Earning your real name

We Jews are always looking for ways to increase our chances of survival as a People. One resource we tend to forget is a gift many of us carry almost from birth: our Hebrew names. More than a label and a mark of religious identity, a Hebrew name has the power to challenge and transform us. Jewish parents can give their children Hebrew names. But adult Jews must decide if their Hebrew names are to be a blessing or a burden.

Shel Silverstein wrote about a burdensome name in a song made famous by Johnny Cash called A Boy Named Sue (first recorded at Cash’s concert “Live At San Quentin” on Feb. 24, 1969). In it a boy does not blame his father for abandoning the family, but hates him for naming him “Sue.” After a lifetime of fighting to prove his manhood, the boy searches for his dad, intent on killing him for the pain he has caused. When they finally meet and each turns to shoot the other, the father hesitates and explains the method behind his madness:
… Son, this world is rough and if
a man’s gonna make it, he’s gotta be tough
and I knew I wouldn’t be there to help you along.
So I gave you that name and I said ‘Goodbye.’
I knew you’d have to get tough or die. And it’s
that name that helped to make you strong.”
I got all choked up and I threw down my gun,
called him pa and he called me a son,
and I came away with a different point of view.

Being a boy or girl with a Hebrew name that says “Jew” can be almost as challenging as being a boy named “Sue.” It’s never easy being different. But our willingness to accept our uniqueness with all the responsibility it entails can also make us stronger.

Midwives Shifra and Puah risked their lives to save Hebrew boys at birth in Egypt despite Pharaoh’s order to kill them. Moses is among those they saved. Though the names Shifra and Puah are not necessarily American Hebrew household names today, they are popular in Israel, and the women who bore them in the Torah were the first people to be named in the Book of Exodus. I like to think that this honor was more than accidental. I like to think that it was a reward for being the first to save our People.

Commentators who discuss the reason for the survival of the Hebrews slaves in Egypt also point to Hebrew names as a cause. They say the slaves earned the blessing of redemption because they chose Hebrew names over Egyptian names despite the hardship they faced because of it.

In many ways, Jewish survival depends on how we play the name game. Figuratively speaking, if we wear our Hebrew names with pride regardless of the cost, we will command respect. But if we try to hide the heritage our parents and grandparents bequeathed to us, people will treat us accordingly. Clearly it is time to stand up and be counted.

Rabbinically Speaking is published as a public service by the Jewish Press in cooperation with the Tampa Rabbinical Association which assigns the column on a rotating basis.