Hebrew is a language that carries a deep reverence to God. The frequently used phrase, ba•ruch ha•Shem, attests to this dramatically.
Literally, the phrase ba•ruch ha•Shem says: ‘blessed be God.’ As such, it is actually a blessing. However, the use of this phrase has become the most frequent expression in Hebrew which also means: ‘Everything is just fine.’ The deep reverence is revealed here because it actually suggests that for everything to be fine we need to praise God and we need His blessings. Furthermore, since ba•ruch ha•Shem is the answer to the question: ““How are you doing?” and “How are you?” it also suggests that whatever the answer may be, we still praise God.
‘Baruch’ means ‘blessed’ and ‘Ha•shem’ means the ‘Lord’ or ‘God.’ But even the mere word, ‘Baruch,’ comes from the word ‘be-rech,’ which means ‘a knee.’ This is what we really do in the Hebrew mindset when we refer to God: we are kneeling before Him. The Hebrew expression reminds us where we are in relation to Him.
Although when we say ‘ha•Shem’ we mean God, the word ‘shem,’ ‘name,’ becomes a reference to a very unique name (and therefore it is capitalized in English), and it becomes: ‘The Name.’ This is a reference, the Hebraic way of reverence to the Creator instead of using His actual name. Why so? Mainly because of the commandment:
‘You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain’
Since nobody knows the exact boundaries of ‘in vain,’ the reverent Jew prefers to use a substitute name when not actually praying.
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