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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