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Parshas Eikev 5770 21
20
This week's Parashah includes the prohibition on erasing the Name of Hashem -- "You shall not do so to
Hashem, your G-d." In light of the prohibition, is it permitted to begin a letter with letters denoting the Name
of Hashem? What about letters that denote "With the help of Hashem"? And what is the halachic status of the
dollar bill, on which the words "In G-d we trust" appear? This week's article deals with these questions,
together with the halachic background for them.
How to Begin a Letter
You shall not do so to Hashem, your G‐d (Devarim 12:4)
A frequently asked question concerning the prohibition mentioned (in our Parashah) of "You shall not do so to
Hashem, your G‐d," is the matter of mentioning Hashem at the beginning of letter. Many have the custom of
opening letters with the Hebrew letters Beis Hei, or with a longer acronym for the words "With the help of
Hashem." Is this a worthy custom, in practicing the virtue of having "the name of Hashem upon one's lips" (see
Rashi, Bereishis 27:21 and 39:3), or should the custom be avoided, for fear of causing disrespect to the name of
Hashem when the letter is disposed of by the recipient?
Writing the Name of Hashem in Documents
An interesting source in regard to this question is found in the Gemara in Rosh Hashanah (18b), which tells of how
the Greeks, in their efforts to quash the spiritual virtue of the Jews, forbade the very mention of the name of
Hashem. When the Chashmonaim were victorious, it was enacted that the Name of Hashem should be written into
the date of every document, which would be worded, "In such and such year of Yochanan, High Priest of G‐d
above." After the evil decree of the Greeks, the desire to enact this decree, which introduced the mention of
Hashem even in the mundane world of fiscal documents, can be easily understood. Indeed, the spirit of the
enactment is expressed by the holy Shelah (Gate of Letters, Letter Aleph, no. 16): "Even in every action that you
perform out of free choice, whether a mitzvah or not, the name of Heaven should be upon your mouth."
However, the Gemara continues to relate that the Sages of the generation were not happy with the enactment,
stating: "Tomorrow this one will pay back his debt, and the document will be found amid garbage." Out of concern
for the resulting disrespect to the Name of Heaven, the Sages cancelled the enactment. So important was the
matter in their eyes, that the day on which the enactment was annulled was decreed a holiday.
The words of the Gemara teach us that there is room to be concerned for disrespect and derision of the Name,
even when the Name was written without sanctity, but merely as part of the date. This obligation for showing
respect to the Name is ruled by the Ramo (Yoreh De'ah 276:13), who writes that one should not mention Names of
Hashem in letters: "It is prohibited to write a Name other than in a book [of Scripture], because this can lead to
disrespect, and we are therefore careful not to write a Name in letters." In his annotations to Shulchan Aruch, the
Vilna Gaon mentions that the source of the halachah is the anecdotal teaching of the above Gemara.
It is worth mentioning, in this connection, that Harav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach Zatza”l (Halichos Shlomo, chap. 20,
note 33) ruled that one need not be concerned for disrespect of the mention of G‐d on the dollar bill. He bases this
ruling on thr Shach (Yoreh De'ah 179:11), who writes that a Name written in a foreign language does not possess
the sanctity of the Name. The concern expressed by the Sages, according to this ruling, would be limited to a Name
written in the Holy Tongue.
However, the nature of the prohibition involved still requires scrutiny. If the concern would be for the Torah
prohibition mentioned in our Parashah, "You shall not do so to Hashem, your G‐d," the Remo should surely
mention the concern for the erasing of the Name. The wording of Remo, which mentions disrespect—and the
wording of the Gemara from which the halachah is taken—suggests that the concern is not for the actual erasing
of the Name, but for the disrespect shown to it.
Names Written Without Intention of Sanctity
The fact that the Sages were not concerned for the possible erasing of the Name in the document would be well
understood if such Names would not possess the kedushah usually associated with Divine Names. According to
Harav Yitzchak Elchanan Spektor Zatza”l (Ein Yitzchak, vol. 1, no. 5), this is indeed the case: according to him, a
Name written without intent of sanctity does not possess the kedushah of a Name.
