What's in a Name? – Shemot
וְאֵלֶּה שְׁמוֹת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הַבָּאִים מִצְרָיְמָה אֵת יַעֲקֹב אִישׁ וּבֵיתוֹ בָּאוּ. רְאוּבֵן שִׁמְעוֹן לֵוִי וִיהוּדָה. יִשָּׂשכָר זְבוּלֻן וּבְנְיָמִן. דָּן וְנַפְתָּלִי גָּד וְאָשֵׁר. (שמות א, א-ד)
This week we begin reading the second book in the Torah, sefer Shmot, the "book of Names". If you would ask me, that is not what I would call this second sefer. If any of the five books should be called Shmot/Names, I would say it should be sefer Bamidbar, which is full of names.
Twice in sefer Bamidbar we have a census of Am Yisrael, detailing all the names of the families of Am Yisrael, once in parshat Bamidbar and again in Pinchas. We have a detailed list of the order of Am Yisrael's encampment around the Mishkan, with the names of the tribes. We have the names of the 12 spies, the names of the different places Am Yisrael camped during their journey through the desert ….. names and more names! In terms of sheer volume of names, there are many more names in Bamidbar than in Shmot.
In fact, Chazal and the Mefarshim do not refer to the second book by the name of Shmot. Chazal in the Gemara (Sota 36b) call it חוּמַּשׁ שֵׁנִי. The Netziv, in his introduction to sefer Shmot, explains why it is called חוּמַּשׁ שֵׁנִי, because the first passuk begins וְאֵלֶּה שְׁמוֹת with ו' הַחִבּוּר, thus connecting it to sefer Breishit, of which it is a continuation (like Breishit I and Breishit II).
The Ramban, in his introduction to sefer Shmot, calls it סֵפֶר הַגָּלוּת וְהַגְּאֻלָּה, referring to the first half detailing our slavery in Egypt followed by the Exodus. The Ramban also explains why the second half of the sefer, detailing the Mishkan, is included under the category of גְּאֻלָּה, because until the Mishkan was built and HKB"H's Shechina dwelled amongst Am Yisrael, we were not fully redeemed.
Only when the Mishkan was built, were Am Yisrael restored to the state of the Avot, where HKB"H's Shechina resided in their tents – the cloud of the Shechina sitting above the tent, the candle that never went out (Menora), the blessing in the dough (Shulchan Lechem Hapanim). In this respect, the Ramban's naming of the sefer correlates with the Gemara's (חוּמַּשׁ שֵׁנִי), because in essence it was a closure of a circle that began in sefer Breishit.
It is not that sefer Shmot has no names, but the pattern of names is different to that of sefer Bamidbar. In this shiur I would like to examine this pattern and explore the essence of a name.
In sefer Shmot, the Hebrew word "שֵׁם" (in its various forms) is repeated 43 times.
23 are in connection with names of people. The names of the Twelve Tribes entering Egypt (שמות א, א=1), the names of the midwives (א, טו=2), Pharaoh's daughter naming Moshe (ב, י=1), the names of Moshe's sons Gershon and Eliezer (ב, כב; יח, ג-ד=3), detailing the lineage of Moshe (ו, טז=1), the names of the Twelve Tribes on the Avnei Shoham (כח, ט; כח, י; כח, יא; כח, יב; לט, ו=6), the names of the Twelve Tribes on the Avnei Choshen (כח, כא; כח, כט; לט, יד=7), and finally appointing Betzalel (לא, ב; לה, ל=2).
2 are in connection with names of places, Mara (טו, כג=1) and Masa u'Meriva (יז, ז=1),
2 are in connection with names of objects, the Mann (טז, לא=1), and the Mizbeach Moshe built after defeating Amalek (יז, טו=1).
