Why is it that the Jews do not use YHWH?
They claim it is too sacred.
But they are told to "proclaim his name" in Isaiah 12:4 and to call upon it in Psalms 105:1, so who came up with the idea of not saying Yahweh's name? It cannot have come from YHWH himself, as He told them to proclaim his name and I am unaware of any point in the Bible where the Jews are told (by Yahweh) to refer to Yahweh as "Adonai".
So what is going on here, and more importantly WHO thought they could countermand Yahweh himself?
This took me a little time to understand, but since then, I have been able to abridge it and make it understandable. Please consider this before responding....
To answer your question as to why they don't say it, I can tell you that they do. What they don't do is use it in front of non-Jews. I know this for a fact, I have many Jewish friends, I have attended synagogues, what I am saying is true. That doesn't mean they use it casually, oh no... very reverently and sparingly. That said...
In Hebrew, the word for "name" is shem. Shem is not dealing as much with "what we call somebody," as it is the name bearer's
character, reputation, and authority. So let me give you a few examples..
What does it mean to "walk in the name of God?" Well, we can't walk in letters or a pronunciation, His name isn't a pair of shoes we put on and go for a walk. No, what this means is that we walk out our daily life in a manner that stands in harmony with God's character, is within His will (authority) and adds to His reputation. That is walking in His name. The flip side is profaning His name. Many sacred namers say we profane His name by not saying it or mispronouncing it and so forth. That is lazy English based theology that clearly lacks any Hebraic understanding. Profaning God's name is claiming that YHWH is your God but then walking our your life in a manner that is not in harmony with His character, that is outside of His will and authority, and that takes from His reputation.
So, what does it mean to proclaim His name? Grab a bull horn and stand on your rooftop and scream out whatever pronunciation is popular this week? No... not when we understand what shem means. What it means, is that we tell the world about His greatness... we proclaim His character, His authority, His reputation... to all we encounter. God Himself did this very thing...
Exo 34:5 Now
the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord.
Exo 34:6 And
the Lord passed before him
and proclaimed, "The Lord, the Lord God,
merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth,
Exo 34:7
keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation."
What did "God" do when He proclaimed His own name? He TOLD of His own character attributes... that He is merciful, long suffering, abounding in goodness, and so forth.
So don't indict the Jewish people because they won't say whatever pronunciation of YHWH they tend to use in front of you or me... and consider what shem means here. I do have an article I have written on this topic that contains plenty of examples and references about "the name of YHWH." If you want me to share it I will.
Blessings.
Ken