A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME….

“He [the angel] said to him: What is your name? He said: Yaakov. He [the angel] said: No more shall Yaakov be said to be your name; rather Yisrael; for you have striven with God and with men, and you have prevailed. Yaakov asked and said: Tell me, please your name. He said: Why is it that you ask of my name? And he [the angel] blessed him there.” (Bereishit 32:27-29)

Names are an important matter in Judaism. They feature prominently in Scripture and are the subject of much discussion in the Talmud, primarily in reference to the laws of documents, in general, and bills of divorce (gittin), in particular. Consider that one book of the Torah (Exodus) is actually called Shmot, meaning “Names.” The book of Bereishit is full of references to names and their meanings. Apart from the passage above from our parsha, here are some examples:

“The Lord God formed from the ground every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man, to see what he would call it. Whatever the man would call every living creature, that was its name. The man called names for every animal, and for the birds of the heavens and for the beasts of the field; but for Adam, he did not find a helper to be alongside him.” (2:19-20) “The man called the name of his wife Chava, because she was the mother of all living (chai).” (3:20)  “He called his name Noach, saying: This [one] shall relieve us from our work and from the misery of our hands, from the ground, which the Lord has cursed.” (5:29) The root of the name Noach means rest or relief.

“The angel of the Lord said to her [Hagar]: Behold you are with child, and you shall bear a son. You shall call his name Yishmael, as the Lord has heard [shama] your suffering.” (16:11)

“Your name shall no longer be called Avram but your name shall be Avraham; for I have made you father of a multitude of nations.” (17:5) “God said to Avraham: Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, as Sarah is her name.” (17:15) Both Avraham and Sarah underwent changes of name when God made a covenant with them. It was then that God told them they would have a son and what his name would be: “God said: But Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Yitzchak. And I will keep my covenant with him for an eternal covenant for his descendants after him.” (17:19). Yitzchak, meaning “he will laugh” was called this because of his father’s joyful reaction to God informing him that he would have a son at an advanced age.

“The first [twin] emerged red, all of him like a cloak of hair, and they called his name Esau. And thereafter his brother emerged, his hand grasping on Esau’s heel (akev); and he called his name Yaakov. Yitzchak was sixty years old when she bore them.” (25:23-24) Esau was given this name either because of his abundant hair (se’ar) or because he appeared mature, like an object that is fully fashioned (asui).

Chapters 29 and 30 of Bereishit tell of the birth of 12 of Yaakov’s 13 children. In each case, the Torah explains why Leah or Rachel choose that name for their son or daughter. The names reflect the feelings of the mother at the time or some episode that occurred close to the birth. The Midrash (Bereishit Rabba 37:7) comments: “Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: The ancients, because they utilized the divine spirit [of prophecy], would give names on the basis of events, but we, who do not utilize the divine spirit, give names after our ancestors.” Rabbi Asher Anshel Greenwald of Ungvar, Hungary, clarifies this in his magnum opus on the laws of circumcision Zocher HaBrit (chapter 24): “We do not give a child a brand new name that our ancestors did not use but we may use an existing name that reflects the event of the child’s birth.” He gives an interesting example from the book Tiv Gittin. A boy was born and there was an argument regarding what name to give him. He had two forebears, one of whom was called Meir and the other, Uri. As a compromise the child was named Shneur (literally, “two light[s]”) as both the names Meir and Uri refer to light or illumination. The author of Tiv Gittin notes that the name Shneur already existed before this incident but that it was chosen to resolve the argument. In the State of Israel, many parents are going against the advice of the Midrash and inventing new names for their children. As a rule, most traditional Jews continue to name their children after deceased relatives (Ashkenazim) or even living relatives (such as grandparents -Sephardim).

The family of Hillel, the great sage who headed the Sanhedrin and founded a famous Academy, is a good example of how Jews name their children after their ancestors. Hillel’s son’s name was Shimon; his son’s name was Gamliel; his son’s name was Shimon; his son’s name was Gamliel and his son’s name was Shimon.   It is also common to name a child in reference to the time of the year he or she was born or after a name in that week’s parsha. So, for example, a boy born on Purim would be called Mordechai and a girl, Esther. If a child is born on Chanukah, if it is a boy, he might be named Yehuda (after Yehuda the Maccabee) or Matityahu (the head of the Hasmonean family) or, if it is a girl, Yehudit, after the name of the daughter of the Cohen Gadol who slew the Greek general. If a child is born on or close to Tisha B’Av, he or she might be called Menachem or Nachum, for a boy, or Nechama for a girl, all indicating comfort and consolation.

Rabbi Greenwald gives a number of rules regarding names: We do not name after a wicked individual. An example of this is the name Nimrod (see Bereishit 10:8-10), about whom the Sages say he rebelled against God and threw Avraham into a furnace. For some odd reason, this name has become rather popular in modern Israel. If one finds a wicked person (such as the evil king Menashe) with the same name as a good person (the son of Yosef), then one may use that name. A name is not “invalidated” simply because there happens to be a wicked person with that name. Nevertheless, I think you would be hard-pressed to find a Jew today named Adolf! One generally does not name after a person who died very young.  Some people do so, but add another name. In former times, children were only given one name. A name was only added if they took ill later in life. However, it has become customary in our times to give a child two, or more, names. Parents should name their child after their rebbi (primary teacher of Torah) or after a great person. If a boy’s father passed away before his birth, he is given his father’s name. Such was the case with the incredible Cantor Abe Immerman. His father died before his birth and thus his Hebrew name was Avraham ben Avraham. One does not name a boy until his bris. If the bris is postponed, then the child may be named when his father receives an Aliyah. If the boy is a firstborn, and the bris is delayed, it is better to wait until the pidyon haben before naming him. Parents must give a lot of thought to the choice of their children’s names.  There are many names in Scripture that are similar but subtly different. There should be no confusion as to what the child’s name is. Examples are: Rachmiel and Yerachmiel; Eliya and Eliyahu; Gershon and Gershom; Chizkiya and Chizkiyahu; Natan and Yehonantan. Whatever the case, he urges that there not be a quarrel over the child’s name as this can, God forbid, lead to danger for the child. He does not disclose what the nature of this danger is.

Lee, Chani Merryl & Naomi join me in wishing you Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Liebenberg.

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