On an NPR podcast accessible here Shalom Auslander, the author of Foreskin's Lament, says an ear- pulling, hand-slapping rabbi taught him in third grade that "Shalom"was also one of God's name and therefore:
1 - His friends could not greet him by name in the bathroom;
2 - His name could not be written on paper;
3 - If it was written, say on a lunchbag, the article had to be deposited in the shaimos box and set aside for burial.
I've been around yeshivot, and yeshiva graduates and I think Auslander's story carries the whiff of truth. Others are calling it a straight fabrication. Can any of you readers provide additional information? If you or someone you know was ever this Rabbi's student, please tell us what you saw and what you think of Auslander's tale.
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