What's In A Name

Rabbi Irwin Wiener, D.D.

I was amused recently while reading an article about faith in America. The article dealt mainly with the Christian response to God and the many ways of participating in prayers and acknowledgment of God’s goodness and greatness. One of the points made was that there are four (4) Gods: Authoritarian, Benevolent, Critical, and Distant. Each represented the perception people have about God and the part He plays in their daily lives, or not.

What amused me is that we also have different names for God: Shalom, Adonai, Elohim, and Shadai – in fact the Kabbalists insist that there are seven names for God. Each one of these names has a distinct meaning and purpose. Each name represents our human understanding of God. Interestingly enough though, we really never think in those terms (God’s different names) and think only of the name God.

It certainly is a subject for classroom discussion, even for Shabbat afternoon study. It certainly is not a subject that rears its head anytime we attempt to communicate with God whether in the synagogue or in our home or on a trip. It is difficult enough just to think about God as we entreat or supplicate ourselves or make requests that even we know are impossible to grant.

Well, that is what Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, which we will be celebrating shortly, are all about: to concentrate on our relationship with one another and with God. Sometimes we find it hard to even imagine God let alone wonder about His existence and participation in our lives. We see so much evil and death and destruction and we begin to wonder if there is a God. We have difficulties in our lives that seem to be insurmountable and we question the value of prayer. We may not be tested like Job but we go through episodes that make us feel as though we are being tested or cursed.

There is no question that understanding the essence of God is so difficult that we surely put it out of our minds and go through the motions during this time of the year. There is something pulling us closer and yet we feel so distant. We wonder about the future all the while frightened by the present. As we age we want to appreciate the traditions and the symbols but we are trapped in our habits and we don’t want to try new ideas or broaden our scope of insight into new vistas.

That is the beauty of these days – it doesn’t matter whether we understand the meaning of God or the various names or the various meanings of these names. After all, in the final analysis, who can really fathom such notions? Our minds can never truly comprehend the vastness of it all. We know one thing – God is faith. God is the strength we garner to meet another day. God is the calm before and after the storms of life.

Whether God has four (4) names or seven (7) or even more is not important in participating in an experience which is unique.

God is a spirit, an idea. God is happiness and sorrow. God is children and grandchildren. God is love and hate. God is not a name but a thought, an expression of hope. God is what we make of our life and how we live it. God is facing the challenges that confront us and looking for that silver lining.

Yes, it is difficult to think of God. And yet, when things look bleak and trouble is at our doorstep, we do reach out and hope that the hand that lifts us from these trying times will be the hand of God. It is and can be – because God is in each of us and, as we reach out to lift someone from the depths that is God holding our hand, keeping it steady so that we are able to fulfill the dream of salvation and redemption.

The sum total of who we are can be found in the partnership that evolves so that a kiss or a smile, or a touch, or even a prayer, ennobles us and we are at one with God. The difficulty we have is knowing that we can act, we can find a place for ourselves, and we will remember that there are others around us who cry and laugh and are traveling the same road in search of meaning.

We utter prayers to fashion good from bad, to take reality into the sublime, to shape a blessing from nothingness, to sympathize, to eliminate hopelessness, to gain insight so that we can visualize the signs that are right in front of us, to be able to live our lives as they were meant to be lived – with trust and hope and caring.

All these thoughts enable us to understand all the names we use for God. The holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur help us understand that God, by any name, is there – all we need do is extend our hand.

May God find favor in our acts as we comprehend what the Prophets knew when they proclaimed that God wants us to be good as He is good, to be merciful as He is merciful, to deal justly as He deals justly – and to do all this with each other more than anything else we can do or say – and by whatever name you choose.