No matter how many times I write "G-d", the spell-check on the computer has no idea what I mean...
59 Comments Posted
The hyphen has an establised meaning which is incompatable with using it as you do. Use the underscore instead: g_d instead of g-d.
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You can always add any word you want to your computer's spellcheck dictionary, even one with a hyphen in it. So yes, you actually CAN program a computer to have respect for His name, at least in terms of how you seem to define respect for His name.
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We have spent many years contemplating the proper treatment of divine names, as this is a subject of much intrest to many of us. Since every culture on this world has had some contact with the divine, and each has assigned a name or title based upon their point of view, it is pointless to debate the true name of the divine, it cannot be bound by any earthly means. Suffice it to say that any name spoken intended to be the name of the divine IS the name, and would draw attention.
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Also, I believe for english anyway, it expresses the "Infinite" as "Finite" in an "indirect" way.
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Shalom, Rabbi:
AWESOME Answer to the "logical" question!!!
I loved the comment you gave stating that "G-D created logic and cannot be captured by HIS own creation". I upper-case anything to do with HIM. I have programmed my computer to do so.
For me it is a focus of Love. I Love G-D with all my heart, mind, and strength. And so, my heart is filled with honor, my thoughts are the same toward Him, even when I don't understand what is going on around me, I continue to honor His Torah and His Promises toward me, and my strength will not allow me to tire in doing so.
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I use Hashem more and more because it solves the computer prob ... but maybe shouldn't because it could get deleted? Let me know ... to the "logical" one .. no one is more logical than I .. I'm a regular Spock sometimes. And have a fairly extensive scientific background .. but what I learned from science is that the explanations for even science change with new data introduction, new interpretations, etc ... and while Wind can be measured - scientifically - we cannot see it. Science doesn't know many things yet .. but I bet when it gets to the point where it does, it will come up with an explanation for G-d .. and it will be logical. :-)
PS - did you believe in anything magical when you were a child? Santa Claus? Fairies? Angels? Love can't be seen but it can be magical and I certainly hope you believe it it ....
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I feel that the way this question was answered was not a good reply. GOD is not God's name. His name is Yud Hay Vav Hay so that GOD is a euphemism or an alternative word in place of the Sacred Word. Why then trat GOD as if i is holy? I have even seen pernickety people spell L-ord for gosh sake!! Please give us an good explanation.
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Just Click "add to dictionary" and the spell check never more will ask you what are you thinking.
If you use any "office" software, no matter the OS.
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I had never given thought about it before, I am a convert, so it was outside the realm of my consciousness. However, twelve years after my conversion, I enrolled in Gratz College (which is actually a non-denominational Jewish college) but I "picked it up" from one of my professors. Later, I witnessed one rabbi write His Name out completely, and making a joke that "see nothing happens". I'm not offended if a person chooses to spell His Name out completely, but the joke was so offensive. I feel that it's one thing to not use the hyphen, but to ridicule the use of the hyphen, totally offensive. It has become part of me, so to speak, i couldn't spell out G-d's name if I tried. Perhaps (as a convert) totally illogical, but, there it is.
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Why is it that we don't realize that in the Torah, when the creator introduced himself to Moshe, he didn't say "Hello, my name is G-d." He used His ACTUAL NAME! (known as the tetragrammaton) It consists of four Hebrew letters. Isn't that the NAME that we are to keep holy? The English word "G-d" can be used to describe any number of dieties, from zeus to money. I don't think that leaving the letter "O" out of that English word has anything to do with respecting the NAME the creator revealed in the Torah. In fact, weren't we chosen to proclaim His NAME to the gentiles? How do we do that when instead we are reverencing an English word with a different meaning instead?
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And often half the name ends up on a new line: G-
d.
I avoid that particular problem by writing Gd.
Works like a champ.
Now help me out. I am a proofer at a Jewish newspaper and asked the editor not to spell out the actual name. She said, "Oh, but the hyphen is only for G-d. It's OK to print out the actual name." I tried to say something about what Lubavitch does and she said, "But they know that whatever they write will be treated with reverence, while we are a newspaper and it will go in the trash when people are through with it."
Please write something about not printing the word which is spelled
yud
kay
vav
kay
(and I hope to heaven I have not used the Holy Name in vain by spelling it out) so that those who work at newspapers will understand that this Name, even more than the word G-d (which is just the translation of a label) must be treated with utmost respect.
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I think you did not answer the question, you just commented on it. The question should have been, "Why do you Jews always write the word G-d, as we non-Jews do smply write it as God? Is G-d His proper personal Name? or has He a real Name that we non-Jews are not qualified to know?" I know that He revealed himself and His Name first to the Jews and the language He talked to Moses was Hebrew not English. Pls help me resolve the issue. I'm sure you have the answer...if only you are willing to give it right. Pls do. Thank you very much.
