The true Name of the Divine (God / Goddess / Deity / Divine Consciousness) according to Judeo-Christian belief is considered ineffable — unpronounceable. But the initiates know how to utter it. Actually they have to learn to “hear” it first.

For millennia Judaism has protected the secret of the sound of God’s name.  After the fall of Jerusalem, and the long exile that followed, it is believed the Jews lost the true pronunciation.  It is feared no one was teaching it, no one was passing down the secret of HaShem (code word for the Name of God) — they were all being killed.

But we know tiny pockets of initiates DID survive over the centuries,  for example in Babylon (Iraq) and Safed (Northern Israel near Galilee). The Babylonian Jews finally left Iraq, but they still knew the Sound of the Name. The Safed mystics and initiates are still there in Northern Israel.

The Name of God has been passed down in an unbroken line. How to “hear” it and then utter it (in one’s mind– always be careful about speaking it out loud) is one of the secret teachings of western mystery schools.

Our Ancient Order of Melchizedek carries on the tradition of protecting this secret. Melchizedek is the first high priest of the Judeo-Christian Creator God and is mentioned in Genesis. He is believed to be the one who first taught the Ineffable Name of God to Abraham, who then passed it on. Melchizedek also gave Abraham communion — a “sacrifice” of bread and wine in the Name of that same God. See more about Melchizedek below.

Even in our first set Mystery School lessons we touch upon how to take steps toward “hearing” the Ineffable Name. Come to think of it, we talk about taking steps both literally and figuratively!  We  teach new members an easy technique of walking-prayer and walking-chanting that facilitates the hearing / receiving of the Name.

More about Melchizedek:
The Book of Genesis tells us the enigmatic character Melchizedek was “the High Priest of El Elyon”. He served this mysterious God-of-the-Name, the same God-of-Abraham and when these two men met, Melchizedek gave the first communion bread and wine in the Bible (right in Genesis) and in the entire faith tradition.  When a bishop makes a priest the bishop says, “Thou art a priest forever after the Order of Melchizedek”, because vestiges of this ancient priesthood have managed to survive — just barely — right in the Roman Catholic Church! In some of the “heretic” lines of the priesthood, the actual secret of the Name has been passed down. Becoming ordained a priest (including ordination as a woman priest) involves receiving certain secret teachings passed on by your bishop, which s/he got from his/her bishop.

Other code names for HaShem (the Name) are:

Codes used in Speech:
Adonai (means “The Lord”)
Ado-Shem (a combination of Adonai and HaShem meaning “The Name of the Lord”)

Codes used in writing:
G-d (is a respectful way to type the word God by leaving out the vowel and using a dash in its place. Modern Jews do this in all articles, emails, written materials, etc.)

When Writing it In the Bible:
YHVH:  which gave rise to Yahweh, Jehovah
Elohim (kind of means “gods and goddesses”)
Amen (survived from very ancient times, going back to Egyptian pre-historical era)