We learn in a midrash that despite their low spiritual
state, the Jewish people merited to be redeemed from slavery in Egypt because
of four praiseworthy practices: they continued to select Jewish names for their
children, they kept using the Hebrew language, they did not gossip, and they
did not intermarry or cohabit with the Egyptians (Leviticus Rabbah, 32:5).
In an essay on the Chabad.org website, Rabbi Aryeh Citron
notes that the first meritorious practice – preserving Jewish names – can be
seen clearly in this week’s Torah portion, Bamidbar. When Moses selects the
leaders of the different tribes to assist him in conducting a Divinely-ordained
census, the names of the leaders are striking in that many of them are composed
of direct references to God. For example, the leader of the tribe of Reuven is
Elizur (my God is a rock), son of Shadai-oor (my God is light) and the leader
of the tribe of Shimon is Shelumiel (my peace is God), son of TzuriShadi (my
rock is God), and so on (Numbers 1:5-15).
Reading through the list of the names, its clear that these
were not merely Jewish names but were also explicit messages of hope. I marvel
at the fact that, amidst the bitterness and despair of slavery, the Jewish
families identified in this week’s Torah reading selected mini-prayers as their
children’s names. We would do well to consider their examples, both in the
weighty occasions of naming our own children and in more mundane situations, such as
when we select a screen name or an email address. As we see, the names we
choose communicate values and serve as a constant reminder of our hopes and
goals.
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