WHAT'S IN A NAME

    Names fascinate me. So many times I pose the question  "What is in a name?" As Shakespeare wrote, “Whats in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

  So often I realize that we do inherit a name but then I conclude that in reality we actually make our own names. In fact we own our names to do with it whatever we wish.  The power of a name and its value has long been immortalized in pros, poetry and in our religion.   Everyone recognizes himself and herself by name.

   In this blog I am in search of how a name influences our behavior and a person’s character?

   To answer this question, we need to ask, what a name really is. 

    Is it merely a grouping of several letters of an alphabet which represent the identification of a person or an object?

    In Judaism we have seen that a name stood for a person’s reputation, their fame, and their glory. Parents usually gave children’s names, either from deceased relatives or living relatives. These names described the parents hopes and future expectations regarding the child’s future.

  As we look at Biblical names we recognize how names reflect the personality of that person. For instance David means “Beloved”, Abraham means “Father of a multitude”, Goliath means “Splendor”. All of these persons live true to their names. 

   One might ask,  "Why am I so involved with names and their meanings?"  It All started as I began to study this weeks Parsha of Vaera. Herein, we see how Hashem spoke to Moshe,

     “I appeared to Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov as El Shaddai, but I did not make myself known to them by My name of Yud Hey Vav Hey”. Here, we see that indeed G-D has many names and certain names He did not divulge to everyone. What was so significant in the Name    יקוק  that he did not share with our patriarchs this specific name and more so what does this name indicate in the so-called personality of Hashem?" 

      Thus, we begin to realize that the name יקוק is a reflection of the idea אהיה אשר אהיה which comes   from the Hebrew root “To Be”. In a most simplistic way it means that G-D is and G-D exists. The Rambam states that everything that exists in the world is contingent, which means it could exist or it could not exist. However G-D is not contingent. G-D is necessary, once we believe in  G-D then G-D exists.

    It is important for us to truly understand the name of Hashem in the context of    אהיה אשר אהיה                          

“I will Be what I will Be “. Here we see a more dynamic understanding of G-D. The name bespeaks the fact that G-D is constantly involved in world activities.  However, G-D's reaction to world affairs is greatly dependent on mans ethical and moral values. We need to know, well,  that Hashem is affected by what happens in the world  - always interacting with the human beings that He created. This is a beautiful image fitting with the notion that, not only, did Hashem create us , but every action on our part has a direct relationship to G-D and determines, greatly, how He interacts with the world. Perhaps the statement   אהיה אשר אהיה  indicates that Hashem is always reacting to and is influenced by the actions of us humans. There are times, as the Rav said, when G-D recoils into Himself leaving the world in the hands of man.

   Think well, G-D will direct the world on the basis of how we the human race conducts ourselves. With this idea in mind, so much responsibility is placed upon each and every one of us as we live our lives in the most ethical and moral way. Blame for the world’s problems lies at our doorsteps and Hashem waits for us to act. The way we conduct ourselves, that is the same way that He will be involved in the world. This may seem to be a very unique way in seeing the relationship we have with Hashem , but His name of      אהיה אשר אהיה   I will Be what I will Be, I  will be what you wish for Me to be, shows us that we can join together with Hashem to bring about a more just and righteous world,but we must be the catalyst to achieve this wonderful world that is ours for the taking. 

Our motto for life is that a שם טוב supersedes every thing.  

                        שבת שלום