[HANASHIR:8455] Digest 1164: The Name

[ItaSara <ItaSara...>]

I was brought up  Reform in the Midwest, so Reform that  I never even knew 
the word HaShem. If I did hear it now and then, I had no idea what it meant, 
not until I moved to upstate NY where I found the Reform community more a 
mixture of many different backgrounds. 10 years ago, I was part of a group 
that started The Rochester Jewish Chorale, and that is when I really was 
educated about the use of euphamisms. But we are part of the Jewish 
Community, and most of our singer, I would say, are not Reform and we sing 
for people of different denominations. So out of respect, we use the word Adom
ai or EloKeinu and sometimes Hashem. If we are singing in a prayer type 
situation, we do not use the euphomisms. If the program is at a synagogue and 
there is a question what we should do, then we usually consult the cantor or 
rabbi at that institution. If it is just a concert for performance sake, then 
we do use the euphomisms.

Ellen Lerner
Rochester, Ny

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