Question for Jews regarding respectful handling of HaShem?

Question

First: I am an atheist, not a Jew, but desperately need some Jewish insight.

About seven months ago, without adequate forethought, I scribed the Shema onto my dry erase board at work (and ended up asking about it then: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AoC3iaus5vMVqkPPrioGCTZIzKIX?qid=20061229130224AAHTwSl ). I did so in response to research I had done on Mezzuzah, and found the custom strangely clicked with me despite my religious non-belief. As per the best answer to that question, I've simply left it on my board all this time, and have carefully repaired HaShem if it was damaged or partially erased (often by careless cleaning staff, I assume).

It has never been completely erased.

However, I find myself in a bind. In the next few weeks, I will likely be moving to a new job. I will not be able to repair or protect the writing.

Would it be more respectful to proactively erase it, or, to allow whoever replaces me to choose what to do with it?

'me':

Because I was not aware that today was a High Holy Day. D'oh!

LadySuri:

Thank you for your many corrections.

To be specific, I penned it in Hebrew, using the Tetragrammaton. It is for this reason I wish to show the utmost respect. Though I am an atheist, I appreciate the significance of this writing to many people and thus wish to show due respect for it.

LadySuri:

You mention changing it to another word, and I seem to remember that, like the scroll which enlivened the Golem of Prague ('Truth' to 'death' if I remember the legend correctly), a one letter change can also turn the Tetragrammaton into another word.

Is this so and if so, which letter (right to left, as its in Hebrew) would do so?

By the way, to those who have answered honestly, please know that I have not been the one giving the thumbs down. I do not know who it is, but I think it important you know it is not me. I truly appreciate your insights, as the more insight I have, the better I can choose my next course of acton.

LadySuri:

I have to put in two weeks notice, I can wait. Please get back with me here or via email when convienent.

Answer 1

I spoke to a major jewish law decisor and he said that it would be better to leave it up and let someone else erase it if they decide to. The reasoning probably would be that a person shouldn't erase it and you don't really know who is going to move into your office, maybe it will be a jew. If you want to name of who I asked please just ask.

PS- The previous person wrote that maybe you could change a letter so it ended up spelling something else, this will only work in a case where it is not G-d's name

Answer 2

This issue was dealt with by HaRav Moshe Feinstein zts"l in his responsa. Generally- he says to try and avoid writing the name of God in full in a physical medium (he doesn't have an issue with electronic media since by its nature it is continually erased and rewrittne- at least 50 times per second, the minimum monitor refresh rate). However, when the name is written in a medium that is inherently temporary and by its nature is going to be erased, there is not an issue in writing it. There is a story told of a Rabbi in a Yeshivah that started his lecture on this by walking into a classroom, writing the name of God onto the board, and then erasing it- very demonstrably illustrating the point! (He then went on to say why it was ok to do so)

So, it would appear that it is ok to erase it since it was never meant to be permanent. However, the problem with many whiteboards is that if something is left on for long enough- it does become permanent and requires special solvents to clean it. as such- it would be better to erase and rewrite it occassionally so that it does not become permanent.

One additional note: If it was written in english, or transliterated hebrew- most authorities hold that the writing does not contain any holiness and thus can be erased freely. This is why many Orthodox websites spell God with the "o" instead of a dash, since in english there is no holiness to the writing. Some authorities (though they are the minority) go so far as to say that only dagesh letters (the writing used in the Torah) are holy- and even the name of God, written in modern hebrew letters, is not holy and can be erased. However, this is a minority opinion and NOT followed by most Orthodox Jews.

Answer 3

Tisha B'Av is not a high holiday, and it is not a yom tov...but you still probably wouldn't have found most of us on the computer, rather many of us try to sleep away our hunger *wink*

Anyways. What did you write? Shma Yisrael Ad-nai? or Shma Yisrael HaShem?

If you wrote HaShem, it's bli shem HaShem, meaning without the sacred name of G-d, and it is okay to erase, albiet thoughtfully. If you wrote G-d's sacred name, it is preferable that you do not erase it at all, but seeing as this is not possible, it would be best to erase it with thought and reflection than to leave it for a later teacher to erase it unknowingly. If it were written in Hebrew, your best point of action would be to change the name so that it spells something else, and then erase it. In English, that's not so easy--but maybe you could try doing that? Then you can erase it without an issue.

Thank you so much for treating this manner so respectfully
Peace to you

Edit:
What you can do is change the hey's (ה) to quofs (ק) by extending the little key line down. This does not make a new word and in essence "draws on" G-d's name--but it is still better than outright erasing it. If you can wait a day for your answer, I can consult my rabbi. If you cannot wait a day, I think that as a Jew, the best course of action for me to take would be to change the name and reverently erase it, as opposed to letting someone who doesn't know carelessly erase it, but this is just my thought. Someone else might say the other way is better, in which case you will have to make the decision yourself. It is a sticky situation but as long as you go about either path with respect, I am sure no one will think any the worse of you for it.

But, if you can wait a day, I will ask my rabbi for you and give you his answer tomorrow.

Peace

Alright the rabbi says:
Squeeze a dalet between the hey and the yud so the word says Yehuda instead of G-d's name.
dalet looks like this, in case you didn't already know:
ד
After it says yehuda you can safely erase it worry-free :-)

Answer 4

Interesting question. Personally, I think you should just erase it. You're not a kosher scribe, so there's nothing really sacred about your writing, even of HaShem. Besides, just leaving it for the next person strikes me as sort of contrary to Judaism, which encourages action.

If you have any real doubts, call your local rabbi.

Answer 5

Your friend ask ya to do it when he wasn't in the building, he didn't ask ya to save it forever. Right? I read your old question. So why not erase it when he wasn't in the building like today. He wasn't at work today was he. And why the heck are you asking that question on Tishu B'av a day in which anybody with any clue about this would not be on the internet?

Answer 6

Consult with the Rabbi.