Besiyata Dishmaya

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Street commercial sign in Rome, written in Italian. At its right top could be clearly seen the Hebrew acronym בס"ד (Bs"d)

Besiyata Dishmaya is an Aramaic phrase, meaning "with the help of Heaven". The acronym Bs"d (Mostly written in Hebrew: בס"ד) have become a Jewish term. The three letters appear at the top of every written document (begging's of correspondences, Bar Mitzva's invitations etc.) as a reminder to the writer and reader that all comes from God, including the following content and to contextualize what's really important in the text, that without God's help we can do nothing of eternal value.

The reason for the common use of the three-letter acronym, בס"ד (Bs"d), is probably because it does not contain the Hebrew letter Hei ('ה), that is used to imply the name of God, and for this reason a page which contains the letters בס"ד (Bs"d), does not require Genizah, a process for writings that contain the name of God, and can be thrown away without a fear of desecration [1].

However, a majority of the scholars who decides on the Jewish religious laws of Halakha, the Poskim, have expressed their opinions on the issue, saying that the writings of the acronym Hebrew letter 'ה (Hei), in order to avoid the specific holy name of God or other acronyms that includes this letter, such as ב"ה (Hebrew: ברוך השם Baruch Hashem, English: B"H, "Blessed be God"), should not prevent one from throwing away the page [2].

Other Languages, according to Judaism, are not considered as the sacred language (Leshon Ha-Kodesh), Hebrew, the language which God created the earth and has decided how he would be named, and therefore has no restriction [3].

The writings of בס"ד (Bs"d) are not derived from any religious law of the Halakha. The book "Toldot Yitzhak" (‘The Offspring of Isaac’), by Yitzhak Karo, Yosef Karo's uncle, offers the meaning of this custom of writing ב"ה (B"H), at the top of every letter, with accordance to the biblical verse: "In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct thy paths (Book of Proverbs 3:6).