Hashem . . . 

The God of Israel has a proper name. There is no fact in Jewish theology more significant than this.

     With these words, Michael Wyschogrod cuts to the heart of the Jewish theological tradition. Ultimately, all Jewish theology is meditation and reflection on the mystery of the Divine Name. 

     That Name is the Tetragrammeton – the sacred four Hebrew letters that were pronounced only in the Jerusalem temple, only on the Day of Atonement, and only by the High Priest. When the biblical text is read in synagogue, that Name is pronounced Adonai – “my Lord.” When it is employed in daily conversation, one simply says Hashem – “the Name.”

     This practice conveys two messages. On the one hand, God remains an eternal mystery, hidden behind a heavenly veil. On the other hand, the infinite One has a proper name, and thus a personal identity. God is an “I” and a “You” rather than an “it.” By revealing those four letters to Israel, God grants access to the divine “I,” who may now be addressed as “You.”   

     The Greek word for God – Theos – corresponds to the Hebrew Elohim. In both languages, the term is generic – it can refer to the God of Israel, or to the gods of the nations. It describes a class or category of being – like human, animal, plant, or mineral. In contrast, the sacred four letters constitute a proper name. I am a human, but my name is Mark. The One who speaks to Israel is divine, but this divinity also has a name – the Name. 

     In a literal sense, traditional Jews do not engage in theology. Instead, we practice Hashem-ology. We meditate and reflect on the “I” who has spoken to the people of Israel, that we might be privileged to address this “I” as “You.”

     For Messianic Jews, the case is no different. Our “theology” must also be “Hashem-ology.” Yeshua does not transcend the particularistic “tribal” divinity of the Jews and reveal a universal generic rationality. Instead, Yeshua is the High Priest of Israel who not only pronounces the divine Name but embodies it in his person. In him we encounter the divine Name in all its mystery, power, and personal intimacy.     

     Yet, Yeshua also fulfills Israel’s priestly vocation by making this Name known to all the nations, and indeed to all creation. Thus begins the story of Christian theology. At times this story has involved a concerted effort to bypass Hashem-ology – to meditate and reflect on a generic and universal Theos rather than a particular Hashem. But that has not always been the case, nor need it be the case. 

     The authentic voice of Jewish theology ringing out through Messianic Jews will enrich both the Christian world and the wider Jewish world. That voice will proclaim that true Christian theology must be rooted in Hashem-ology. It will also make clear that the Name above every name is borne, revealed, and glorified by a crucified and resurrected Jew, who longs to pronounce that Name among his people.