Q: How does Judaism view the relationship between people and God?

A: Our tradition reflects the view that humans are created in the image of God. Many interpretations have been proffered to explain this notion, including that humans have a capacity for morality and gratitude, unlike other animals, that they have an insight into the world that is unlike other species and closer to God's, and that they have a sense of self and relationship which is God-like. Tradition holds that humans have free will, meaning that they choose their own actions. This entails great responsibility.

The Talmud teaches that within each person is a Yetzer Tov (inclination to do good) and a Yetzer Ra (inclination to do evil). At all times, we are aware of the correct course of action as well as tempted by the wrong course of action. These struggle within us, as we struggle to make the correct behavioral decisions. Judaism does not promulgate dogma about God, but does limit legitimate Jewish belief to say that there is only ONE God, and that God is incorporeal. Throughout the ages, many scholars, sages, and philosophers have share a wide variety of ideas about God, all of which are legitimate by Jewish standards. As for the relationship between God and the individual, it is one spoken of by metaphor: king/subject, parent/child, shepherd/sheep, lover/beloved, and so on. Each individual's relationship with God is unique and deeply personal.

Written by Rabbi Amy Scheinerman, Columbia, MD

Q: What are the names for God that is used in the Hebrew Bible?

A: There are many different names for God in the Hebrew Bible, or the Tanach. These include YHVH, Adonai, El, Elohim, El Shaddai. In addition, God is called by many epithets - YHVH Tzvaot (Lord of Hosts), Tzur (Rock), etc. The epithets reflect the different ways we relate to and think of God in different times and in different situations. The various names of God probably also reflect this, but historically also probably reflect an assimilation or adoption of various Canaanite and other cultic gods into the persona of the Israelite God.

Etymologically, the meanings and origins of the names of God are a complex and difficult subject. The standard scholarly dictionary for Biblical studies, "A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament," by Brown, Driver and Briggs, assumes that Elah is the root of El, possibly of Elohim, but writes that perhaps El and Elohim come from different roots, El coming from a root meaning `strong', and Elohim from a root meaning `be in front of', so that El is God the Strong One, whereas Elohim is God the leader (the one who goes in front). But theories vary. Perhaps Elohim comes from Eloha and has the root meaning of `fear'. YHVH seems to come from the root HVH - `to be' - and has the meaning `the one who is', but again, this is a matter of some speculation.

Written by Rabbi Bonnie Margulis, the Clergy Outreach Coordinator for the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice

Q: I know that there is a prohibition against erasing the name of God. Given today's technology and the widespread usage of computers, how is that prohibition being interpreted?

A: The advent of the information age, and the proliferation of computers as a medium of communication and study raises questions which our tradition could not have anticipated, yours among them. Nonetheless there is a body of discussion on the subject of destroying the Name of God that is helpful in approaching this most modern issue. An overview of the traditional issue from the Reform perspective is found in CURRENT REFORM RESPONSA, edited by the late Solomon Freehof, and published by HUC Press in 1969. Your local Rabbi or synagogue may have a copy.

I have not seen a more recent discussion, though the Computer Committee of the Central Conference of American Rabbis may be discussing the issue. The prohibition of destroying God's name stems from a passage in Dt. 12:3-4, where we are commanded to obliterate the names of idols, "but you shall not do so to the Name of the Lord your God." Through the centuries, the rabbis expanded the prohibition to include the Name of God (YHVH) in all sacred writings. But they created exceptions to the rule. Two of them, in my opinion, apply directly to your question.

First, the Mishnah (Shabbat 12:4) concludes that writing done with any material that does not endure is not actually writing. The Name of God created in such a way could thus be erased without violating the law. Since electronic images are not permanent, they are only digitized electronic impulses, and thus are not actually writing as the sages defined it, erasing the Name of God from a computer screen or disk would not violate halakhah. Second, the rabbis debated whether the prohibition of erasing God's Name applies when the Name appears in a text which has not been consecrated for a religious purpose. Citing the SHULCHAN ARUCH and a number of later halakhic works, Rabbi Freehof concludes: "It is the opinion of many of the earlier and later authorities that no sin is committed by erasing a Name which we know for certain was not consciously consecrated.

Again, this all applies to the Shem Ham'forash, the Tetragrammaton Yod Hey Vov Hey. It seems to me that both of these principles apply to the Name of God "written" on the computer. Electronic images are temporary and not writing at all. as halakhah defines writing; and the Name of God in the computer, I presume, has not been consciously consecrated. Under these circumstances, erasure of the Name would not be a violation of Jewish law.

Written by Rabbi Lewis C. Littman, Temple Bat Yam, Fort Lauderdale, FL.