Neil Parks from Beachwood, Ohio wrote:

I've noticed the Hebrew letters "Bet Samech Daled" on the top of many web pages. What does it stand for? (I presume they're not trying to tell you what brand of Unix it's running on.)

[email protected]

Dear Neil,

The letters stand for B'Siyata D'Shmaya. It's Aramaic, and it means "with the help of Heaven." By the way, a number of years ago I asked the Steipler Rav (Rabbi Yaakov Kanievsky, zatzal) which is better to write at the top of a note or letter: 'Bet Samech Daled' or 'Bet Heh' (Baruch Hashem)? He answered that "Many people use the Aramaic expression instead of the Hebrew because it avoids writing one of the letters of Hashem's holy name (Heh) on something which might be thrown out."

Rabbi Moshe Feinstein states that writing 'Daled' - although a reference to Heaven - is not a letter of Hashem's name, unlike the letter 'Heh.'

Source:

• Iggrot Moshe, Yoreh De'ah 2:138