The principle proof for this position is a ruling of Rambam (Yesodei Hatorah 6:8), which begins by prohibiting the
destruction of Scriptures, yet continues to state: "Of what is this said? Only of Scriptures that have been written by
a Jew, in holiness. However, a Jewish heretic who writes a Torah scroll, the scroll is burned with its Names, for he
does not believe in the sanctity of the Name, and it was not written for the sake of the Name, but believes that it is
like other matters. On account of this, the Name is not sanctified."
There might be room to distinguish between Names written by a heretic and Names written by a believing Jew, yet
without "intention of sanctity." However, several authorities have written that all Names that were not written
with the intention that they should be sanctified, are not sanctified. Apart from the above mentioned Ein Yaakov,
this is stated by Shev Yaakov (54, based on Rambam), and by several others (see Taz, Yoreh De'ah 276:2;
Maharashdam, Yoreh De'ah 186; Tashbatz, vol, 1, no. 176, among others).
Yet, several authorities dispute this position, maintaining that there is a full prohibition on erasing a Name even
when written without intention of sanctity—a position stated by Shach (Yoreh De'ah 276:12), as understood by Pri
Megadim (153, MZ 15). According to this opinion, the intention of the Sages who were concerned for disrespect of
Names in documents did not mean to imply that there is no concern for erasing of the Names. Rather, they
mentioned disrespect because this is the more common of the two, for it is not common for a person to erase a
document he receives.
However, according to the above authorities who maintain that there is no prohibition on erasing a Name that was
not written with the intention of sanctity, the Sages were specifically concerned for disrespect, and not for erasing,
for there would be prohibition on erasing a Name written merely as part of the date. Even for such a Name,
however, it remains forbidden to degrade the Name by disrespectful actions—an idea that can be seen from the
Netziv's Meishiv Davar (vol. 2, no. 80), who writes that there is no prohibition on erasing a Name that was not
written with sanctity, yet adds (based on the above Gemara) that disrespectful actions should be prevented.
Writing Beis Hei in Letters
According to the ruling that emerges from the said Gemara, it would seem that it is proper to avoid writing the
letters Beis Hei in a letter. This, indeed, is the basic opinion expressed in Iggros Moshe (vol. 2, Yoreh De'ah, no.
138), who writes that the letter Hei of the two‐letter combination is one of the letters that comprises the Holy
Name, and—as Ramo (276:10) rules concerning the writing of Hashem's Name as two letter Yud's—it is therefore
prohibited to erase it (without some important need). Likewise, it is forbidden to deride or show disrespect to the
Name, and this is good reason for avoiding the writing of the letters Beis Hei on letters.
Yet, Iggros Moshe continues to state that in America, there would be no prohibition on writing the letters Beis Hei,
because the chances of the letters being directly erased are slight, and even if discarded, the paper would be
burned rather than treated with disrespect, so that no prohibition would be transgressed. Nonetheless, he adds
that while it may not be prohibited to do so, he does not see a great virtue in mentioning the Divine Name at the
front of a letter pertaining to mundane matters of the world.
The point that can be questioned in Rav Moshe's reasoning is the assumption, made at the very outset of his
words, that the letter Hei of Beis Hei is one of the letter of the Holy Name. it is possible to suggest that the letter is
not taken from the Holy Name itself, but is rather short for the word "Hashem," in the expression "Baruch
Hashem" or "Be'ezras Hashem". The actual word Hashem (the name) possesses no kedushah, and, according to
this line of reasoning, there would therefore be no halachic problem in writing the letters Beis Hei at the front of
letters. The Ramo, as mentioned in Iggros Moshe, prohibits the erasing of the Name of Hashem as abbreviated by
two letter Yud's. In this case, the letter Yud's are actually extracted from the Holy Name—the first Yud is the first
letter of the Shem Havayah, and the other is the last letter of Adnus. In the case of Beis Hei, it is possible that the
letter Hei has no inherent connection with the Holy Name, and only means to hint at the word Hashem.
