How to you address God? By what name do you think of? This week’s portion begins with a recitation of names by which God spoke or made known to people. In Exodus 6:2 and 3 we meet two different names, one made known to the Patriarchs and one now to Moses, the ancient “yod, heh, vov, heh”. The name is all important, as are our names. The name carries with it a sense of identity and there are many Midrash citations that speak to the power of the name. That got me considering how many names of God we may use during our lifetime. It reflects that verse from last week’s portion when Moses asks God’s name, and he receives the famous “ehyeh asher ehyeh”. We “know” or “call” God by various names as we grow and experience life. There are numerous commentaries on the names of God in Torah, many focusing on the use of Elohim and the attribute of justice and YHVH with the attribute of mercy. The use of El Shadai in this portion, suggests, according to some commentaries, God as a nurturing God; and some comments refer to the word Shadai as referencing the word “shadayim” or breasts, thus God revealed as a “nurturing mothering God” (Etz Hayim.351 and Women’s Torah Commentary p. 128)
What do you now call God? The study of God’s name is one of the more interesting studies in Judaism. As we are in a Torah portion that deals with the Hebrews in Egypt, we can refer to some scholarship that sees the Jewish God as having roots in the gods of Egypt. Indeed, in his book “The Name”, Mark Sameth discusses these Egyptian roots and posits the idea that God’s name is “dual-gendered”. He discusses the fact that God’s name is never to be spoken, save for one time a year by the High Priest in the Temple, as based on an ancient Egyptian belief that “made pronunciation of a god’s true name, outside the circle of initiated priestly elite, unthinkable”. (p,21).
How we speak of God, the god we worship reflects, it seems, our own belief system. One of the most meaningful prayers in the Gates of Prayer book reminds us that we all will worship something. “That which dominates our imagination, and our thoughts will determine our life and character. Therefore, it behooves us to be careful what we are worshipping, for what we are worshipping we are becoming”. (p. 240). How relevant this phrase is for us today in age of social media and celebrity/sports idolatry! Torah warns us against false prophets and gods. What do we worship? What are the gods we call out to? Do we become that which we worship?
Shabbat shalom
Rabbi Richard F Address
Rabbi Richard F. Address, D.Min, is the Founder and Director of www.jewishsacredaging.com. Rabbi Address served for over three decades on staff of the Union for Reform Judaism; first as a Regional Director and then, beginning in 1997, as Founder and Director of the URJ’s Department of Jewish Family Concerns and served as a specialist and consultant for the North American Reform Movement in the areas of family related programming. Rabbi Address was ordained from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1972 and began his rabbinic career in Los Angeles congregations. He also served as a part time rabbi for Beth Hillel in Carmel, NJ while regional director and, after his URJ tenure, served as senior rabbi of Congregation M’kor Shalom in Cherry Hill, NJ from 2011-2014.
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