Today I had the wonderful opportunity to participate in the Hebrew naming of not one, not two, but THREE children of the congregation. So I’ve been thinking a lot about names:
L’chol ish yesh shem – “Every person has a name.” According to our tradition, each of us has three names: the one given to us by our parents; the one by which we are known; and the one we hope to earn for ourselves. Judaism has placed great significance on our names. Our Hebrew names connote certain meanings, and therefore are seen to describe us as well. The ancient rabbis said k’sh’mo keyn hu – “As is the name, such is the person.” Throughout our history, and especially in the Bible, specific names were granted or chosen for this very purpose. “Adam”, who was created from the dust of the earth, refers to earth itself. “Eve”, the first mother, is a word that means “life.” “Abraham” is said to mean “father of many peoples.” “Moses” is so called for he was “drawn out” from the waters of the
And so do we continue this tradition even to this day. When we name our children in memory or honor of other family members, we keep those loved ones, and their names, alive. I greatly enjoy assisting families in selecting names, as it gives me the opportunity to share with them the tradition of looking at the meanings of the words themselves, and to help continue writing their sacred family narrative.
So tell me – what’s YOUR Hebrew name, and how was it chosen for you? I’d love to know.
This is great. As my son approaches his Bar Mitzvah, he is pondering what name to choose for himself. He likes Daniel (which is both his secular and Hebrew name)-- and he likes his middle name -- my last name -- however, I think he'd like a second "first" name. We've agreed he can add a name to his name in honor of his Bar Mitzvah. So, he is pondering the possibilities. He's considering a lot of Jewish "J" names. I'm trying to encourage him to think about the name AND the meaning. Any suggestions for sources to help him?
ReplyDeleteMy Hebrew name is Leba -- and I have no idea how it was chosen for me. . .
My Hebrew name is Trana (Tet, Reish, Nun, Hey). It was my great-grandmother's name. She was born while they were reading Parshat Truma, and so she was named after the Parsha (which they interpreted as meaning "a free will offering from the heart"). Though I never met her, I've heard wonderful things about her and how generous a woman she was. I am honored to be named after her, and hope I somehow live up to the name as well.
ReplyDeletemy Hebrew name is Pesah, which is a feminization of Pesach, which was my grandfather's name. Frankly, i think my parents were given bad advice on naming their daughter because my name isn't really a name at all. And it's spelled weird, like a Yiddish name (pay-ayin-samech-ayin)...
ReplyDeleteoh well.
my children have really nice Hebrew names.