Q. One more question. How come we use for the name of a month the title of a Mesopotamian god. Why is that permitted?
A. The name Tamuz is indeed the epithet of an idolatry, as it says in Yechezkel: (8: 1) And He brought me to the entrance of the gate of the house of Hashem that is to the north, and behold there the women were sitting, making the Tamuz weep. Rashi (ibid) explains: There was an image that they would heat up from the inside, and its eyes, which were of lead, would melt from the heat of the fire, and it would appear as though it was weeping, and they would say, “It is asking for an offering.” “Tamuz” is an expression of heating. It is also true that we are enjoined from using names of idolatry as the Torah ordains: (Shemos 23: 13) The name of the gods of others you shall not mention; it shall not be heard through your mouth. (See Sanhedrin 63: 2).
However, as the Talmud above points out, the names of the avoda zaras recorded in the Torah can be used, yet it seems hard to understand why such a title was chosen.
Rabbi A. Bartfeld as revised by Horav Y. Hirshman, Horav Dovid Pam, Horav Aharon Miller, Horav Chanoch Ehrentreu, Horav Kalman Ochs, and Horav Dovid Bartfeld consulting in need Horav Hagaon Rav Yitzchak Berkowitz Shlit’a See next question.
Important Numbers
