Why do Jews not put the o in G-d?
Letters concerning this question from:
Susan
Rabbi Tuvia Hoffman Aish.com
A friend received a letter that could upset some, if allowed.
This person ridiculed her for writing G-d and not with the o. She said that it is such a pity that I have fallen back into living under the law of the Jews for the Jews believe that G-d is a terrible G-d who shall smite them if they write His Name in full. He actually stands ready to whip us with a rod because He is a cruel G-d and therefore the Jews are to scared to write out His Name in full. ---- She wrote to her in love and told her that as her husband was taught in Bible College it is out of reverence that Jews do not use the vowels. Not because of a deadly fear. Yes off course we fear G-d, but it is a reverential fear not a fleshly fear and dread that He is a cruel G-d, for He is G-d of Love. As a matter of fact. He is love. Take love away and God will be there no more. Praise the Lord He is a loving God, but also a consuming fire and we must fear Him with the right fear.
Susan
Shalom.
Rabbi Tuvia Hoffman
1) Do non-Hebrew names of G-d have holiness?
Any Hebrew name of G-d is forbidden to erase. From the Torah's exhortation to
destroy idolatry, we learn out the prohibition not to destroy the name of G-d.
(see Deuteronomy 12:3-4)
The English word "G-d" is actually a matter of dispute as to its
degree of holiness. On one hand, we treat the name "G-d" with great
reverence as well, for example, by spelling it with a hyphen. On the other hand,
it is sometimes more confusing for people to see it with a dash, and spelling
out the full God actually inspires more reverence!
See Schach, Yoreh Deah 179:11 and Mishne Berura
85:10 - that "God" written in any language, other than Hebrew, has no
holiness and can be erased.
2) Is it permitted to type names of G-d onto a computer screen, knowing
that it will be "erased?"
As for the issue of deleting G-d's name from a computer screen, it seems
that in fact nothing is being written or erased (except for electromagnetic
impulses). Actually, when you display Torah on your screen you are actually
erasing and rewriting it 50 (or 60) times a second. So when you erase it or shut
your screen off, you are not doing anything worse than you have just done
thousand of times in the last few minutes. Nevertheless, many people hyphenate
G-d on a computer, as a sign of respect, to show that a reference to G-d is
being made.
(However, see Igros Moshe by R' Moshe Feinstein, Yoreh Deah I, 173 -
that although there does not seem to be anything wrong with erasing cassette
tapes containing G-d's name on it, one should still refrain from doing so.)
All the best,
Rabbi Tuvia Hoffman
Aish.com
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