Not in Vain: The Deeper Meaning of Bearing God’s Name

“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not absolve one who takes His name in vain.” (Shemot 20:7)

The Or HaChaim offers several explanations of this verse. We will present one of them.

According to this interpretation, the verse warns a person not to carry the name of God upon themselves while their heart is distant from Him. That is, someone publicly declares that God is their God, proclaims themselves a Jew who serves God, yet inwardly thinks otherwise, God forbid.

When a person claims to be a “servant of God” while their words and heart are not aligned, they do so in vain, because such conduct is not genuine or fitting.

As the Or HaChaim writes: “It further alludes to one who bears upon himself the name of the Lord as his God and tells everyone that he is a Jewish person and a servant of God, yet his heart does not think so. This is what is meant by ‘in vain.’”

This is a warning not to deceive the Blessed One by claiming to be among His servants when one truly is not.

A Warning Against False Righteousness

This warning also includes another form of deception: presenting oneself as more righteous than one truly is. This too is forbidden. A person should not project an image of being a tzaddik or a servant of God on a higher level than they actually are.

One must avoid deceiving oneself or others about one’s true spiritual standing and level of service of God.