07/28/2023
I read this today and I don't ever want to forget it. "There was a moment in time when Moses had the courage to ask God what his name is. God answered, and the name he gave is recorded in the original Hebrew text as YHWH. Over the centuries, humans have arbitrarily added an "a" and an "e" in there to get YaHWeH. Presumably bc we have a preference for vowels. But scholars and Rabi's have noted that the letters YHWH represent breathing sounds, or asperated consonants. When pronounced without intervening vowels, it actually sounds like breathing. YH(inhale): WH(exhale). Perhaps this is why YHWH was considered an unspeakable name...bc quite literally it is not supposed to be spoken, but breathed. So from our first breath to our last, we are speaking the name of God. It's no wonder when we hold our breath in fear, we are told to take a deep breath to help calm us down. And it's not a coincidence that we often take a deep breath to help muster up courage. YHWH has given us His name as our very breath of life."