[HANASHIR:12259] Re: question on words. one word, actually.

[Marge Eiseman/Andrew Muchin <amme...>]

I'm in an interesting place on this question, too. I accepted a job
teaching music in an Orthodox Jewish day school, I co-lead the choir at
the Community Jewish Day School and I also teach 4th grade at a Reform
supplemental school. When I lead "Sing Praises" in one place, I
consciously substitute HaShem and HalleluKah, and in the others I sing
it as written. This is getting pretty tricky, but I'm trying to make the
adjustment to be respectful of the minhag shel makom.

I think part of the issue is what happens to the written Name (when it's
disposed of, does it get thrown away or buried in a geniza?) So, for
some, to alter the name when writing makes sense. I remember getting a
letter to Jewish Heartland magazine after we had printed a short primer
on "Brachot to say in Nature" and being told that we couldn't throw away
any copies because we had written the tetragrammaton! It's a
responsibility to safeguard the name.

I have an issue with what is the meaning of taking the Name in vain? If
I feel that every time I'm singing a song with G!d's name in it, I'm
trying to connect my self to G!d, then it shouldn't be a problem to use
one of Gd's names. But, in deference to the rabbis in the Orthodox
school, I'm not pushing it.

Keep this thread going -- it's great!

-- Marge Eiseman
"We Are All Connected: Songs to Lift the Spirit"
available at www.cdbaby.com/eiseman

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