While modern day Judaism avoids saying the Divine Name, it wasn't always
this way. The earliest ban on speaking the Name applied only to public and
non-Hebrew use of the Name - it was still used in private prayers for many years
in Judaism. Today that has changed. But many ancient writings in
Jewish history attest to this fact, and at http://www.messiahalive.com/thename.htm I
have posted a teaching that goes through a number of ancient Hebrew writings,
most of which have never been translated into English, to show you that within
Judaism, no one debated on THE way to say the Divine Name. Instead,
they spoke of "Mastering the Name". What's that about?
The answer to how to say the Divine Name is "It
Depends". If you're praising His eternalness, one set of vowels can be
used to pronounce YHWH so as to say "He Will Be The One Who Is". Another
set of vowels can be used to pronounce YHWH so as to mean "He Who Causes To
Be". You might use that pronunciation when you're asking G-d to change
your circumstances. In ancient Judaism, one was taught multiple
pronunciations. You would learn a pronunciation, learn what it meant, and
learn what circumstances it would be appropriate to use it in. Once you
master one pronunciation, you move onto learning the next. There was no
THE way to say "YHWH" and debates over that ONE WAY to say it, but discussion
over the multitude of ways to say it. That's the Hebrew mindset of
pronouncing the Name. The idea that there is only one way to say it is
based on an English mindset stemming from the fact that all English names have
one and only one pronunciation.
There's over 20,000 ways vowels can be inserted into "YHWH",
but the largest claim I've heard as to which ones are valid is 86. So
99.6% of the ways the Divine Name can be spoken are understood to be
invalid. Thus, learning the valid pronunciations requires studying what
Judaism has recorded in ancient Hebrew writings on how to say the Name, what it
means, and when to use it.
The idea that there is more than one way to say the Name is
too complicated for some people. They like things simple. Don't make
people like that think too much. To the Scholar, the depths of the
multitude of ways that Hebrew history records on how to say the Divine Name. But
G-d is not simple, so His ways can leave the simple minded man confused.
That's why Judaism teaches the general public not to say the Name, and
therefore, not to worry about it. It's a teaching towards the lowest
common denominator. However, many rabbis wrote books mostly to an audience
of other rabbis (and not for circulation to the public) thta analyzed the Divine
Name at a deeper level than what was taught to the public.
So if you're the kind of guy that likes everything simple,
doesn't like to think, and prefers sermons from men who tell you what you
already know so you can shout "Amen to that brother" - well - this lesson isn't
for you. It might be it bit complicated. So just avoid saying the
Name so you don't say it wrong, since some pronunciations of the Divine Name
made blasphemous statements. Certain sets of vowels to "YHWH" will cause
you to say "He Who is Evil" or "He Who Has Become" or other blasphemous
things. But if you want to learn the depths of what is in store for you
spiritually and the full mystery of the Divine Name, go to http://www.messiahalive.com/thename.htm where
you can find out what the ancient rabbis recorded IN HEBREW in books which have
mostly not been translated into English have said on this topic.
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Video Part 1: Halachah on the Name.
This is an editted version of my old teaching, but with new
slides that have been added to make visual affect better.
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Video Part 2: Pronouncing the Name.
Here's the New Stuff where I
dig into what the Rabbis have recorded about how to pronounce the Divine Name
from a lot of ancient Hebrew writings, most of which have never been
translated into English. In this video I show you from what the rabbis
have written numerous pronunciations that have been accepted as valid, what
they mean, etc.
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PDF: I used this to record
some stuff not fit for Video format. The Video also contains some info
not as well suited for written text form. The PDF includes a translation
of SEGULAH NIFLAH from Shulcan Aruch that will blow your
mind and destroy a lot of theology you have been taught wrongly about the
Divine Name.
You're going to want to read/listen/view all of it at least
once. You probably won't be able to resist forwarding this to your friends
- particularly since the proof of it is so overwhelming! Enjoy, and feel
free to write me with your thoughts and opinions after reviewing the
material. This teaching will definite be a game changer for many
people!