Muman why do Jews move their heads when praying, is it some sort of ritual. Why does Jewish people say G_D without the O.
Hello Irish Zionist,
I think you are referring to Shuckling, which is when we move back and forth during prayer. I myself do this too and the reason I learned to do this is based on the Psalm which says, "All of my Bones will say, Who is like you, Oh L-rd!"... What this means is that even our bones are able to praise G-d, and when we shake back and forth it is an expression of praise from our body. This is my explanation of this, but of course I will bring links and proofs of my explanation.
http://ohr.edu/ask_db/ask_main.php/142/Q1/
Burt Falkenstein wrote:
Dear Rabbi,
Why is it when we pray to Hashem, many people "shuckle" back and forth while others do not? Isn't it disrespectful to sway back and forth when we are "talking" in our own way to Hashem? Please explain this (I think) "custom." Is it truly disrespectful or is it something else? Thanks,
Dear Burt Falkenstein,
'Shuckling' - swaying back and forth during prayer and Torah study - is a legitimate custom. Several reasons are offered for this custom:
* The soul is akin to a flame. Just as a flame always flickers and strives upward, so too the soul is never still, constantly moving and striving to reach upward towards Hashem.
* Shaking allows you to pray with your whole body, as King David said "Let all my bones exclaim 'Hashem, who is like You!'"
* When we stand before Hashem in prayer, we tremble in awe of the King of Kings.
* The book of the Kuzari gives a historical explanation for 'shuckling.' He explains that shuckling originated during a period when there was a book shortage, and several people needed to study from the same book at the same time. To allow as many people as possible to study from one book, they would sway alternately back and forth. This allowed each person to look into the book and read a little bit, and when he swayed back, another person could sway forward and look into the book.
A valid alternative to shuckling is to stand completely still, like a soldier standing at attention in front of the king.
Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, zatzal, one of the foremost halachic authorities of our generation, was known to stand stock still during the silent prayer. He explained that, while living in Russia, he was once arrested for teaching Torah. One form of torture he experienced during his imprisonment was being forced to stand completely still facing a wall. The threat was that if he were to move he would be shot. It was on one of these occasions that Rabbi Feinstein was struck with the realization that if he could stand with such intense concentration for the sake of his captors, then he should afford at least the same respect when standing in front of Hashem.
Deciding whether to 'shuckle' or stand still depends on which one helps you concentrate better. In any case, a person shouldn't move his body or contort his face in any way that will make him look weird.
Regarding your second question... Hashem has commanded that we obliterate the names of foreign and strange gods, and never erase his name. In order to prevent the erasure of the name of Hashem, whenever we write a name {any of the primary names we use referring to the traits of Hashem} we will leave a letter out so that if anyone should ever erase it, it would not be a profanation of the name. While modern Rabbis have found that when we write on a computer screen we don't need to leave out letters because the name will not be erased... But if someone should print it out it may come to be erased, and thus it is a custom to leave off letters of any of G-ds names. Technically the word god is not a name of G-d, but it is when we refer to Hashem, so that word is often spelled with the missing O.
Here is a link which discusses the name of Hashem and the rules about not erasing it:
http://www.jewfaq.org/name.htm
Writing the Name of God
Jews do not casually write any Name of God. This practice does not come from the commandment not to take the Lord's Name in vain, as many suppose. In Jewish thought, that commandment refers solely to oath-taking, and is a prohibition against swearing by God's Name falsely or frivolously (the word normally translated as "in vain" literally means "for falsehood").
Judaism does not prohibit writing the Name of God per se; it prohibits only erasing or defacing a Name of God. However, observant Jews avoid writing any Name of God casually because of the risk that the written Name might later be defaced, obliterated or destroyed accidentally or by one who does not know better.
The commandment not to erase or deface the name of God comes from Deut. 12:3. In that passage, the people are commanded that when they take over the promised land, they should destroy all things related to the idolatrous religions of that region, and should utterly destroy the names of the local deities. Immediately afterwards, we are commanded not to do the same to our God. From this, the rabbis inferred that we are commanded not to destroy any holy thing, and not to erase or deface a Name of God.
It is worth noting that this prohibition against erasing or defacing Names of God applies only to Names that are written in some kind of permanent form, and recent rabbinical decisions have held that writing on a computer is not a permanent form, thus it is not a violation to type God's Name into a computer and then backspace over it or cut and paste it, or copy and delete files with God's Name in them. However, once you print the document out, it becomes a permanent form. That is why observant Jews avoid writing a Name of God on web sites like this one or in newsgroup messages: because there is a risk that someone else will print it out and deface it.
Normally, we avoid writing the Name by substituting letters or syllables, for example, writing "G-d" instead of "God." In addition, the number 15, which would ordinarily be written in Hebrew as Yod-Hei (10-5), is normally written as Teit-Vav (9-6), because Yod-Hei is a Name. See Hebrew Alphabet for more information about using letters as numerals.
Have a good week Irish Zionist, and may you be blessed!
MUMAN613
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