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January 5, 2024, 2023 (24 Tevet 5784) Parasha Shmot- What's In A Name?
Dear Friends, I hope this correspondence finds you well and in good health. We pray that you had a safe New Year’s celebration, and that the upcoming year of 2024 will bring us all joy and fulfillment, as well as peace in the Holy Land. Please join us at Shul this Shabbat morning at 10:00 am for services and Kiddush or participate via our regular Zoom prayer link (and provide your own Kiddush). This Shabbat, we honor the memory of Isaak Khimishman, who was a regular participant in services at Cliffside Park. We thank Elaine Lyubomirsky and her family for sponsoring the Kiddush in his memory. This Sunday, I will begin a new adult education program called Exploring Exodus. It will feature an in-depth look at what many people consider to be the most exciting book in the Torah, as I will elaborate on in the coming paragraphs. The weekly program will take place on Sunday mornings at 9:30 – 10:15AM, only on Zoom. I hope you will join me and start your day with some learning. Details are below. Next week, at our Shabbat morning service on January 13th, we will begin our new programming series Young Voices: Today’s Topics. Our first guest will be Eliana Fisher, a graduating lawyer from CUNY, who has worked tirelessly over the years advocating for the disenfranchised through her affiliation with an organization called Avodah. It should be a revealing discussion, so please be sure to attend. You can see below for further information. During this Shabbat’s service, we will begin the second book of the Torah, which is often referred to as the Book of Exodus. As you are aware, either from the Torah, or from religious school, or from the 1956 epic religious drama film The Ten Commandments (produced, directed, and narrated by Cecil B. DeMille, and shot in Vista Vision color by Technicolor!), the canonical compilation, contains some of the greatest of all-time biblical action scenes. In the progression of the script, Hashem redeems the people of Israel while showing Himself off as the One True God through “a mighty hand & outstretched arm,” and, “by miracles & wonders!” With no disrespect to Arnold Schwarzenegger or Sylvester Stallone, you can take your pick as to the best Jewish action scene of all time by selecting Hashem as the protagonist in the tale of the Ten Plagues (Ex. 7-8), the Splitting of the Sea of Reeds (Ex. 14-15), or the gifting of the Ten Commandments (Ex. 19d-20). Nonetheless, allow me to suggest that a more accurate translation of the beginning of the new book, which we will chant this Shabbat, is taken from the opening Hebrew words ואלה שמות (“These are the Names”). Rather than commencing with an action scene (please stay tuned a couple of weeks for it!), this week’s portion goes to great length to list the names of all seventy of Yaakov’s descendants, who make their way down to Egypt, a solid two hundred and ten years before the Exodus. As such, the Torah teaches explicitly that not only is each Jewish individual important, but implicitly, that Hebrew names are an essential part of Jewish identity. In fact, generations into brutal slavery, one of the reasons offered for the salvation of the Jews, is that despite rampant and understandable loss of identity, B’nei Yisrael was redeemed through the merit of maintaining their own Hebrew names and recalling the names of our covenantal patriarchs, Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov. In Romeo and Juliet Act II Scene II, when playwright William Shakespeare asks the question, “What's in a name?”, Juliet shares the famous adage that a “rose by any other name will smell as sweet.” Shakespeare suggests that while names themselves are a convention to distinguish things or people, names themselves do not have any worth or meaning. Judaism, and this week’s Torah portion of שמות, respectfully disagree with the world’s foremost playwright! Here are a few random thoughts regarding the significance of names:
Earlier this week, as I was thinking about the impact of names, I reflected on my own Hebrew name of עמנואל, which means “God Is With Us.” I thought to myself, what a powerful way to journey throughout life’s path. Later in the week, I then spent some time with a new friend whose Hebrew name is שמחה גדליה or Simcha Gedalia. While both of these names probably sound familiar to you, I found it powerful, especially given the world in which we live, to note that when combined, the name means “Simcha (joy) makes God great.” It is perhaps one of the clearest mindsets of how we express our Judaism. To be joyful is to express our love of God and make His greatness known throughout the world. Perhaps this week, and during Shabbat, we will be blessed to fully embrace the Simcha that surrounds us, dispel the gloom of the world, and make God’s name great again! This Shabbat, please share with me the meaning and origin of your name! Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Eric L. Wasser, EdD, Hon.DM
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