From: Aharon in Monsey, NJ

Dear Rabbi,

Why is the name of G‑d written in the siddur as two yuds? In my siddur – “Tefillat Kol Peh” – it is written as two ‘yud’s everywhere that I looked, with the exception of shirat hayam (the song at the sea). Why is this so? I suspect that there is more to it than merely an editor’s whim.

Dear Aharon,

I’m afraid your suspicions are groundless. The phenomenon is purely a function of your siddur’s editor and printer. The double ‘yud’ is not one of the names of G‑d and has no kedusha (sanctity). It’s simply a substitute for the name of G‑d and it appears randomly in various versions of the siddur. Some siddurim nowadays have the name of G‑d written out fully all the time.

Essentially, the reason for using a substitute is out of respect. The name of G‑d has kedusha and must not be erased or abused. Since two ‘yud’s isn’t a name of G‑d, it was substituted so that if the siddur became worn out, torn or wasn’t treated properly it would be less serious. Especially today, with the availability of inexpensive printed books, siddurim aren’t treated with the same care and respect with which they historically were treated.

We called Eshkol Publishers, makers of your siddur “Tefillat Kol Peh”. We asked them why in some places the name of G‑d is written as two ‘yud’s and why in other places it’s written out fully. They told us that when they put together the siddur, they copied (with permission) from various older siddurim by means of offset. Thus, whichever way the name of G‑d appeared in the old siddur, that’s the way it was copied to the new siddur.

Given the reason for a substitute “printing” of G‑d’s name, why specifically two ‘yud’s and not some other convention?

The name of G‑d is written in one way and pronounced another way. It’s written with a ‘yud’, a ‘heh’, a ‘vav’ and another ‘heh’. However, we pronounce it as if it were spelled ‘aleph’, ‘dalet’, ‘nun’, ‘yud’. As you can see, the letter ‘yud’ appears twice, once in the beginning of the name as it’s written and once at the end of the name as it’s pronounced. Since it is a mitzva to recall the meaning of both names while pronouncing the Tetragrammaton, the two ‘yud’s simultaneously remind us that HaShem was (haya), is (hove) and will be (yihiye), and that He is the Master (adon) ruling over all His creation.

Sources:

• Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah 276:1