What's In A Name?
How did a talmudic rabbi come to have a name like Ishmael?
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Q: A reader recently asked a
question regarding the privileges
of a kohen, commenting that when
she was pregnant she was not al-
lowed to attend her father's fu-
neral. What did that have to do
RNS PHOTO
with her being the
daughter of a ko-
hen?
A: According
Q: According to Jewish tradition,
Abraham's son, Ishmael, is the
progenitor of the Arabs. Imagine
my astonishment when I heard of a
talmudic rabbi named Ishmael.
What's the story behind the name?
to Halachah, all
of the restric-
tions and privi-
leges pertaining
to kohanim ap-
ply to males
only. The fact
that the reader
was prevented
from attending
her father's fu-
neral was a
matter of folk
religion and not
Torah.
There is a
common Jewish
superstition Will evil spirits haunt pregnant women who visit here?
that pregnant
women should
A: You should know that Ish-
not attend funerals because of mael is in fact a Hebrew name
evil spirits and such. It has no meaning "God will hear." It first
basis in Halachah.
appears in the Torah in Gene-
sis 16:11. The Arabic derivative
of Ishmael is Ismail.
Q: A couple of evenings ago my
Throughout history, there
buddies and I got together after have been several rabbis named
bowling. We were sitting around Ishmael, the most renowned be-
drinking beer and talking about ing the rabbi of the Talmud, Ish-
mael ben Elisha (generally
the stunning acting talents referred to simply as Rabbi Ish-
evinced in Showgirls when the mael), who lived in the first half
subject turned to the "Song of of the second century, C.E.
Because of the connotations
Stalin." One of the guys said he
thought this musical masterpiece associated with the original Ish-
mael, the name never has been
might have been written by the popular among Jews and rarely
Jewish composer Isaac Dunayevs- has been given to children, be-
ki. Was he correct?
yond the early Middle Ages. A
A: Dunayevski is your man, notable exception was Ishmael
all right!
ha-Kohen, rabbi of Modena,
Born in 1900 in the Ukraine, Italy (1723-1811). In 1806 he
Dunayevski began studying pi- was invited by Napoleon to an-
ano when he was 4. In 1919, swer questions put to the As-
he moved to Leningrad, be- sembly of Jewish notables in
coming one of the-most popu- Paris.
lar composers in the Soviet
The tradition of Ishmael be-
Union. He was named presi- ing the forebear of the Arabs has
dent of the Union of Soviet been exaggerated over the cen-
Composers in 1937.
turies. The Torah does mention
Most of Dunayevski's works Ishmaelites (Genesis 37:25-28),
comprised light operas and and many scholars believe it
dance music, though he was refers to a tribe of Bedouin, of-
responsible for the unforget- ten regarded as the original
table "Song of Stalin" quartet, Arabs. Over the centuries, es-
which, of course, continues to pecially in the 20th century, the
be sung by fans everywhere to term "Arab" became more of a
this day.
political and less of an ethnic
Dunayevski received the designation. Today, there are
Stalin Prize in 1941. He died millions of people called Arab
in 1955.
who bear no relation to Ishmael.
Q: The school district where I
live has a great many Jewish fam-
ilies. I notice that the public
schools in our district are closed
on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kip-
pur.
When it closes the schools, is
the district giving Jewish holidays
the same recognition it gives
Christmas? In any case, isn't it un-
constitutional to close schools be-
cause of a religious holiday?
A: First, even though Christ-
mas is a religious day, it has
the status of a legal holiday in
the United States — it is a
federal public holiday (one of
10) and as such is a legal pub-
lic holiday in all 50 states. No
other such holy day — of any
religion — has the federal
legal status of Christmas,
although in some states
Good Friday also is a legal hol-
iday.
Your heavily Jewish school
district closes on Rosh
Hashanah and Yom Kippur
because attendance on those
days is so low, both from Jew-
ish students and teachers,
making it impractical to
hold classes. Closing the
schools for these days is a mat-
ter of expediency, not religious
observance. Districts close
school on Christmas out of re-
spect for the religious nature
of the day (in most cases,
schools are closed for the whole
week in which Christmas
falls).
One could argue that closing
a school because of a religious
holy day, or designating such
a day as a public holiday, is in
fact a violation of the estab-
lishment clause of the First
Amendment of the Constitu-
tion. On the other hand, it also
could be argued that even
though the government offi-
cially recognizes a holy day, it
does not compel anyone to ob-
serve the day in a religious
manner.
One could further argue that
not being able to receive mail,
conduct business in a govern-
ment office, or attend school is
a social or commercial imped-
iment. But it would mean
proving damages -- which is
no easy task. ❑
Send questions to "Tell Me Why"
c/o The Jewish News, 27676
Franklin Rd., Southfield, MI
48034 or send fax to 354-6069.