Shavuah Tov!! Wishing everyone a blessed and beautiful week which we begin with Parashah “Shemot” (Names). Actually the second book of the Torah is called by this Parashah.
What is in a name that would merit a whole book of the Torah to be called like this?
Our names are the key to our essence, they reach the most profound place of our being. Our sages teach that when a person faints if they are called by their Hebrew name they will wake up.
Also they teach that when parents name their children they do it by Ruach Hakodesh (Divine Inspiration).
In the concentration camps in the time of WWII, the first thing they did to the Jews was strip them from their names and stamp numbers on their arms. They did this to take away from them any trace of their humanity. They were not seen as people any more, now they were numbers.
In this Parashah, Batya who’s name means “Daughter of G-d” and she was the daughter of the evil Pharaoh, saved baby Moses from drowning in the Nile river and she named him Moses which means “to draw out.” Although Moses has many more names he is known universally by the name Batya gave him.
One of the merits the Jews had to be redeemed from Egypt was that they kept their Jewish names.
So next time you think of your name remember that it is not just a stamp, it holds the key to your individuality and essence.
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