As a general rule, practicing Jews do not write the name God due to the laws imparted by Moses found in Deuteronomy 12:3-12:4. In this passage, Jews are instructed to destroy anything associated with their rivals’ gods, and they are not to let that happen to their own God. Writing “Do” instead of “God” is one way to prevent others from destroying the name of God.
Jews interpret the law given by Moses as prohibiting the recording of God’s name because they believe that if the name is recorded on a piece of paper, there is a possibility that it will somehow be disrespected or destroyed. The general concern with writing the name in its true form is that it might get rubbed off, defaced by being rubbed off or scrawled on, torn up, thrown in the trash, or trashed in some other way. Writing “Gd” instead effectively communicates the writer’s idea, but since the word is incomplete, there is no risk of disfigurement. Jews have other names for their creator, including Hashem, YHVH, Elohim, and El Shaddai, and even these are not written in their full form.
There are, however, exceptions to the prohibition of writing “God.” Jews believe that it is sometimes acceptable to write “God” when there is no likelihood of the written word being defaced. This includes the written form in the Torah, which is the Hebrew Bible, which is also found in the first five books of the Christian Bible. Writing the name is not prohibited when it is done with care, foresight and respect.
Due to the advent of technology that did not exist when this law was written, the Jewish community, after careful consideration, has decided that it is acceptable to write God’s name on a computer, as long as it is not printed on a form. The rabbis decided that deleting the name on a computer, even if not encouraged, is not a violation of the commandment.
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