What is God’s Name?












Attempts at Pronunciation












Image by Emily Rose, some rights reserved.

5 Responses to What is God’s Name?

  1. Alex says:

    Dear Rabbi Adar, I love your blog….so informative, and inclusive, so I feel rather mean in writing this, but it’s a personal bugbear…. Elizabeth is indeed Queen of England, but also Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland….ie the United Kingdom( though given that we Scots have a referendum this September on whether to remain part of the United Kingdom, that may complicate things )

    England is so often used when the UK is meant, and it does tend to make some folks from the other parts of the UK growl somewhat….. ;)

    Shalom from the sunny east coast of Scotland :)

    Liked by 1 person

    • rabbiadar says:

      Alex, I am always delighted to learn; thank you for your willingness to teach me! I will correct the error as soon as I am back at the computer, which may be 12 hours, but I promise to fix it!


  2. Lindsy says:

    Is El Shaddai considered a name, a title, or something else?

    Liked by 1 person

    • rabbiadar says:

      “El Shaddai” is an interesting case. It is a title. “El” means “God” in several Canaanite languages.

      “Shaddai” is a bit more complicated. According to Exodus 6:2-3 it is the name by which God was known to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

      What does it mean? The root shin-dalet-dalet usually is associated with “destruction.” However, it’s also very close to the Hebrew word “shadayim” meaning “breasts.” So even though it is treated as a masculine, could it be another remnant of a tradition attributing feminine fertility powers to the deity?

      There is also a midrashic tradition that explains Shaddai as an acronym for “Guardian of the Doors of Israel” which is why it is put on many mezzuzot.

      I do not know why El Shaddai is often translated into English as “God Almighty” or “God of Heaven” but I am inclined not to translate it at all, given the complexity of possibilities.

      Great question – thanks!


  3. Jacques HENNEBERT says:

    Hello from Lyon!
    Well… Like every (I hope!) Jew in this world, using a name, any name would seem clumsy -to say the least- to me.
    I was told that saying Ha-Shem would stock me into the Orthodox field…
    So what? I utter Ha-Shem on a daily basis, sometimes El, the shorter the better, and anyway, should the Name shudder or shrug when I address Him/Her?

    In my mind, we’re all Orthodox, don’t we all follow the feasts, a same siddur, and everybody refuses to voice the four letters! And so many follow the casherout…

    I’ve got friends in the Reform who only voice Ha-Shem… I don’t even quiver!

    Anyway, thank you so much for the good work!

    Jacques Hennebert


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