Respecting the Name of G-d

chillul Ha-Shem and kiddush Ha-Shem

The term "Ha-Shem" means "The Name" and is a direct reference to G-d. Any act or expression that causes disrespect to either G-d or Judaism is often referred to as "chillul Ha-Shem" or profanation of The Name of G-d.

Obviously, we are not discussing damage done to a word but to the Reputation represented by the word being used. Following the same concept, any act or expression that increases the respect given to G-d or Judaism is "kiddush Ha-Shem" or sanctification of The Name.

Within certain schools of thought in Judaism, any print or object bearing the Name of G-d is considered to be due the full respect that one would extend to Deity. No written or printed page bearing the Name of G-d can be destroyed or discarded but should be stored carefully and kept safe.

It should be noted that with the dawning of the age of electronic communications, certain rabbi's have ruled that the concerns against writing the Name of G-d only extends to forms of writing that render a permanent image. Thus, writing G-d's Name on the surface of the water and seeing it dissipate causes no offense. The same would be true of writing G-d's Name in electronic form.

With this understanding there is no offense in typing a Name and then deleting it, or in cut-and-paste operations. It has become, though, the habit of many to alter the spelling of a Name or Title of G-d (such as G-d instead of God) to protect against the chance that someone might print this page, making the printing a permanent image of G-d's Name and then destroying or discarding the page without realizing the negativity of the action.

This thought is often extended to all Names of G-d in all forms.