1 is in connection with the name of idols (כג, יג=1)
15 are in connection with names of HKB"H, (ג, יג; ג, טו; ה, כג; ו, ג; ט, טז; טו, ג; כ, ז; כ, כא; כג, כא; לג, יב; לג, יז; לג, יט; לד, ה; לד, יד=15).
Making a total of 43.
If you do the same analysis on sefer Bamidbar, counting the word "שֵׁם" (in its various forms), you get different results. There is a total of 40, of which 33 are connected with people, 5 with places, 1 with an object and 1 with HKB"H.
So, while the names of the actual people and places in Bamidbar outnumber those in Shmot, the word "שֵׁם" (in its various forms) itself appears more times in Shmot than in Bamidbar. Also, more than Vayikra (11) and more than Devarim (31).
So far so good. If, however, the criterion for naming a sefer Shmot was how many times the word "שֵׁם" (in its various forms) appears in it, then Breishit wins by a landslide. The variations of the word "שֵׁם" appear in Breishit 105 times!
So, what makes Shmot special in connection to names compared to Breishit? Shmot has more occurrences of the word "שֵׁם" in connection with HKB"H (15), than Breishit (5).
Therefore, as Chazal and the Mefarshim say above, we must consider sefer Shmot as complementing sefer Breishit, also in this respect, i.e how many occurrences of the word "שֵׁם" appear in it. If we do, the combination of Breishit/Shmot have a total of 148 occurrences of the word "שֵׁם", 20 of which refer to HKB"H. For want of better description, Shmot is therefore the "HKB"H complement" to Breishit in terms of the word "שֵׁם".
To summarize -
Breishit/Shmot | Vayikra | Bamidbar | Devarim | ||||
HKB"H | Total | HKB"H | Total | HKB"H | Total | HKB"H | Total |
20 | 148 | 10 | 11 | 1 | 40 | 19 | 31 |
From the above analysis we see that calling this sefer "Shmot", does have sound basis after all.
In this shiur I would like to explore the essence of a name. Let us begin our voyage, with R' Tzadok HaKohen from Lublin, whose method of understanding a word is to examine the first time it appears in the Torah.
The first time the word "שֵׁם" appears in the Torah is in reference to the three rivers in Gan Eden - שֵׁם הָאֶחָד פִּישׁוֹן ... וְשֵׁם הַנָּהָר הַשֵּׁנִי גִּיחוֹן ... וְשֵׁם הַנָּהָר הַשְּׁלִישִׁי חִדֶּקֶל (בראשית ב, יא-יד). According to Rashi, פִּישׁוֹן refers to the Nile River in Egypt, or according to another opinion it refers to flax פִּשְׁתָּן, that was also grown in Egypt (Yishayahu 19, 9). Either way, we see that Egypt has some special connection to "names".
The first time the word Shmot "שֵׁמוֹת" appears in the Torah is in connection with Adam Harishon - וַיִּקְרָא הָאָדָם שֵׁמוֹת לְכָל הַבְּהֵמָה וּלְעוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם וּלְכֹל חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה וכו' (בראשית ב, כ). HKB"H paraded all the creatures before Adam Harishon and Adam gave them all names.
The Yalkut Shimoni on that passuk says that the angels asked HKB"H why He wanted to create man, to which HKB"H replied "man is wiser than you angels!" HKB"H presented all the different creatures to the angels and asked them to name them, but they couldn't. It is not that they couldn't think of any names, like Chaim, Shmulik, etc. They couldn't think of a name that embodied the essence of the creature.
R' Bachyei (Breishit 2,19) says for example the lion, why did Adam call it an אַרְיֵה? Because he discerned in his wisdom that the lion was the king of the animals and therefore the letters of its name must reflect that. The letters א, י, ה appear in HKB"H's names, while the ר indicates רוּחַ. Adam Harishon knew that the אַרְיֵה is one of the legs of the כִּסֵּא הַכָּבוֹד and therefore its name must reflect that spirituality.
