FEBRUARY 22 • 2024 | 35
J
N
Names of Empathy
P
rior to the story of
the Exodus, the Torah
presents the lineage of
the first three tribes of Israel:
Reuven, Shimon and Levi.
Introducing the tribe of Levi,
the Torah states, Ve’eileh shemos
benei Levi, “These are
the names of the sons of
Levi.
”
Rabbi Yeshaya
Horowitz (the “Shelah
Ha’kadosh”) detects
within this introduction
an indication of special
emphasis and suggests
that the Torah seeks to
draw our attention to the
meaning of the names
of Levi’s three sons,
Gershon, Kehas, Merari.
All three names allude to
the Israelites’ plight in Egypt.
“Gershon” hints to their status
as gerim — foreigners; “Kehas”
is derived from the root k.h.h.
which denotes intense pain;
and “Merari” refers to the bit-
terness — merirus — of
bondage.
This is significant, Rabbi
Horowitz explains, because,
according to tradition, the tribe
of Levi was excluded from
the decree of slavery. Levi,
prophetically foreseeing the
bondage forced upon the other
tribes, gave his children these
names to teach them that they
must empathize with the rest
of the nation’s suffering. Rabbi
Horowitz writes that these
names teach us the importance
of sharing in the Jewish people’s
distress even when one person-
ally does not suffer. As we are
all part of a single family, we
must all feel each other’s pain.
My peer, Rabbi Asher
Eisenberger, added that the
name of Levi’s daughter was
Yocheved, which alludes to the
phrase i chavod — “the absence
of respect,
” referring to the
indignity of slavery. I would
similarly suggest that this tra-
dition was continued by Levi’s
offspring. Levi’s grandson,
Amram, named his daughter
Miriam — which, like
Merari, expresses the
bitterness of slavery.
He named his first son
Aharon, which might be
a reference to i herayon
— “no pregnancy,
” as,
according to the Talmud,
Amram divorced his wife
in response to Pharaoh’s
decree to murder the
newborn Israelite boys;
and he thus saw Aharon
as his last child. (Amram
later changed his mind
and remarried his wife, produc-
ing Moshe, who was named by
Pharaoh’s daughter when she
adopted him.)
Here in the United States,
we live far from the crisis fac-
ing our brothers and sisters in
Israel. Nevertheless, it behooves
us to empathize with their
plight, to feel the pain of those
who have lost loved ones, who
have been displaced and whose
livelihoods have been affected.
And we must do everything we
can to help by visiting Israel,
donating, praying, increasing
our religious observance and
publicly reaffirming our Jewish
identity and our commitment
to Judaism.
Let us follow the tradition of
our ancestors in Egypt, feeling
the anguish of our extended
family in distress and do every-
thing we can to assist them
during this period of crisis.
Rabbi Dov Loketch is rabbi of
Congregation Agudas Yisrael Mogen
Avraham in Southfield.
SPIRIT
TORAH PORTION
Rabbi Dov
Loketch
Parshat
Tetzaveh:
Exodus
27:20-30:10;
Ezekiel
43:10-27.
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