible the Hebrew word for God is made up of four vowels, and according to tradition it was only pronounced on Yom Kippur by the High Priest. Saying God’s name was considered a very serious and powerful thing, so much so that one of the Ten Commandments prohibits us from saying God’s name in vain. As a result, people have come up with various substitutions."
My question is this: since many who comment in this thread will not spell the word God because of their Jewish beliefs, why does there not seem any hesitation by those writing for this Jewish Virtual Library?
Since I am not one of your "fellow Jews" (and/or you are not asking gentiles), I won't answer your question, but I looked up your favorite, and another question comes to my mind that perhaps you or one of your fellow Jews can answer for me...
When I read Devarim, Chapter 30, I came across the word "HaShem." Not familiar with this word, I looked it up and found this explanation; "Hashem is a Hebrew term for God. Literally, it means “the name.” In the Bible the Hebrew word for God is made up of four vowels, and according to tradition it was only pronounced on Yom Kippur by the High Priest. Saying God’s name was considered a very serious and powerful thing, so much so that one of the Ten Commandments prohibits us from saying God’s name in vain. As a result, people have come up with various substitutions."
My question is this: since many who comment in this thread will not spell the word God because of their Jewish beliefs, why does there not seem any hesitation by those writing for this Jewish Virtual Library?
Thanks for the suggestion. I just did, but I don't know if they can or will explain to me why you or anyone else participating in this thread feels restricted while they do not. Don't know if they will reply period, but I'll hope for an answer from them or from here either way. Thanks again.
There is discussion in the commentaries as to whether the rendering of words in other languages that point to the same god-concept count as "names" of God which would then not be allowed to be said in an unhallowed context or erased once written. Different opinions about this lead to different practices.
Since I am not one of your "fellow Jews" (and/or you are not asking gentiles), I won't answer your question, but I looked up your favorite, and another question comes to my mind that perhaps you or one of your fellow Jews can answer for me...
When I read Devarim, Chapter 30, I came across the word "HaShem." Not familiar with this word, I looked it up and found this explanation; "Hashem is a Hebrew term for God. Literally, it means “the name.” In the Bible the Hebrew word for God is made up of four vowels, and according to tradition it was only pronounced on Yom Kippur by the High Priest. Saying God’s name was considered a very serious and powerful thing, so much so that one of the Ten Commandments prohibits us from saying God’s name in vain. As a result, people have come up with various substitutions."
My question is this: since many who comment in this thread will not spell the word God because of their Jewish beliefs, why does there not seem any hesitation by those writing for this Jewish Virtual Library?
There are many Jews who do spell out "God", just as there are many who do not.
Apparently the writers at JVL fall into the first camp.
There are many Jews who do spell out "God", just as there are many who do not.
Apparently the writers at JVL fall into the first camp.
Thank you. Yes. This has been my observation, but I am asking why those in the second camp do not write out the word "God" when a source like the Jewish Virtual Library does? IOWs, where specifically is this guidance coming from that has the second camp not writing the word "God?" I think rosends begins to explain, but I was looking for more specifics, the source, and I think I found the answer here...
"Writing "G-d" instead of God is a fairly recent custom in America. Many believe this to be a sign of respect, and the custom comes from an interpretation of the commandment in Deuteronomy 12:3-4 regarding the destruction of pagan altars. According to the the medieval commentator, Rashi, we should not erase or destroy God’s name and should avoid writing it. In a Responsa (legal opinion) by the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the primary prohibition against erasure of the name God applies to the sacred names in a written text of Torah. With the advent of computers and the internet, rabbinic authorities have debated whether or not this applies to what is typed on a computer or read on a screen. Most have concurred that it does not apply.
The bulk of Jewish legal opinion agrees that the law applies only to the written name of God when written in Hebrew and not when written in other languages. Reform Jewish practice reflects this opinion. Some Jews will avoid discarding paper or books in which God’s name appears in Hebrew. Rather than being thrown out or destroyed, they may be stored in a genizah (a storage place) and buried in a Jewish cemetery."
Thank you. Yes. This has been my observation, but I am asking why those in the second camp do not write out the word "God" when a source like the Jewish Virtual Library does? IOWs, where specifically is this guidance coming from that has the second camp not writing the word "God?" I think rosends begins to explain, but I was looking for more specifics, the source, and I think I found the answer here...
"Writing "G-d" instead of God is a fairly recent custom in America. Many believe this to be a sign of respect, and the custom comes from an interpretation of the commandment in Deuteronomy 12:3-4 regarding the destruction of pagan altars. According to the the medieval commentator, Rashi, we should not erase or destroy God’s name and should avoid writing it. In a Responsa (legal opinion) by the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the primary prohibition against erasure of the name God applies to the sacred names in a written text of Torah. With the advent of computers and the internet, rabbinic authorities have debated whether or not this applies to what is typed on a computer or read on a screen. Most have concurred that it does not apply.
The bulk of Jewish legal opinion agrees that the law applies only to the written name of God when written in Hebrew and not when written in other languages. Reform Jewish practice reflects this opinion. Some Jews will avoid discarding paper or books in which God’s name appears in Hebrew. Rather than being thrown out or destroyed, they may be stored in a genizah (a storage place) and buried in a Jewish cemetery."
As communities and as individuals, we form traditions that may not be shared among the rest of the Jewish world. While many rabbis do not hold that writing God in English is prohibited, there are others who, at the very least, discourage it. And they have their followers as well.
One source for the idea that words in other languages are likewise protected in the same way due to their reference to God is the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch (1864 by Shlomo Ganzfried), section 6, rule 3. This section (the first half of it) is discussed here.
Here is the whole section (his position is a minority one).
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