HaSchem
HaSchem ( Hebrew הַשֵּׁם 'The name' ) is a common name in Judaism for God .
background
In order not to contravene the third commandment “You shall not abuse the name of the LORD your God” ( Ex 20.7 EU ), it has become commonplace in Judaism to use the name of God ( YHWH ) and the “ Adonai ” used for it in Jewish worship “Not to pronounce. Instead, substitute words are used that describe either one of the attributes of God ("The Eternal", "The Almighty", "The Merciful", "The Holy One, blessed be he") or, e.g. B. When quoting, simply state that at this point in the sentence “the name” (i.e., the name of God) is: “HaSchem”.
How the actual name of God - given in the Hebrew Bible (the Tanach ) with the letters YHWH - is pronounced is no longer known. Already at the time of the Jerusalem Temple, it was stipulated that it could only be pronounced once a year (on Yom Kippur ) by the high priest in connection with the ceremony in the Holy of Holies. After the destruction of the Herodian Temple in 70, the knowledge of the pronunciation of the name was lost.