It is not like we name our pet dog "Spot", or a farmer names his cow "Marigold". The names that Adam gave to all the creatures, including himself and even HKB"H (Adam named HKB"H א-ד-נ-י since He is אָדוֹן over all Creation), reflect their essence, they are not simply names of endearment.
For the most part, creatures below humans in the food chain, do not each have individual names. Nobody gives individual names to flies or mosquitoes buzzing around their head, nor to fish swimming in the sea or birds flying in the sky (the whole "meshugas" of naming pets – cats, dogs, etc - in our modern culture, is indicative of יְרִידַת הַדּוֹרוֹת). Humans, on the other hand, each have their own individual name, it is part of what makes us human. If you want to deprive someone of their humanity you give them a number instead ר"ל.
Although in the Torah some people were named directly by HKB"H (like Noach for example), in most cases it is the parents who give names to their children. How does a parent choose an appropriate name?
Some name their child after a deceased relative, some give a name that they want their child to aspire to become (for example we named our daughter Ashira, because we wanted her to love music and singing – and she does).
Some people name children after things they like, for example one crazy soccer fan in England named his son with eleven first names – the names of all the players in Manchester United. "Good morning Altay-Harry-Jonny-Tyrell-Victor-Kobbie-Radek-Diogo-Lisandro-Luke-Raphael (gasp)…OK, that's it, time to go to sleep already, good night!"
There is the famous story of the couple who went to their Rabbi to resolve a dispute over which name to give their son. The father wanted to call him Avraham and the mother wanted to call him … Avraham. "So, what is the problem?" asked the Rabbi. The mother said "I want to name him Avraham, after my grandfather Avraham who was a great Tzaddik and a Talmid Chacham.
My husband wants to name him after his grandfather Avraham who was an ex-con, who served a 10-year sentence for grand larceny and embezzlement!" The wise Rabbi's response – "OK, so call him Avraham … and wait. If he turns out like HaRav Kanievsky zt"l, you will know he has the neshama of the mother's grandfather. If he turns out like Madoff, you will know it is the neshama of the father's grandfather!"
We like to think that it is we parents who determine the name of the child. However, the Rashba(שו"ת הרשב"א, תשובה ו') says that at the instant the parents decide what to name the baby, HKB"H gives them Ruach HaKodesh and directs them what to name the child. A person's name is so crucial that HKB"H does not rely on the parents alone to arrive at the appropriate name. A person's name will determine their path and purpose in life. Each neshama is born with a specific purpose to fulfil in this life and that is reflected by their name.
The Gemara (Yoma 83b) tells the story of R' Meir, R' Yehuda and R' Yossi who were travelling and decided to stop off at an inn for the night. The inn was owned by a man named Kidor. All three were carrying valuables with them and as is common when sleeping in a hotel, you ask the proprietor to lock your valuables in the hotel safe.
R' Yehuda and R' Yossi were not makpid regarding a person's name and handed over their valuables. R' Meir, however, refused saying "There is no way I am going to hand my money over to someone named Kidor. The passuk says כִּי דוֹר תַּהְפֻּכֹת הֵמָּה בָּנִים לֹא אֵמֻן בָּם (דברים לב, כ), you cannot trust someone named Kidor!" R' Meir snuck out round behind the hotel to the cemetery and, making sure nobody was watching, dug a hole and hid his wallet.
That night while Kidor was serving them dinner, he approached them "Rabbis, do you mind if I ask you a question? This afternoon, while I was having a nap, my late father came to me in a dream and said 'Kidor, you won't believe what happened! Someone just buried a large sum of money next to my tombstone'. Rabbi's, do you think that there could be any truth to this dream?"
All three told him "You must have had too much beer for lunch and it has made you woozy. That is why you are dreaming such crazy dreams. Go to sleep early tonight and sleep it off". During the night, R' Meir hurriedly retrieved his stash.
