Machshavaמחשבה

The Forty-Two Letter Name of God

These sources discuss the forty-two letter divine name, a mystical appellation transmitted only to those meeting specific spiritual criteria. The sources address the name's guarded nature and the qualifications required for its transmission.

שֵׁם בֶּן אַרְבָּעִים וּשְׁתַּיִם אוֹתִיּוֹת אֵין מוֹסְרִין אוֹתוֹ אֶלָּא לְמִי שֶׁצָּנוּעַ

3 sources · 2 verified

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What the sources say

The Gemara rules that the forty-two-letter name may be transmitted only to one who meets a cluster of demanding moral qualifications — he must be discreet, humble, at least halfway through his life, free from anger, free from drunkenness, and willing to yield his own rights — as the Gemara (Kiddushin 71a) states explicitly.

The same passage in Kiddushin 71a promises that whoever knows the name and guards it in purity becomes beloved above and below, inspires awe in all creatures, and inherits both this world and the World-to-Come, underscoring the extraordinary weight attached to this name.

Source 1 · Chazal
Verified

Kiddushin 71a

קידושין ע״א א — ד"ה אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה אָמַר רַב

Kiddushin 71a:13

The Gemara there records teachings about the divine name, including traditions of hidden pronunciation and transmission. It is a foundational rabbinic source for the guarded nature of God's name.

אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה אָמַר רַב: שֵׁם בֶּן אַרְבָּעִים וּשְׁתַּיִם אוֹתִיּוֹת אֵין מוֹסְרִין אוֹתוֹ אֶלָּא לְמִי שֶׁצָּנוּעַ וְעָנָיו, וְעוֹמֵד בַּחֲצִי יָמָיו, וְאֵינוֹ כּוֹעֵס, וְאֵינוֹ מִשְׁתַּכֵּר, וְאֵינוֹ מַעֲמִיד עַל מִדּוֹתָיו. וְכׇל הַיּוֹדְעוֹ, וְהַזָּהִיר בּוֹ וְהַמְשַׁמְּרוֹ בְּטׇהֳרָה – אָהוּב לְמַעְלָה, וְנֶחְמָד לְמַטָּה, וְאֵימָתוֹ מוּטֶּלֶת עַל הַבְּרִיּוֹת, וְנוֹחֵל שְׁנֵי עוֹלָמִים – הָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה וְהָעוֹלָם הַבָּא.

Rav Yehuda says that Rav says: The forty-two-letter name of God may be transmitted only to one who is discreet, and humble, and stands at at least half his life, and does not get angry, and does not get drunk, and does not insist upon his rights but is willing to yield. There is no concern that such a person might reveal the name in a fit of anger or drunkenness. And anyone who knows this name and is careful with it and guards it in purity is beloved above and treasured below; and fear of him is cast upon the creatures; and he inherits two worlds, this world and the World-to-Come.

Source 2 · Acharonim
Verified

Sefer HaBahir 1

ספר הבהיר א׳

Sefer HaBahir 1

Rabbi Nechunya ben haKanah said:

אמר ר' נחוניא בן הקנה:

Source 3 · Acharonim
idea-grounded

recovered from “Zohar 3:271b

Zohar III

Zohar, Introduction 12:116

The Zohar contains extensive teachings on divine names, letter permutations, and the mystical power of sacred combinations. This locus is representative of Zoharic discussions that later feed into the theme of the forty-two-letter name.