A Rose By Any Other Name
This week we begin reading the second book in the Torah, known in English as the book of Exodus, but that is not the name given to it in Hebrew. Literally, Sefer Shemot means “the book of Names.” Seemingly, Exodus is more descriptive, since the first half of the book deals with the Exodus from Egypt.
In this shiur I would like to explore the essence of a “name” and in so doing, show why this is a much more fitting “name” for this book after all.
The first time the Hebrew word Shemot appears in the Torah is in Bereishit 2:20, when HaKadosh Baruch Hu paraded all the creatures before Adam HaRishon and Adam gave them all names.
The Yalkut Shimoni on that pasuk says that the angels asked HaKadosh Baruch Hu why He wanted to create man, to which HaKadosh Baruch Hu replied “man is wiser than you angels!” HaKadosh Baruch Hu 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.
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 HaKadosh Baruch Hu, reflect their essence, they are not simply names of endearment.
Although in the Torah some people were named directly by HaKadosh Baruch Hu (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 in memory of a deceased relative. Some give a name that they want their child to aspire to become. 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.
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 and 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 to be a Lamdan, you will know he has the Neshama of the mother’s grandfather. If he turns out to be “light-fingered,” 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 (Shut HaRashba, answer 6) says that at the instant the parents decide what to name the baby, HaKadosh Baruch Hu gives them Ruach HaKodesh and directs them what to name the child. A person’s name is so crucial that HaKadosh Baruch Hu 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.
A name is a very powerful thing, especially for the bearer of the name and helps us to understand our mission in life. Our mission is to live up to our name.
Shlomo HaMelech says “A name is better than choice oil” (Kohelet 7:1). Oil reflects elevated spiritual status. Oil has a tendency to rise – if you pour oil in a cup with another liquid, the oil rises to the top. However, there is one way to prevent oil from rising and that is by covering it with sand. When there is an oil spill on the road, they cover it with sand. Spiritually elevated as oil is, a person’s name is even more spiritually elevated. Even when they “cover us with sand” (after 120), our name rises up and remains long after we are gone. Oil ascends – a name transcends.
Sefer Shemot begins with a list of names, the names of the Twelve Tribes, the seventy souls of the House of Yaakov/Yisrael who descended to Egypt. In Egypt, Bnei Yisrael never changed their names to Egyptian names. They preserved their Jewish, Hebrew names and by doing so, they preserved their mission that HaKadosh Baruch Hu had intended for them.
Yes, Sefer Shemot deals to a large degree with the Exodus from Egypt, but the central focus of this book is HKB”H giving us the Torah on Har Sinai and our becoming a nation. By beginning Sefer Shemot with the seventy names of Yaakov/Yisrael’s family, the Torah is revealing to us the essence of our nation. Just as each individual in Am Yisrael has a unique mission, related to their G-d given name, so too does the entire nation have a unique national mission.
The name Yisrael means “You have battled with angels and men and have prevailed” (Bereishit 32:29) – a reference to Yaakov battling with the angel of Eisav (the yetzer hara) and with evil men (Eisav and Lavan). Am Yisrael’s national mission in this world is to constantly battle with our own yetzer hara and to fight evil wherever it exists – and prevail.
This destiny of Am Yisrael distinguishes us from the other nations, “Like a rose amongst the thorns” (Shir HaShirim 2:2).
It’s all in the name.
Parshat HaShavua Trivia Question: When Moshe grew up, he left Pharoah’s palace and saw two Jews fighting with each other. What are their names?
Answer to Last Shiur’s Trivia Question: Who was the first human to become ill in history? Yaakov Avinu. The Midrash (Bereishit Rabbah 65:9) says that until Yaakov, nobody had any indication that they were about to die. A person would sneeze and that’s it, they were zichrono livracha. Yaakov requested that humans become ill before they die to give them a chance to draw up a will, to part from their loved ones, etc. HaKadosh Baruch Hu said “It is a good request and I will begin with you!” (Bereishit 48:1).
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