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"I feel that the way this question was answered was not a good reply. GOD is not God's name. His name is Yud Hay Vav Hay so that GOD is a euphemism or an alternative word in place of the Sacred Word. Why then trea the wordt GOD as if it is holy? I have even seen persnickety people spell L-ord for gosh sake!! Please give us an good explanation. "
===Speaking a word requires vowels, air, sonics in the formulas of con-sonants. Since it is in vain to name ALHYM, YHWH and use these "names" in a sentence, eliminating the vowel honors a Commandment. ====
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Driving Force = Matter / Decay
If God is "Driving Force," then Driving Force is one, while matter and decay describes the cycle of reality.
If a human is "Driving Force," then decay is variable, while matter is the flesh. The driving force of a human is the soul. The goal is for humane Driving Force, such that freewill connects us in harmony; otherwise stated for a human to be of God. Reworded, the goal of freewill is to find the meaning of God, and not only know this meaning, but to act in accordance to the will of God. Thus, decay of human flesh always perverts the meaning of God, the Collective Singular that we live in. To disbelieve in God is to deny Torah, or literally to believe that there is no consequence for action.
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If you spell out G-d's name than you are limited
but G-d's creation is unlimited. Your last sentence was the best answer. Thanks for it and best wishes for your comunity.
Best regards
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Nobody has answered my question. GOD is not the name of our Lord it is a euphenism or an alternative word but it not The Name. The 10 Devraim says we shall not take the Name of Lord in vain. Andwhat about the gods like Baal and Odin and Thor. Do you spell those gods without the O?
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Although G-d is not a Hebrew word, it is an English word describing the Creator of the world.
Merriam Webster defines G-d with a capital G to mean “the supreme or ultimate reality: as the Being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness who is worshipped as creator and ruler of the universe.”
Since those of us who speak English use this word to refer to Him, out of respect, we do not write it out in full.
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I count Odin and Thor in my direct paternal ancestry and I suggest posthumous deification occurred. Does Paul Bunyan ring a bell? King Wittekind son of Odin, another of my paternal ancestors was a Norse Pagan and forced into Christian conversion after Charlemagne executed possibly 4,000 of his men at Verdun. Anyone who has studied mythologies of other cultures understands that most "gods," were actual people, having an actual day of birth and a day of death. King worship is common to Jewish history as well. It may be an area of confusion in popular thought. Check out the book Antiquities of the Jews (Flavius Josephus) for examples of king worship of David son of Boaz.
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I do not believe the creator would have this view. God is our father in heaven and we do not call him by his name, but by his position as the eternal creator.That positional name is God. His truly devine name is something else and too sacred to use if we knew it.
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This is what Euhemerus the Greek said. I am probably misspelling the name but I do not want to go look it up.
It's a cute theory but it is highly unlikely that worship of deities started in any such way. On the contrary, worship of the Divine came first and then earthly kings sought to mimic Divine power. The very word for "king" may have originally indicated a specifically Divine power which had become accessible, to a far lesser degree, to earthly kings.
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I think you misunderstood. I do not understand how what you write beyond your third sentence refutes me.
My suggestion is that people worshiped Odin after his death when polytheistic mythologies were generated in Norway. In fact, several people in my line had the same deification lie generated, such as Beowulf, Thor, and Zeus. Likewise, I want no generation of a lie that I am a deity either, as it is possible people are already calling me "Lord Chaos" in internet mythologies, as "chaos Craig" was my nickname years ago (Internet Book of Shadows).
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*Names
*Origins of gods
About a thousand years ago, the question arose--is it OK to write the French word in a letter to a friend or kin or colleague or to anyone? The French word was and is spelled with a D, followed by an i, an e, and a u. That was the French word for Deity. The answer came back, Do NOT write it, for such a letter may easily wind up on a dung heap. We do not want to cntaminate a Divine Referent with dung.
That applies to Gd and Lrd too. No more chitchat about these beng lesser words. It doesn't matter that they are lesser; what matters is that we all know they refer to HaShem, and they are NOT euphemisms such as HKBH. They are, in a very real sense, names.
The next question: the historical record of the oldest writing in the world, ancient Sumerian, indicates that the first gods they mention were the god of the river, the earth goddess, the coppersmith god, the goddess of weaving, etc. NOT the king or any other dead man. That came much later.