Yet, we find that Maratz Chajes (responsa, no. 11) also writes that in mentioning Hashem at the beginning of the
letter, one should avoid the letter Hei, and use the letter Dalet instead. It is possible, however, that the rulings of
the Maharatz Chajes and the Iggros Moshe denote a certain distinction between generations. In previous
generations, the letter Hei would imply not only the word Hashem, but would be written as one of the letters of
the Name. Today, however, the expressions "Baruch Hashem" and "Be'ezras Hashem" have become so
commonplace that anyone writing the abbreviation Beis Hei intends the Hei only as the word Hashem, and not as a
letter of the Holy Name itself—so that all poskim would concur that there is no concern over its writing.
Indeed, many present‐day authorities, as listed in the Tzitz Eliezer (vol. 22, no. 51), have ruled that there is no
concern for writing Beis Hei in letters, and that the letter Hei cannot be paralleled with the letters Yud Yud that
denote the Name itself. This (lenient) ruling has also been cited in the name of Harav Wosner Shlit”a.
It is noteworthy that the Iggros Moshe himself writes that the abbreviation for Be'ezras Hashem Yisborach, written
with the letter Shin after the Hei, is certainly permitted without any concern. The reason for this is that the
presence of the letter Shin demonstrates that the Hei is not taken from Hashem's Name, but only short for
Hashem.
Conclusion:
It emerges that according to a number of authorities, there is no concern for writing the letters Beis Hei at the
beginning of a letter, because the letter Hei is short for (the word) Hashem rather than being a letter out of the
letters of the Name itself. Even according to Iggros Moshe, it is permitted to write the letters in places where
disrespectful treatment of the letter is unlikely. In Israel, there may be concern for disrespect in the manner in
which garbage is disposed of, and according to the Iggros Moshe it would be forbidden to write the letters. For
someone who receives such a letter—in view of the dispute concerning the status of the letters—following the
advice given by a number of poskim (concerning newspapers with occasional quotes of verses) to wrap the
material in nylon before throwing it away, might be sufficient.
In addition, we have seen that there would not be a concern in beginning a letter with the mention of a Name
written in English—though once again, according to Rav Moshe there is no reason to do so.
The Basic Obligation of Giving Charity
1. An unmarried woman is obligated in giving charity (see Tzedakah U-Mishpat 1:19, and note 55). She is
obligated in charity just as all positive mitzvos that are not time-related. Tzedakah also incorporates Negative
Commandments for one who desists from giving charity.
2. For a married woman, however, even when she is the principle breadwinner of the household, the obligation of
giving charity reverts to the husband alone. This is because her income is the property of her husband.
3. It is permitted for a married woman to give a small amount of money to charity, in proportion to the wealth of
her husband. Such donations may be given even without her husband's explicit consent (Bava Kama 119a) Yam
Shel Shlomo (Bava Kana 10:59) explains that we assume the husband's agreement for a small donation.
Besha'ah Tovah
Everybody has a sha'ah tovah.
It might be a business deal.
It might be a shidduch.
It might be a treatment.
It might be an examination.
And it might be one of those key events
that touch our life and leave it forever
changed.
Time is time.
In times when all others are on
vacation, Torah study in Kollel
Choshen Mishpat continues unabated.
The flow of time (the zeman), and
with it the sweetness of Torah study,
rarely ceases (the learning schedule
continues as usual for two of the three
bein hazemanim weeks).
Time is time; hours are hours; minutes
are minutes. We aim to make the most
of them. All the time.
Rabbi Asher Flegg associate Rosh Hakollel will invoke tefillos on behalf of donors who
wish that their names be mentioned during Yom Kippur Kattan prayers at the Kosel on
erev Rosh Chodesh.