When Hashem appeared to Moshe at the Burning Bush to send him to Egypt to redeem the Jewish people, Moshe asked “when they (the Jewish people) say to me, ‘what is His Name?’, what shall I say to them?”. Hashem responded אהי-ה אשר שהי-ה “I Shall Be What I Shall Be.”
The Midrash explains the meaning of this response. Hashem said to Moshe, “You wish to know My Name? I am called according to My deeds... When I judge the creations, I am called אלקים. When I wage war against the wicked, I am called צבאות. When I suspend the sins of man, I am called א-ל שד-י. When I have mercy on My world, I am called י-ה-ו-ה. This is the meaning of the answer “I Shall Be What I Shall Be”, meaning that I am not limited to a specific Name, and according to How I act, I shall be known.
There are 7 Divine Names that possess sanctity and may not be erased. One who erases them violates a Torah prohibition. The Rambam lists the 7 Names as;
- י-ה-ו-ה אדנ-י (counted as 1)
- א-ל
- אל-הים
- אלו-ה
- אהי-ה
- צבאות
- שד-י
The loftiest of the Names is the Name י-ה-ו-ה. This Name is referred to as the שם המפורש – the Explicit Name, or the שם המיוחד, “the Unique Name”. Because of its holiness, we do not pronounce this Name as it is written. One who does so, does not have a portion in the World to Come. Instead, it is pronounced Ado-nai, as though it was written י-אדנ. The other Names are pronounced as they are written.
The Intention of the Names in Davening
When we use any of these Names in Davening and Brachos, they are all referring to G-d Himself, the Master and Creator of the World. This is the general Kavanah that we have when referring to Hashem with any of the Names. However, the Shulchan Aruch rules that one must have the specific Kavanah of the specific Name being used as it appears in Davening.
When reciting the Name י-ה-ו-ה, we are supposed to have 2 intentions in mind; the Kavanah of the Name as it is pronounced אדנ-י and of the way it is written י-ה-ו-ה.
The Kavanah of the Name אדנ-י is that He is the Master (Adon) of everything. The Kavanah of the Name י-ה-ו-ה is a composite of היה הוה ויהיה, “was, is and will be”, representing how Hashem is above and unlimited by time. When the Name is written אדנ-י, one only needs to have the Kavanah of Mastership.
The Kavanah of the Name אלקים is that He is Mighty, all capable and possess all powers. Whilst the Shulchan Aruch only mentions the Kavanah for these 3 Names, the Poskim write that one should also have in mind the Kavanah reflected in the meaning of the other Names.
The Name א-ל refers to strength and power. The Name שד-י means that Hashem’s G-dliness and Kingship is sufficient(די) to sustain all creations (Midrash). The Name צבאות shows how Hashem rules over the hosts of Heaven and the angels.
Visualisations of the Kavanos
According to the Mekubalim, the way in which one has the two Kavanos of the Names י-ה-ו-ה and אדנ-י is by integrating the two Names together. This is done by thinking of the Divine Name as if it were written יאהדונהי, written with the first letter of the Name י-ה-ו-ה followed by the first letter of אדנ-י, with the same pattern repeated for the remaining 3 letters of each Name. This concept is known as Shiluv – integrating and reflects the unity of Hashem.
Some write that during the daytime, the Kavanah should be by placing the letters of י-ה-ו-ה before the letters of אדנ-י (as explained above). At night, one orders the letters of אדנ-י before י-ה-ו-ה. This would be depicted as אידהנויה. The difference is because י-ה-ו-ה is a masculine attribute, which is associated with day, and אדנ-י is a feminine attribute, associated with night. Based on the Tikkunim, others write that there is no difference in the Kavana for day or night.
Another Kabbalistic Kavana when saying the Name י-ה-ו-ה is to visualise the letters of the Name י-ה-ו-ה and when visualizing the last ה, they should also visualise and have the Kavanah of the Name י-אדנ.
In order to have these Kavanos correctly in mind, Kaf Hachaim recommends writing out these two visualisations on a paper that should be looked at during Davening. He notes that Siddurim have now been printed with these visualisations printed at each place where the Name י-ה-ו-ה is used in Davening and that it would be praiseworthy to use such a Siddur. Some Siddurim also print the Kavanah of the meaning of the Names as well. Kaf Hachaim adds that one should tremble with awe when saying Hashem’s Name.
The Vowelisation of the Divine Name
The Name י-ה-ו-ה does not have specific vowels. It is usually printed with the vowels יְּ -הֹ -ו -ה - the vowels of the Name י-אדנ. The Zohar teaches that the intention of the Name changes according to the vowels, suggesting that the Name can be written with different vowelisations to represent different Kavanos.
There is a Kabbalistic practice to visualize the Name י-ה-ו-ה with its vowels. According to the teachings of the Ariza”l, the vowelisation of the Name י-ה-ו-ה at the conclusion of each of the middle blessings of the Amidah changes to reflect the Sefira to which the blessing corresponds. For example, the Bracha of חונן הדעת corresponds to the Sefira of Chochma which is connected to the vowel Patach. Therefore, the י-ה-ו-ה at the end of the Bracha has a Patach under each letter. The chart below depicts the various blessings, their Sefira and Nekuda.
The Kavanos brought in Shulchan Aruch must Lechatchilah be followed by everyone. With regards to the Kabbalistic Kavanos, there is much debate as to whether they are appropriate and to whom they apply. The Alter Rebbe did not include in his Siddur any of the visualisations or changes to the print of the vowelisation of the Divine Name.
In Hayom Yom, the Rebbe writes “For those incapable of meditating on those Kavanos... it is sufficient that they keep one general Kavana in mind: That his prayer be heard by G-d, with all the Kavanos described in the Kabbalistic writings.
