BS"D
NAMES OF NOBILITY: PARSHAT SHEMOT
Shira Smiles shiur 2017/5777
Summary by Channie Koplowitz Stein
The second book of the Torah, sometimes referred to as the Book of Redemption
in Hebrew (known as Exodus in English) is more often called "Shemot/Names,"
as is the first Parsha reading of this book. Simply, the Sefer begins with
listing all the names of Bnei Yisroel that descended to Egypt, repeating the
list from Sefer Bereishit, and ending with, "And Joseph was in
Egypt."
The first obvious question is why was it necessary to repeat the names, and if
the Torah is again telling us who went down to Egypt, why was it also necessary
to tell us that Joseph was in Egypt, another fact we already knew. As Rabbi
Eisenberger writes in Mesillot Bilvovom, there must be some connection
between the names they went down with and the redemption, explaining on one
level why our Sages say that one of the main reasons we were redeemed from
Egypt was because we did not change our names. Maintaining our Hebrew names,
then, contributed to our maintaining our Jewish identity when we are living
among other nations. Similarly, these names must also somehow be harbingers of
redemption. It behooves us, therefore, to examine the significance of names.
Rav Shor in Ohr Gedalyahu reminds us that the name reflects the
essence of a being and the purpose of his existence. From the very beginning of
creation, Adam named each creature based on its salient characteristic.
(Indeed, God named Adam himself based on his source, adamah/earth,
and Adam is to be a footstool, hadom raglov, the
foundation for Hashem's presence on earth. - R. Hirsch) The name helps
us understand its essence, its potential, and its basic function. Understanding
the name of a person or a thing helps us focus on the purpose.
The Gemarrah interprets the verse in Tehillim, "... Ki sam shamot
ba'aretz - He put destruction in the land," and says shamot/destruction,
with different vocalization, can easily be read as sheimot/names. What
the Gemarrah seems to be saying is that if you do not live up to your name and
your potential, you will bring destruction to the land, writes Rabbi Gedaliah
Schorr. What was it that Hashem loved so much in Avram that He named him
Avraham? He found Avraham faithful to his name. One must be loyal to the
attributes inherent in the name you are given. In fact, giving the name at a bris
or at a girl's baby naming at the Torah reading reveals those hidden attributes
of the child that the parents hope he will develop, whether named for a loved
one or for a specific attribute. (The names Eitan, Shira, Simcha
come to mind, as well as Boruch/Bracha.)
When Pharaoh summons the midwives whom our tradition identifies as Yocheved and
Miriam, the names they are called are Shifrah and Puah. Rabbi Shmuel Brazile
explains that these were names Pharaoh gave them, hoping to erase their
identifying with the Jewish babies. Then the babies would be no more than
numbers, and the midwives would have no qualms in killing them.
Names, thus, have two interconnected components writes Rabbi Dovid Hofstedter
in Dorash Dovid. The first is the definition of the name, while the
second is the mental, psychological and emotional intention of the parents when
they gave the child this name for, just as a child inherits physical attributes
from his parents, so too does he inherit these other attributes from his
parents. A person is influenced by both of these meanings in developing the
attributes of his name.
One's name is a gift, continues Rabbi Hofstedter. It includes both a legacy and
a mindset. Our Matriarchs articulated the reasons they gave their children
their particular names. These names were a sacred legacy in the land of Israel,
and included the essence of each individual. By renaming these souls when they
descended to Egypt, they invested themselves with the ability to retain their
innate holy essence even as they had to adapt to the immoral society of Egypt,
tells us Rabbi Gifter. This ability to adapt and actualize our innate holy
potential wherever we find ourselves exists in each one of us whatever
challenges we face and wherever we are. When the Torah then records that Yoseph
was in Egypt, adds Rabbi Weinberger, it is telling us that Yoseph retained the
holy essence of his name the whole time he was in Egypt, just as his brothers
would do when they descended to Egypt.
Rabbi Yoseph Eisenberger goes into an in depth discussion on the significance
of names. He notes that names not only include the essence but also imply
permanence. Therefore, the angel Yaakov fought could not give his name because
his mission changed daily. On the other hand, when Moshe asked Hashem what Name
he should tell Bnei Yisroel, Hashem readily told him a permanent name: I will
be that which I will be- that which I am now supporting you through the
challenge of Egypt, so will I be with you through every challenge and diaspora
in your future history. Hashem's message to Bnei Yisroel through Moshe was that
the relationship between Hashem and Bnei Yisroel was permanent; Hashem would
never abandon His people.
There is an interesting verse in Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) that
Rabbi Eisenberger connects to our theme: "A good name is better than oil,
and the day of death than the day of birth." He proposes that since a good
name is being compared to oil, there must be some similarity between the two
that lends itself to comparison. He notes that oil always alludes to wisdom,
just as the Menorah fueled by oil was a symbol of wisdom. Unlike emotions which
are volatile, wisdom is unchangeable and constant. Just as chochma,
wisdom, is constant, continuous and permanent, so too is a person's name. What
allowed Klal Yisroel to retain their names was that they let their chochma
control their emotions. He who can maintain clarity of focus and purpose
through exercising wisdom has maintained the integrity of his name from birth
to death. The wish of the parents, wisdom represented by the father and understanding
represented by the mother, is that the child they are now naming should
accomplish his mission.
