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Your words, a verse, בס״ד: and why the divine Name is written ה׳

Writing a note to your guests, choosing a verse or a blessing, adding בס״ד, signing with your titles: what Tov offers and how it handles the divine Name.

  • For I’m planning my celebration
  • 5 min
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  1. Your words
  2. A verse or a blessing
  3. The divine Name is written ה׳
  4. בס״ד at the top of the invitation
  5. Your signature and your titles
  6. Language and modesty
Culture

This article touches on Jewish practice. It sticks to widely shared reference points and has not yet been reviewed by a rabbi: if in doubt, ask yours.

A Tov invitation is made of the design you chose and what you add to it: a note to your guests, possibly a verse or a blessing, בס״ד at the top of the page, and your signature. All of this is set at the “Your invitation” step of “Prepare”.

Your words

“Your words” is an open, optional field: a few sentences for your guests, which the invitation displays. In the creation flow, the same field appears on the “Preview” screen and shows up right away in the preview. Tov does not replace any word there: what you write is what your guests read.

A verse or a blessing

The field is called “A verse or a blessing (optional)”. Tov offers a library of 75 verses and blessings, in Hebrew with a translation, sorted by intention (joy, love, blessing, Torah, family…). A few are recommended for your celebration; you can also explore the whole library, or choose “None”. Each design gives the verse a place made for it.

Texts: Sefaria (Hebrew, public domain; Talmud, Wikisource). Translations: JPS (1917) and the French Rabbinate Bible (1899); Spanish and Talmud translated by Tov.

“Write my own” lets you write your own verse, with its source and its translation. This field exists only for the themed designs, not for the older layouts.

The divine Name is written ה׳

Culture

Tov never writes the divine Name in full: ה׳ for the Tetragrammaton, אלקים for the other common divine name, and “G-d” in English, in the verses of its library, on the site and in its e-mails.

In a verse that you write yourself, the Tetragrammaton (with or without vowel points) is automatically replaced by ה׳, as the help text under the field says. Other divine names are not replaced: write them as you are used to (for example אלקים or “G-d”). In “Your words”, as well as in the source and the translation of a custom verse, Tov replaces nothing: proofread it yourself.

בס״ד at the top of the invitation

“Add בס״ד at the top of the invitation”: “With the help of Heaven”, at the top of the first page, as on printed invitations. You choose its place, “Top right” or “Top, centred”. This option is offered with the themed designs.

Your signature and your titles

“Signed by” is required to publish, for example “The Cohen Family” or “The Cohen and Levy Families”. Tov recognizes a few common titles (Rav, Rabbanit, Dr, shlita, z"l…) and writes them correctly for the language of the invitation: on an invitation in Hebrew, they are written in Hebrew. Proper names are not transliterated.

Language and modesty

  • “Invitation language”: French, Hebrew, English or Spanish. A household can have its own language, set in its record.
  • Tzniut (modesty) mode is set in the advanced editor (“Advanced customization”). It gives the invitation a more restrained tone, and for the “Our story” design, no album photo is shown.

What’s next?

A mistake, an outdated sentence? Write to us: a real person reads it.

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What’s next?

An invitation true to your traditions.

In 4 languages, with Hebrew set the way it should be and replies tracked household by household.

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