Shaddai

By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER

“Shaddai” – commonly translated as “Almighty” – is the third most frequently invoked Divine Name in the Hebrew Bible (See Genesis 17:1, Exodus 6:3, Numbers 24:4, etc.).

God is addressed as “Shaddai” (inter alia) during the High Holy Day Cantor’s personal “Hinneni” prayer.

When securing Tefillin on one’s hand, the straps form the letters of “Shaddai” – shin-dalet-yod. Customarily, these letters are produced while reciting Hosea 2:22 – “…and you shall know the Lord.” I personally find this prayerful confluence of the visual and the liturgical to be among the most uplifting moments of daily worship.

Hagigah 12a teaches that “Shaddai” is derived from the phrase “She-Amar Dai” – “God Who said ‘Enough!’” This tradition suggests that God models personal moral restraint and the humility of self-control for humanity. God willingly rested on Shabbat rather than continue the work of creation. God left the “completion” of creation to us: Divine self-restraint.

God’s defining identity as “Almighty” finds expression not exclusively in the exercise of power and action, but – to a significant extent – in willfully refraining from the exercise of power.

In this spirit, Mahatma Gandhi observed: “When restraint and courtesy are added to strength, the latter becomes irresistible.”

President Eisenhower envisioned “a future in which our country will match its military strength with our moral restraint.”

Shaddai… that’s Almighty Enough.

Rabbi Joseph H. Prouser is the editor of “Masorti: The New Journal of Conservative Judaism.” The latest edition of Masorti published in the summer of 2026 and honors the American Sestercentennial. A subscription is $18 per annum. Print copies are available from Ben Yehuda Press and Amazon.