Category Archives: Divine Name

August Book Review, Interview & Giveaway: Shattering the Conspiracy of Silence

Shattering Conspiracy CoverToday, A Blue Thread launches our Fall 2013 Book Club – yes, I know it’s still summer –and I thought the perfect place to start was with a book review, interview and free giveaway of 10 signed copies of Nehemia Gordon’s latest book, Shattering the Conspiracy of Silence: The Hebrew Power of the Priestly Blessing Unleashed.

I first met Nehemia in person some 20+ years ago at a camp hosted by the Karaite Jews of America, and I spent a few years with him in the Karaites Yahoo Groups forum in the late 1990s and early 2000s. I credit that forum with re-awakening my Karaite passion, so it is particularly fun for me to catch up with Nehemia about Shattering the Conspiracy of Silence.

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Filed under Book Club, Books, Daniel al-Kumisi, Divine Name

When God Had a Name

Leon Nemoy's work contains some of Kumisi's writings.

Leon Nemoy’s work contains some of Kumisi’s writings.

Yesterday, a rabbi published an excellent piece about how the word “God” has become a loaded term. (See Rabbi Says, “Time to Give Up On God.”) As the rabbi astutely points out, people intend to convey vastly different feelings, meanings, and intentions when using the word “God.”

It seems to me, as a Karaite, that the ambiguity around “God” would be minimized if people actually referred to God by God’s personal name (יהוה).

Don’t worry; I’m not about to swat the hornet’s nest by advocating for a particular pronunciation of God’s name.

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Filed under Daniel al-Kumisi, Divine Name