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i totally disagree because when I write God the computer has it programmed and when i wrote G-d the computer had it programmed and when i went to the thesaurus on the computer another word for G-d was God meaning heavenly divine and creator of all things maybe its just the kind of program you use> do you think so??? respond back please
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That the author attempted to show respect shows good intent. He has greater righteousness than that person that paid attention to spell check. It is likely that any attempt to show respect to the divine Name that gains popularity is likely to receive recognition by a computer program. However, I would say that since we now know that G-d is in some spell checkers, I would say, “Spell check should be ignored when considering respect to the Name.” Upon analysis of writing, we will simply know the meanings of various forms of respect.
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Why Don't You Spell Out G-d's Name? He said not to use it in vain, He didn't say not to use it.
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According to Shulchan Aruch Harav, OC 85:3, vernacular appelations unique to the Godhead (i.e. in other languages - like the English "God"), have halachic validity and sanctity in ORAL form but not in written form - thus when written out may be erased!
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To the person that wrote why do we use G-d and that it does not come up on the computer.. Why don't you use His name? Type in what is the name of God and you will get an answer.
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I just do not understand why should there be a discussion or inviting the visitors to post a comment on whether to write His name or not. It is left to individual beliefs and practices. everyone has the liberty to express his views and beliefs.
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~search results~
660,000,000 for God
127,000,000 for Craig
92,100,000 for G-d
2,580,000 for chabad
By those rules, I would say, "Even if I post my name, God, and or G-d it ends up in the same place." nych nych nych nych
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I feel it is disrespectful to God to spell His holy name the way you do. I read your reasoning but I truely cannot understand it although I do respect it.
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The reasoning behind writing G-d makes perfect logical sense.
It is a sign of utmost devotion to protect the written word writing it in a way so that the true name has no chance of being defaced (because it is not written as the true name). Its a placeholder for what everyone knows is the true name or word and so in the written context everyone knows what is meant & read.
Think of it as embedding different thoughts or care into a word just because of the way its written.
Similar contemporary examples of embedded meaning in written text would be like all caps for yelling (NO), LOL or the famous emoticon =)
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I appreciate the idea of using G-d instead of spelling it out even though it is just a substitute for his name. I've always maintained that people using watered down curses are still cursing because the intended meaning is the same regardless of what word you are using. Using "G-d" is a means of respecting His name in all ways, even it the specific word is just a substitution
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I am one that is trying to find the only true creator of the heavon and the earth. I read in my bible it say "Those that call upon my name I will hear".
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I am an atheist like the question proposer, but I thought I may help: Microsoft's Word and many other programmes that you may be having trouble with, will happily accept a hyphen that cannot be translated as a new-line hyphen by pressing CTRL+Shift and _ (the underscore character).
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Thank you for an excellent article.
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Why did you search chabad.org if you are an athiest?
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Dear Ben, Kew gardens is a wonderful park in London, you should have a walk there and think about G-d.
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very powerful article. well written!!
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Why did you search chabad.org if you are an atheist?
An open mind requires that one not be a theist.
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I have asked several questions recently and none have been answered. I hope I have not offended anyone, since I truly desir to learn and ot hear your answer. Another one: If you do not spell the name of G-d, then how do you pronounce it? Do you say "God", or do you say "The Name", or Jehovah, YHWH, or what? How do you pronounce it when you speak of Him???
Thanks in advance
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The only name that we never pronounce is His four letter name. In ordinary conversation it is replaced with HaShem—literally, “the name.” In prayer, it is replaced with Ado-nai. His other Hebrew names are generally reserved for prayers and other special times. In ordinary conversations other designations for the Creator in Hebrew, English or Yiddish are generally used.
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Let's add also that the J or Y is NEVER used - only by the High Priest on Yom Kippur in the Temple Service. Serious offense to pronounce those as ir represents the "essential Name" (known as Tetragrammaton).
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Most word processing software gives you the option of either using a custom dictionary or adding a new word to the existing spell check dictionary. Right click on the highlighted word that offends spell check and a dialog of options is displayed. If you can't add "G-d" then look to the software's manual on how to add a custom dictionary then simply copy the old one add "G-d" and use the new dictionary. Voila! You've taught your computer to respect G-d's name!
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I love your explanation of G-D going above and beyond intellect. I'm also hoping the guy that said he wasn't a believer is listening to his heart after reading your last statement! G-d really will answer you if you ask him to help you get beyond the logic. I can't imagine how lonely that must be...I NEED His love, His promise of eternity, His peace that is so indescribable but so amazing when He fills me with it through any trial I am walking through! He is there with me always!
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Right on!
with a high five!
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You sais this, in the last article: "Jewish faith is about getting in touch with the soul that knows G-d already, without needing any proof. This is not negating intellect -- it is transcending it.How do you get in touch with your soul? Ask G-d. He'll tell you."
I was wondering if you could tell me how holy God is? Is He holy? Is He soverign? What is His attitude toward sin and fallen man? Does he 'wink' at sin, and just turn His back, for some but not others?
