Hashem

Jewish usage

In Judaism, HaShem (lit. 'the Name') is employed to refer to God when not in prayer, in which the term Adonai ("my master") is used. This is to avoid pronouncing God's name casually, a practice rooted in one of the Ten Commandments.

Maimonides writes:

Therefore, if because of a slip of the tongue, one mentions [God’s] name in vain, he should immediately hurry to praise, glorify and venerate it, so that it will not have been mentioned in vain. What is implied? If he mentions God’s name, he should say: “Blessed be He for all eternity,” “He is great and exceedingly praiseworthy,” or the like, so that it will not have been [mentioned entirely] in vain.}}

This led to God's name being replaced with the title, Hashem.

A popular expression containing this phrase is Baruch HaShem, meaning "Thank God" (literally, 'Blessed be the Name').

People with the given name

• Hashem Aghajari (born 1957), Iranian historian
• Hashem Akbari (born 1949), Iranian-American professor at Concordia University
• Hashem Akbarian (1897–1971), Iranian wrestler
• Mirza Hashem Amoli (1899–1993), Iranian ayatollah
• Hashem Beikzadeh (born 1984), Iranian footballer
• Hashem Kolahi (1956-2024), Iranian Olympic wrestler
• M. Hashem Pesaran (born 1946), British-Iranian economist
• Hashem Safieddine (1964–2024), Lebanese Shia cleric and Hezbollah militant leader
• Mohammad Hashem Taufiqui (1942–2021), Afghan politician

People with the surname

• Abdullah Hashem (born 1983), Egyptian-American religious leader and founder of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light
• Ibrahim Hashem (1888–1958), Jordanian lawyer and politician
• Nadia Hashem (died 2023), Jordanian journalist and politician

Tribes with the given name

References

1. [https://www.chabad.org/torah-texts/973874/Mishneh-Torah-Rambam/Sefer-Haflaah/Shvuot/Shvuot-Chapter-12#v11 Mishneh Torah, Laws of Oaths 12:11]
2. "What Does Hashem Mean?".
3. Greenbaum, Elisha. "Thank G-d!".