Parsha Shemot - What's in a name?

A name is important in so many ways. In the case of God’s name, we are struck by the notion that God is infinite and unknowable, so that we can never really know his name. We can only name him by his attributes and his deeds. As a judge he is Elohim. When he wages war he’s called Adonai Tzevaot. When he tolerates the sins of Man he is El Shadai. There are actually seven holy names for God, but let’s leave this where it is.

When Moses asks "What shall I tell the Israelites your name is?", God responds “tell them that my name is Eh-he yeh,” which means “I am”. Now in this case, God is not being described by one of his attributes, but with his essence, his eternality. Interestingly, this name is not considered by our sages to be one of God’s holy names.

But what about us? Are we infinite and unknowable as well? Maybe not, but at a minimum, we are at least a little mysterious.

Our names generally come from our parents. Sometimes they are what they hope for us – like my son Asher (the laughing one). Sometimes we are just named for dead relatives – good or bad.

And we can add to our names in some cases. We can be MD’s,PHD’s,Rabbi’s,LLD’s, Patrolmen, Detectives, etc. But do those additions really tell anyone more about our essence? Not a lot.

In my case I am without any additions. I am Mayer Zusha ben Eliezer ha Kohain – or just Marc Stanley Bromberg. Oh wait a minute – I’m a Kohain. Someone who has only one chance in seven to get called to the Torah. Is that my essence? I think not. Is it my identity?
Maybe – if someone calls out “hey Mayer-Zusha!” – I will certainly turn around, wondering who knows me so well that they know my Jewish name.
If they look at my English last name, they might guess that I am Jewish.
I hope it’s not my social security number – even though in these days it seems to be the most important or inescapable.
I certainly hope that no one tries to name me by my attributes. Would I be…
• The Impatient One,
• The Intolerant One,
• The Bossy One,
• The Loving One,
• The Cheap One

I’m sure that those who come into contact with me have some good ideas (for instance Josh might think of me as “The Rambling One”.)
But at this point I would guess that only God and my wife could name me by my true attributes (and I hope that neither of them are talking).

But nevertheless, I think we should all think about ourselves as though our names did include our attributes, because in many ways we will be known by those attributes and our deeds. To our spouses maybe, but to God certainly.

So I submit that we have to be our names, and continue to be those names, as we will ultimately be known. Shall we be?

“The Just”
“The Wise”
“The Loving”
“The Kind”

or “The Jerk”
“The Goniff”
“The Brutal”
“The Unfeeling”

Think about what you’d like your name to be. And be your name.