The Vail Voice received a number of responses to a Letter to the Editor published in last month’s paper about Rabbi Shemtov’s use of “G-d.” Below is a reprint of what he wrote in his September article.
Publisher
From Rabbi Yisroel Shemtov’s column that ran in October:
“You may notice in my article that G-d is written G dash D. This is not a typo. Many Jewish print and online publications, are particular to not spell out the name of our Creator, even in English. Rather, we write “G‑d.”
Here’s why: Writing G‑d’s name could lead to erasing or disrespecting G‑d’s name.
Due to this, when religious Jewish newspapers were first printed in pre-Holocaust Europe, many adopted the practice to hyphenate the name of G‑d, lest at some stage these pages be treated disrespectfully. This practice now extends to all articles, newspapers or magazines printed in Yiddish, English or any other language. Although some of these concerns may not apply to a digital copy or computer screen, we are still careful to hyphenate Divine names written in any languages online, not only out of extra reverence for G‑d’s name where it may not be technically required, but also since it is very common, to print out these articles to read later.”
Dear Editor,
In response to the Letter to the Editor in the November edition bewailed that Rabbi Shemtov, (a rabbi is a Jewish religious leader), used a hyphen in lieu of an “o” when mentioning God’s name in the article.
While there are many different forms of Christianity and other religions, so to are there different congregations of in the Jewish faith. To Hasidim Jews, of which the Rabbi is one, this way of writing the name of the Creator, is not only preferred but required by years of tradition and in reverence and respect to the Almighty.
Mr. Fox clearly misunderstood this age-old Jewish custom as a modern tactic “not to offend anyone.” He went on to accuse the newspaper of blasphemy. To educate him (and others who also perhaps missed the rabbi’s disclaimer in the September issue of the Vail Voice):
- Jewish teachings refer to God with many names and adjectives. A single definition only limits the Omnipresent in our limited and mortal human understanding.
- There are seven names of God that according to Jewish law must never be erased because of their (and God’s) holiness. Thus, the practice of writing the word G-d in literature destined to be discarded (with all due respect to this newspaper).
- Vail is a lovely community with a variety of people and beliefs. So I would say to the writer, you may be very devout in your religion and you are most certainly free to worship in a manner you are comfortable. So too is the Rabbi and those of his congregation. Tolerance is a virtue that more of us should show and use in our daily lives. There was nothing inferred the Rabbi that this spelling was done for Politically Correct reasons. It is how he was raised by his parents and within his religion much like I am sure was the writer of the letter.
To demand that your understanding of God be imposed on others is intolerant and shall I even say, nonreligious.
Stuart Katz
Dear Editor,
I am not Jewish, but, if someone else has not already done so, I would like to try to correct a misapprehension that appeared in last month’s Letters to the Editor relating to Rabbi Shemtov’s use of G-d in his regular feature in this paper, The Rabbi’s Corner. The contributor of a letter responding to the rabbi’s use of hyphenation seems to have confused this well established Jewish expression of total reverence for G-d’s name, which Rabbi Shemtov explains very well in the September issue (and I use here out of respect for another’s belief) with various secular expressions of over-sensitized ‘cancel culture’ that this contributor objects to. That, of course, is a completely different subject. Shalom.
Bill Blevins
Dear Editor,
I am a bicyclist; often riding 6 miles in the morning as soon as it gets light enough to be safely seen with my bright shirt and pulsing taillight. My concern is that at this time of year, with the sun not now rising until 6:30 a.m. (and later each day), many drivers do not have their headlights on; often as many as one-in-four! Because many people relocate here from other states with varying headlight laws, they may not know that the law in Arizona, as spelled out in our Driver’s License Manual (page 45), is: “When there is sun glare, rain, dust or any other condition where your vehicle may not be clearly visible to other drivers, turn on your headlights on low beam. Your headlights significantly improve your chances of being seen and help other drivers avoid a collision with you…. You must use headlights from sunset to sunrise.”
Sadly, it seems many drivers forget there is a twofold purpose for their vehicle’s headlights: to see and to be seen! Even light-colored vehicles are difficult for bicyclists and pedestrians to see in the dim light of dusk, while darker vehicles are almost invisible until they are too close to us for comfort. For example, this morning, a white work truck pulling a trailer eastbound before sunrise on Sahuarita Road, without headlights, barely became visible to me before I left the bike lane to turn onto Harrison Road. Thankfully I noticed it in time for his safety, my safety, and his conscience!
Rick Huff
Dear Editor,
Regarding the Letter to the Editor in the November 2021 edition. The writer is obviously uninformed about the Jewish tradition regarding the use of the word ”God” in both the written and spoken Hebrew language and, by extension, the English language. The custom of substituting the word “God” with “G-d” in English is based on the traditional practice in Jewish law of giving God’s Hebrew name a high degree of respect and reverence. The Hebrew name for God is never pronounced out loud in Judaism. Even some of the other sacred names for God are not spoken outside of prayer services. Literally dozens of different ways to refer to God have developed in Judaism. Each name is linked to different conceptions of God’s nature and aspects of the divine. For example, God can be referred to in Hebrew as “the Merciful One,” “Master of the Universe,” “the Creator,” and “our King,” among many other names.
I am well into my seventies and can remember my first days of Hebrew school when we were taught to spell “God”, “G-D”. This is not part of some politically correct move on the part of the Vail Voice or the Rabbi. It is part of Jewish tradition and I find it offensive that the writer only considered his own prejudices when he submitted his letter.
I am sure that the good rabbi would do a much better job of explaining this to someone who has no knowledge of the Jewish religion, but I had to make my statement on behalf of my own religious traditions.
Reference:
Pelaia, Ariela. “The Jewish Spelling of “God” as “G-d”.” Learn Religions, Aug. 26, 2020, learnreligions.com/jewish-spelling-of-god-2076772.
Arlene Naftulin-Madsen
Vail