The following morning, they met Kidor as he was racing out in the direction of the cemetery. They noticed he had lentil crumbs on his mustache from breakfast. "Kidor, we would like to head out, can you please return our money from the safe!" Money? What money? I never received any money from you to put in the safe!" said Kidor as he ran out to start digging around his father's grave.
R' Yehuda and R' Yossi realized that R' Meir had been correct, but being talmidei chachamim, they knew how to outwit Kidor. With Kidor out of the hotel they approached his wife "Dear Mrs. Kidor, your husband said he had to step out and told us to ask you to get our money from the safe. So that you will know that we are telling the truth, he said to tell you that you both were eating lentil soup for breakfast!"
Kidor's wife knew that to be true so she believed them and went to return their money". Later Kidor returned home full of mud and empty handed. "I gave those men back their money like you told me", said his wife. "Me? I told you? When did I tell you?" Kidor was so angry that he struck his wife and she died.
Sefer Shmot begins with a list of names, the names of the Twelve Tribes, the 70 souls of the House of Yaakov who descended to Egypt. This is how the exile began. If it had not begun like that, the exile in Egypt would never have ended. The reason the country is called מִצְרַיִם, beginning with an open מ and ending with a closed ם is because there was no problem to enter Egypt, there was always an open door to get in, but once you were in there was no way out, all the doors were shut.
It began with names, it continued with names and it ended with names. The House of Yaakov and the names of his sons laid the foundation for Am Yisrael in Egypt. One of the things that saved them is that they never changed their names to Egyptian names. They preserved their Jewish, Hebrew names and by doing so, they preserved their mission that HKB"H had intended for them.
After leaving Egypt, HKB"H subjected them to the test of the Sotah in Mara, with the bitter waters, to make sure that they had preserved their fidelity in Egypt and they passed the test. This is attested to in Bamidbar (chap. 26) where HKB"H lists all the names again, but this time HKB"H adds His stamp of approval to each of the names, prefacing each name with a ה and ending with a י, the letters of HKB"H's name י-ה. חֲנוֹךְ מִשְׁפַּחַת הַחֲנֹכִי לְפַלּוּא מִשְׁפַּחַת הַפַּלֻּאִי וכו'.
A name is a very powerful thing. It is powerful for the bearer of the name and helps to understand your mission in life. Your name reflects the essence of who you are and was given to you by HKB"H Himself. Your mission is to live up to your name.
Rachmana litzlan, almost every evening we are subjected to a never-ending barrage of names of brave heroes who gave their lives defending Am Yisrael in this terrible war with our enemies. If you have the privilege to attend a funeral for one of these heroes, as I did this week (the son of one of my neighbors), and you listen to their names and how they lived their lives, you begin to understand who Am Yisrael truly is.
It is not the distorted picture we see and hear on TV and via social media. It is a reflection of the authentic Am Yisrael from way back then during the Exodus and later standing united at Har Sinai, the same neshamot. [blogger emphasis]
It is also unfortunately being hampered by the same "erev rav" chiming in with unwanted, damaging background noise. Just like back then, it is our job today to consolidate our camp and to relegate these dangerous elements outside the camp where they belong.
We cannot suffice with the people alone. Sefer Breishit is "people heavy", with most of the "names" being people related. It is not complete, however, without sefer Shmot. חוּמַּשׁ שֵׁנִי supplies the added "injection of HKB"H", "names" that are HKB"H related, complementing sefer Breishit and completing the full picture of Breishit I and Breishit II - the Breishit/Shmot combo.
Similarly, today. Baruch Hashem we are blessed with the people, the authentic Am Yisrael as we always have been. What we need desperately now is that "injection of HKB"H" to complement the people and complete the picture. We all need to work extra hard on increasing the "HKB"H injection" within ourselves and making it accessible and attractive to all those who have not yet been privileged to be exposed to its beauty and light.
It's all in the names!
Shabbat Shalom
Eliezer Meir Saidel
Machon Lechem Hapanim
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