Also, how does one "Know God already'??
Thanks. I've been thinking about this.
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I hope I spelled it right. My eyes aren't what they used to be.
Gd is absolutely holy and sovereign.
and Gd loves you. And all of us.
And if we sin deliiberately, and mean to keep it up, we may find ourselves unable to repent.
But if we are truly sorry, and try to mend our ways, Gd always forgives.
And always keeps loving us regardless.
And yes, terrible things happen to innocent people and nobody can explain it. No rabbi can explain it, and neither can I.
But Gd's love means so much to me that I have to assume that Gd know what Gd is doing. Even when to me it looks horrific. And the Holocaust looks horrific. So did Darfur. So does what's doing on in the world today.
Tio know Gd, pay attention to your dreams. If a man in any dream is loving in a jolly, joshing sort of way, keep that image. Review it when you waken. Imagine joshing him back,lovingly. Accept the joshing and the love that goes with it.
Visualize that dream every day.
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"I only believe in things that can be logically proven."
Gödel proved that there are an infinite number of true things that can not be proved with logic.
So now that I have logically proved that logic can not prove everything. What does that leave for your statement?
Mathematics has the concept of "axioms": statements that are considered to be true, but that can not be proven. Entire worlds are built that depend on whether or not a specific axiom is considered true or not. The worlds are all self consistent, but there is no way of proving one is correct, and the others wrong.
The axioms are foundations for a tremendous amount of facts, but the axioms themself can not be be proven using those tools. You must go above the mathematics.
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Aron Moss this is a wonderful article and a great answer to a question that seems to be generated from a "computer" ;) To be an atheist is to be dogmatic about your belief without proof. G-d cannot be disproved or proved. Agnostics are honest but it requires faith to be an atheist.
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Umm...I have "Pages" on a Mac and it recognizes the word God just fine. Perhaps you need to switch to Mac?
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So why don't you just write Yaweh? G-d sounds so blasphemous
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I loved it when you said, "Ask G-d, He'll tell you." I used to not do that, then, one day, I heard this Presence inside of me say, "Sharon, why don't you ask me to heal you."I was suffering from sinues a lot (as I had all my life). I thought, "Where in the world did that come from?" I began thinking and saying, "That is really stupid. I have sinus problem." Again, this Presence inside me said, "Sharon, why don't you ask me to heal you?" Well, finally, I did; and He did Do I hear voices? No, it is not like that. I can be lost in my own thoughts, doing something, even talking, and I feel this gentle wave of energy actually move from about the area where I carried my children. I can actually feel this wave of energy move up. It replaces my thoughts with His. You have heard the expression, "from out of the blue." Well, I would have to say, "from out of my belly." I just know it to be true. Shalom,
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Your computer may not respect G-d but you can make it accept G-d. Just add G-d to your word processor's dictionary.
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I can see your point in showing respect in this way but would have thought that the God of religion is above being "misprepresented" or erased on such a technical device as a computer. As long as us human being are respectful to our deity and each other, nothing else can bring harm. G-d bless.
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You too?
But I only had it "for sure" and "clearly" once.
Other times it's just an energy w/o words.
You are blessed.
Meanwhile, some people's theology says that Gd is immune to what humans do.
But Jewish theology holds humans responsible for possible harm done to Gd, or to Gd's ability to help humans, when the Divine Name (THE Divine Name, not just "any" name people use for their gods) or other Divine reference such as Gd and LRD, are misused.
I knew the importance of respecting Divine names instinctively when I was six or seven years old and had never even read the Bible yet. Maybe I misused a Divine Name in a previous Gilgul (incarnation), but from the moment I learned to write I KNEW. Just KNEW. That it is truly VERY important.
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I have to disagree with your position that omitting the "o" in God's name is a sign of respect. I believe that it is in fact disrespectful. Though I am in no way equating myself with the almighty, I would not appreciate someone omitting a letter in my name when discussing me.
Also, I believe God is bigger then the internet. In fact, God is bigger that any form of text. In fact, God is bigger than man's ability to fathom. As such, choosing to omit a letter for fear that someone could erase it is pointless.
In fact, I would say you are vandalizing his name preemptively. So, in the entire content of this website, you have never actually mentioned God properly.
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I understand your intention. In my thought, I am not able to disrespect G-d because that entity is far greater than I am.
I did not come to your web page to tell you how I relate to G-d but to understand better how you relate to G-d and because I respect G-d, I also respect you and your opinion.
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with me.
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Thank you for explaining. I apprecatiate you helping me to understand. I also RESPECT the fact of how much you respect His name when it gets thrown around so disrespectfully by so many. I love the reverence of HIS NAME. Thank you again
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G*d ?
I bet your dictionary would accept that ;-)
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