Hebrew Word Study – Intimacy With God – ‘Atah  אתה Aleph Taw Hei 

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Psalms 119:12: “Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes.”

Practically every Jewish prayer starts off with the words Baruch Atah, “Blessed are you (O God).” Stop and think about it, does the God of the Universe, creator of all things, does He really need to be blessed?  Well, that depends on how you translate the word baruch, especially if you use the English word bless. We think of blessing someone as making them happy, bringing them some sort of gift.  It is likely for this reason that many modern translations do not render the word baruch in Psalms 119:12 as bless but as praise.  Paraphrasers will say; “I praise you, Lord.”  

Many rabbis would have a problem with using the word praise for baruch, in fact, many have a problem with the word bless in this context.  Our English word bless just doesn’t capture the depth and beauty of the Hebrew word baruch.  Like the word racham, I don’t believe we have a word in the English language that adequately addresses this word baruch.  In fact, for Psalmist to associate the word ‘atah to baruch in addressing God is a very bold move. 

 

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The word ‘atah means “you,” but so does a Vav at the end of verb. True they are both pronouns and one is an inseparable pronoun that is it is a suffix added to a verb and the other ‘atah is a stand-alone pronoun or separable pronoun. ‘Atah is normally rendered as “you” but in its Semitic root, it is a word for coming together, drawing close to someone.  In reality, we have two different you’s in Hebrew.  There is the simple pronoun you used in the exchange of a person’s name so you do overuse someone’s name. For instance, you would not ask; “Bob would Bob come over here?”  You would say “Bob would you come over here?”  The word “you” is used when we are talking directly to someone and there is no need to use a name. But when addressing God with the word ‘atah you are expressing a deep intimate “You.”  You are referring to the essence of God which is higher than any name.  For instance, if you know someone or have a relationship with someone you would use their name. “Bob, would you come over here.”  This shows a relationship and a sense of intimacy with that person as they are not a total stranger.  You would not, in English, say; “Hey you there, come here.”  Especially if you know that person.  Then you are expressing an insult. You would be implying that this person that you know is not worthy to be addressed by their name. However, with the ‘atah “you” you are actually doing the opposite, you are addressing that person in an intimate way: “Hey ‘atah (you who is so helpful, caring, loving, efficient, etc.) come here.”  

In Psalms 119:12 the Psalmist is addressing God by saying “Blessed you.”  You are not blessing God but saying He is a blessing, a blessing to you. So, what does this word baruch really mean in this context?  Rabbi Menachem of Recanati, a 13th Century rabbi as other rabbis explained the baruch is related to the word habaruchah found in Isaiah 22:9: “Ye have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that they are many: and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool.” “Waters of the lower pool” or the reservoir of water is habaruchah, which is the same root word as bless.  A reservoir is a water (blessings) that can be collected and used as needed.  So really the NIV and other translations are probably the closest to the Hebrew to use the word praise rather than blessed, at least for our English understanding. 

When the Psalmist referred to God as “blessed” he meant that he was praising God as the source of all blessings. Thus, when the Jews pray “Baruch ‘Atah” they are saying “God of the universe that we are intimate with and is our source of all blessings.” 

The Zohar in 3:271a takes this even further. They related the word habaruchah to hamavrich  which is found in the Mishnah Kilayim 7:1 and means to “drawdown.”  Thus, it is more than just acknowledging that God is the source of all blessing but to pray “Baruch ‘Atah” what you are doing is asking God to do something, that He will draw down His Godly revelation, power and blessing into the world.   For instance, say someone has Covid and the doctors shake their heads and say; “No hope.”  What do you do?  You begin to pray. What are you praying for? The discovery of a new medication?  A better doctor?  No, you pray for God to intervene in the natural world. You are calling upon the God whom you are so intimate with that you dare to call Him ‘atah and ask Him to break the nature of this physical world, to overrule the natural events of this world and do something supernatural. I think I just described a miracle. 

Now don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that ‘atah is some secret Hebrew word that will bring about God’s miraculous.  What I am saying is that when we seek the miraculous, call upon your relationship, your intimacy with God.  Acknowledge that you are deserving of this miracle, not because of the good things you do or how holy you are, but because Jesus Christ, His Son, died on a cross to redeem you from your sins so you can be intimate with God. There are times you need to express your intimacy with God, not to remind Him, He knows it, but to remind yourself that you have the right, privilege, and, yes, the audacity to refer to the God of the Universe as ‘atah – the intimate word – you. 

 

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