Spirituality

TORAH PORTION

Knowing Our Names

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Parshat Shemot: Exodus 1-6:1; Isaiah
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December 23 • 2010

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being annoyed that my parents gave
his week's torah portion,
me a name, Keren, that was so often
Shemot, which is also the
Hebrew name for the entire
misspelled and mispronounced. Only
in later childhood could I be proud
Book for Exodus, means "names:'
that my name, especially
And indeed, names play
its Hebrew version, Keren
a significant part in the
Ami, had connotations of
parshah.
strength and of helping the
The Torah portion
Jewish community. I was
begins with the names of
happy to try to embody the
the sons of Jacob who left
dreams of my parents.
the Promised Land dur-
I don't deal with mid-
ing a time of famine there.
wives anymore. The
Their descendants are now
regular delivery person in
in Egypt and have procre-
my life is my mail carrier,
ated and created a large
Keren Alpert
Connie. I discovered that
community of Israelites in
Special to the
when
I learned her name,
the midst of the Egyptians.
Jewish News
Connie and I developed, if
Then, a most unfortu-
not an intimacy, a closer
nate thing happened. A
bond. I know she's a grandma now
new king arose who did not know
and has a grandchild in Oklahoma,
Joseph. He not only didn't know
Joseph because Joseph was long dead, not so far from where my parents
live in Oklahoma. She knows our
he also had forgotten of Joseph's
daughters' names and the names of
deeds and the loyalty of Joseph and
our dogs and even mourned with us
his family to the Egyptian commu-
when our dogs got sick and died after
nity.
And so, this new Pharaoh begins to nice long lives.
Shemot reminds us that in order to
oppress the Israelites. If only he had
treat each other with respect and even
known Joseph and had felt a connec-
to create intimacy, we have to know
tion to the Jewish people. Instead,
each other's names. Let us resolve this
Joseph meant nothing to him. He
was a nameless man in history to the week to recognize all of those who are
in our world and be grateful for their
Pharaoh.
worth to us, and remember that they,
This Pharaoh, throughout the
too, have names.
Torah portion, is called only by his
title, Pharaoh. The Torah, by refusing
Keren Alpert is a rabbinic associate at
to call him by name, diminishes his
Temple Beth El in Bloomfield Township.
reputation. To this day, we cannot say
with certainty which Egyptian pha-
raoh was our tormentor.
Conversations
Pharaoh enslaves the Jews and then
1.Who are some people in your
orders the Jewish midwives to kill any
life that you don't know by name
Jewish infant boys. The Israelite mid-
(the lady who gives you your
wives refuse to obey the order.
bagel, your mail carrier, etc.)?
The midwives' names have been
Make a point this week to learn
preserved in history to us: Their
their names.
names were Shifrah and Puah. So,
the Torah, which does not divulge
2. Can you name your relatives'
Pharaoh's name, honors these two
five closest friends? If not, find
brave women by letting us now that
out the answers.
they had names; they were people.
They were not wealthy, but their
3. What dreams did your parents
deeds made them "women of valor."
have for you when they chose
In our own day, we sometimes for-
your name? Do you share their
get the value of a name. Our names
dreams or has your life taken a
are the product of the dreams our
different path from what they
parents had for us and the way we
envisioned?
see ourselves — and are our calling
cards in the public world. I remember

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