09/02/2022
Sitting in my office listening to the busy sounds of getting ready to start school, I am wondering where the summer went.
Yet, is that not the case every summer?
As you all know or read, this has been an intense and amazing summer for our family. It culminated this week with the realization that school starts next week and the anticipated baby is here.
And today was the Brit Milah
A Brit is the covenant made between G-d and a tiny baby boy. There are all kinds of customs surrounding the ceremony, but having customs that are passed down seems to be the case in most organized religions and societies.
To me, the highlight of the event is the baby naming.
In our family, we follow the Ashkenazic practice of naming a baby, boy or girl, after a departed loved one. In the Sephardic tradition, babies are named after loved ones departed or still living.
In a mixed marriage, Ashkenazic and Sephardic, babies can be named within either tradition.
No matter the custom, the name that you give a child matters. Is it a strong name, a funny one, maybe even a weird one? We have to remember that names that were popular in the 50’s, Barbara, Susan, Linda; well let’s leave it at that, are really no longer in vogue.
That’s true of any generation.
There were 3 Barbara’s and 4 Susan’s in my class; I was given my name by a clerk on Ellis Island. There is a whole story about my middle name, I bet you didn’t even know that I have one.
Not telling.
A friend of mine has grandchildren called Max, Leo and Edith; she says that when she calls them by their names, she feels like she is listing the residents of an old age home.
I was once sitting at the pool in Grossingers, there used to be a fancy hotel called Grossingers, when a bikini wearing gorgeous tiny, little girl with a head full of glorious curls climbed out.
“Edna״, called her grandmother, “let me dry you with this towel.”
Need I say more?
Last year when we were meeting yet again, a sobbing first grade boy came into Rabbi Hazan’s office. He could barely catch his breath.
“What’s wrong?” “What could have possibly happened to you?”
Through the cascade of tears rolling into his mouth, he gulped, “Sam called me George Washington!”
His name is George.
The first thing you ask when you meet someone new is their name. You walk into a class from Toddlers to Graduate School, the teacher asks your name. You order a cup of coffee at Dunkin’ or Starbucks, they ask your name. Rabbi Ouriel Hazan uses a pseudonym, no one can pronounce his. It’s easier to make one up. I happen to know a number of people who do that.
At night, when thinking about your future, do possible children’s names scroll through your mind?
It’s a big deal to give a baby a name, a made up one or one from nature, the movies, sports or a favorite book. There are even kids named after cars, the stars and streets.
Some parents, reluctant to name after a departed or living loved one, will bury that family name deep into a middle or third name when feeling forced.
Not a fan.
My neighbor just had a grandson; they named the baby after his father’s great grandfather, Efraim. This man was someone our whole family knew well. We called this man in the traditional European manner, by his surname, Mr M.
Truth be told, I never even knew his Torah or English name. His English name is Herman.
They are calling him Efraim in Hebrew and Efrem in English.
Something nice that I recently heard, in a family of girls, this baby boy was given the mother’s family surname as a middle name in homage to his mother and grandfather.
I like that; I can go on and on. I’ve been thinking about this for a while.
Yoav and Michal, our grandchildren, named this Deutsch baby, Moshe Manis Daniel.
Moshe Manis was Michal’s (my grandson’s wife) dad’s father. Sadly, he died at a young and dynamic 42. The name Daniel was added to ensure longevity; another custom with all kinds of permutations.
As an honor to Michal’s other grandfather, her mother’s father, Moshe’s English name will be Mark. Michal herself is named after her own grandfather; Mark died before Michal was born. Because Michal is named after her own grandfather, she can’t use his Torah name.
Both great grandfathers led lives of integrity, justice and chesed; we pray that Moshe Manis Daniel (Mark in English) will do justice to his name and glorious heritage.
We hope that he wears his name with pride and honor.
We are not worried.
As you meet your students Tuesday, make sure to take care to pronounce their names correctly and when you call on them, do it with warmth and love.
Please be cognizant that you are not only teaching this little boy or girl math and Chumash but that you have in your hands the traditions and dreams of the parents who named him or her after someone special and important.
It is up to you to help direct your student closer to who he/she will turn out to be; will that child be ready to live up to his or her name?
I think about that a lot.
Shabbat Shalom; next week is a big one.
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