God's Many Names

Shalom! I am Rabbi Jonathan Ginsburg. This video is about what to call God. Gob obviously an English word so what is God’s name. Is there some name for God? But the bible has naming for God. The main one is consist of four Hebrew letters Yod Hey Vav Hey. It is not vocalize with any idea how to pronounce it. The only time it was pronounce was where in God passed the name to Moses, and Moses passed on to others and they passed it on to others it was pronounce only once a year by the high priest towards after while the only one who new it and since we have no high priest here anymore we do not have idea how to pronounce it. Now it is vocalize by some like the Jehovah witnesses as Jehovah or Yohovah. Just no Jaime Hebrew but that is not how to pronounce it we have no idea but the main name of God is that. Now the other names in the Torah in the bible used for God for example El which is an old submitted name it is often used to be conjunctional with other things.

Now for example is El Adon, “Eternal God”. The El Shaddai,” Almighty God” but El is another name. Another name for God is Elohim it is used at the beginning of the bible and it is also means “Plural” and also means “Judges and creator of the world”. Other name for God in the Torah is “Yod Hey Vav Hey” in terms of being pronounce probably as a form of the word to be for example when God reveals the Gods self Moses he says (foreign language) which was translated as “I will be who I will be”. Now filling on the bible we have name El-Shaddai which is “Almighty God” and that is usually the name we associate with the in the door post or putting to filling on. Adonai is another way which means”My Master or Lord” and we pronounce Yod Hey Vav Hey we pronounce it as the word Adonai, even though that is not how to spell at all this is the way we say it also the Torah it says the God is Kiddush,”Holy God” also called Zur “A rock”, the rock of Israel. That is in the decoration independence for the state of Israel.

Finally now the next category would be rabbinic names, in the Rabbi in the time of 2000 years ago. What did they call God? They had other names for God one was the Kadosh Baruch, “The holy one”, blessed to be God or Ribbono shel Olam “The creature of the universe”. Another name for God that occurs in the time but it is also in the book of Asters the only reference to God in the whole book of Aster the bible was HaMakom,”The place”. The fact when we comfort someone whose lost family member or love one we say (foreign language)”the place come for you” it is kind euphemism for God. We also in our prayers base on the commuted phrase I have phrase of Avinu-Shavamayum, “Our father who are in heaven” that of course is famous from a Christian prayer that is in the new testament but actually an old Hebrew expression.

In Jewish mysticism the God is called “E’in Sof” really one with in kind of infinity. God is also called Shalom, “Peace”. Those are some of the main names. Now God in the prayer book or the main way that we are fully God in our prayer we say (foreign language) king of the universe” so God is called (foreign language). Also in our prayers we say Baruch Hu to Adonai Elohie MaHalam, Elohei Avraham, Elohei Yitzchak, Elohei Ya `aqov-the “God of Abraham, The God of Isaac, the God of Jacob”. We have also a prayer that calls God (foreign language), “the Garden of Israel” or a prayer Adon `Olam meaning the eternal God. You can see there is a quite number of a different name for God in Judaism from the bible to the rabbinic period to our prayer book.


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