This section will be devoted to Scriptural words and their meaning. We will not only establish the etymological roots of these words, but we will reveal how many English words are actually Hebrew words. Everything and anything you might want to know about the Hebrew language will be discussed and presented in this section.E-mail us if you want to know what a particular word is and we will be happy to post it here for all to read. If you are interested in it, maybe many others are, too.
VainOne of the most well known commandments listed among the big Ten is to not bear the name of God in vain (Sh'mot 20:7). But what does it mean to take the name of God in vain? Well, most Hebrew lexicons take this rather abstract English word and define it from the Hebrew word shav' as empty, vanity or nothingness, which indeed are three more abstract words. This is why we debate with each other so much on this subject. This word is also related to destruction or to waste. The Hebrew word is a shin, a waw, and an aleph. I submit to you that one of its closest cognates helps us to put this word into a concrete context. The word is shavah or shin, waw, heh. This word is used in Biblical and modern times to describe a field being leveled. It is a picture of taking a plot of ground and grading it so it is all equal and on the same level. It is the Hebrew word used to equalize or level out something. I submit to you that this commandment is teaching us not to use His name in the same way we use other names, to make it common or on the same level as other names. Let us be careful not to throw His name around like some new cliche or the latest hairdo.
Shalom Alecheim!
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