Tifereth Israel Congregation

Should We Spell “God”  With an “o” or a “-“ ?

The following are recent postings on the Tifereth Israel Listserv on the question of whether there is a Halachic requirement to spell “God” with a hyphen or dash as “G-d” so as to show respect or avoid taking the Lord’s name in vain.  Ray Natter started the conversation, prompting several comments.

“According to the Etz Hayim (page 444), there is no religious reason to hyphenate the word "God."  I have observed that both the hyphenated spelling and the un-hyphenated spelling have been used in TI communications.  Is there a TI rule or custom that should be followed?  Has there been any specific recommendation by Rabbi Seidel for the congregation?” - Ray Natter

“Like most TI rules, the rule is to do what you feel comfortable with.  I suspect most of the "G-D"s are copied from other sources.  The only defense I've seen of using G-D instead of God is when translating a work where different names are used, so yod heh vov heh would be "God" or "Lord" but a heh or dalet by itself would be "G-d".  In original material, or material originally in English, there's no reason to hyphenate; English is not lashon kodesh.” - Simcha Kuritsky

“I believe Rabbi Seidel does not hyphenate it, and has stated that it is only the Hebrew name that cannot be uttered or written.  I myself do hyphenate it because it reminds me of the inherent mystery of which I'm speaking, and that I don't really comprehend it. When we use the name casually--regardless of the language--I think it becomes too easy to think of G-d as some being alongside other beings, which to me is theologically unacceptable.  But you were asking about halachah, not Bailin's theological beliefs, so I'll stop right there!” - Sidney Bailin

“It’s mainly a matter of comfort.  Some people are really bothered by seeing the name spelled even in English.  I use G!d because I think it doesn't mean I am following a rule with no halachic basis but doesn't bother anyone who is disturbed by the full name. It originated with Art Waskow.  We had an interesting discussion on the NHC Summer Institute 2009 planning committee on the subject .  We changed the translation on the T-shirt to "Walking in Your ways" even though it is a less accurate translation because many people were bothered by spelling out the name and others by not spelling it out.” - Howard White

“A bit of humor to this--when Morris and I bought a picnic cooler labelled "GOTT", my mother said the name was a "problem".  I hadn't realized till that moment that of course she thought the "o" should be replaced by a dash/hyphen, in thinking in German!”- Naomi Freeman