It is with this same idea in mind, to keep one's focus on one's essence, that
the Shla"h Hakodosh introduced a custom to recite a verse
representative of one's name towards the end of the silent Amidah
prayer. This verse should serve as a mantra to keep one focused on his mission
in life. At death, you will be asked your name, you will be asked if you lived
up to the essence your name signified. Yoseph never changed his name and never
forgot his mission, even though Pharaoh gave him an Egyptian name in keeping
with his status. He made sure his head ruled his heart and his passions.
Rabbi Eisenberger then gives some practical advice. Since a person is
influenced by his actions, it is important to establish a routine as much as
possible. Routine establishes stability and helps you focus on what needs to be
done. By keeping the basics in place, one can more easily focus on all the
other tasks that need to be done, much like putting braces on teeth forces the
teeth into their proper positions. When one does not have a routine to brace
and support him, one is easily distracted and accomplishes little.
Unfortunately, the distractions of modern culture, from instagrams to
multitasking, keep people shifting from one activity to another without
accomplishing anything of value. It is very difficult to keep on point, to
accomplish our name's mission. Therefore, we wish a baby at his bris that as he
grows, although he is small now, he should grow along with the name he has just
received.
We can now understand why retaining the names was important for survival in the
exile in Egypt and indeed in each of our exiles, but the names are also a
harbinger of our redemption. The Ohel Moshe cites Rabbi Elyashiv who
notes that the names of the tribes while certainly rooted in the past, also
contained allusions to the future redemption - Hashem sees my affliction
(Reuven), hears my cries (Shimon), wants a relationship with me
(Levi), and so on. These names provided hope for Bnei Yisroel throughout their
ordeal and enabled them to survive.
Rabbi Schwadron raises an interesting question in Lev Shalom. Bnei
Yisroel are compared to stars that Hashem brings out and returns individually
by name. Based on our discussion, we can understand how when Bnei Yisroel
descended into the dark exile, as related in Parshat Vayigash, their
names were recorded. One would think that the names would be recorded again
upon the actual exodus from Egypt rather than here, at the beginning of the
enslavement. In fact, notes Rabbi Schwadron, the enslavement was so difficult
that it included the beginning of the redemption. The suffering was so severe
that the predicted 400 years of enslavement was telescoped into 210 years,
thereby planting the seeds of the redemption into the beginning of the
enslavement. This is perhaps an interesting point to remember when our personal
troubles seem overwhelming. Perhaps Hashem is speeding up our redemption and
salvation. In fact, our national challenge, the golut, the Diaspora, is
part of revelation, of hitgalut, in Asufat Maarachot. Our
names reveal to us our potential, challenge us to work to fulfill that
potential so that we will be ready for redemption.
When Bnei Yisroel retained their names, they not only held on to their past but
also kept the vision of the future before them, writes Rabbi Gedaliah Schorr,
the Ohr Gedaliah. They kept the revealed essence of their names and the
hidden essence contained in their names, the names that connected each of them
to Hakodosh Boruch Hu, just as each person is represented by a letter in the
Sefer Torah, a letter that is connected to a specific attribute of the Ribbonoh
shel olam. By keeping their names, they kept that connection alive and were
able to focus on bringing their potential to fruition, the fruition that would
speed the redemption. Through creating a manifestation of his name on earth,
man has the potential of bringing the glory of Heaven to earth. By living up to
his name, he can ask Hashem to merit extricating himself from his constraints
so that he can praise Hashem.
The book is called Shemot, Names, precisely because the names
provided the hope for and were the harbingers of salvation, precisely because
it provided them with the focus they would need to survive the enslavement and
to hasten that salvation. And Yoseph was already in Mitzrayim, preparing for
the redemption, notes the Modzitzer Rebbe.
The very moment a child is named, at a bris for a boy and at a Torah reading
for a girl, the seeds of rising above one's physical constraints are put into
place, for it will help you bring the spiritual connection to Hashem inherent
in the name into the mundane, constricting world, writes Rabbi Wolfson in Emunat
Itecha. Hence, Eliyahu Hanavi is found at every Bris, a demonstration
of the power of redemption that is inherent in the name given to the child.
Long before Richard Lovelace wrote, "Stone walls do not a prison make, nor
iron bars a cage" [c.k.s.] our ancestors understood that if they lived in
the power of their names, although their bodies were enslaved in Egypt, their
essence and their spirit remained free. They were so connected to their inner
world, writes the Sefas Emes, and they so believed in the coming
redemption that the enslavement had no power over them. Indeed, four fifths of
the people could not maintain the vision of the redemption inherent in their
names. Our Sages tell us that these four fifths of the nation died in Egypt
prior to the redemption. The other fifth knew that Hashem was always with them,
they knew it by the very names they called themselves. They knew that Hashem
would free their bodies since their essence had remained free.
Generally, we give much thought to the names we plan to give our children. Let
us not forget to tell them the legacy of their names, the hopes and dreams and
visions we have for their names. Let us call them by their Hebrew names as
Hashem calls the stars that shine so brightly in the dark, nighttime sky. Let
us provide them with the strength inherent in their names. As we focus on their
names and ours, let us hasten our personal and national redemption.