I couldn't let it slip by. Watching the Olympics - okay, maybe it's more like obsessing over the olympics - I couldn't believe that the woman who won Olympic gold in the halfpipe(!) was named Torah Bright. Her first name is really Torah?
When my daughter was born, my husband and I debated her name for a while and we threw around some pretty interesting name choices. Over the years I have heard of many of the names actually used. Tekiah was one. And now Torah. The most interesting part to me is that these are names of people who are not Jewish (at least not that i have discovered).
What's in a name?
Why is it that Jews tend to name their children Ashlee (gorgeous) or Andrew (very manly)? Are we purposely shying away from our heritage? Are we trying to fit in? Or has the culture around us rubbed off on us enough that these names have become our names? When we were slaves in Egypt, the Rabbis tell us, one of the defining factors that kept the Jews a people after two hundred years of slavery was the Hebrew names. Now, after two hundred years in the United States, have we lost our name game? Have other people had to lift up the mantle of our beliefs and hold them in the spotlight? After all, that is truly what is in a name. A rose might smell as sweet, but it is the immediate association and recognition that the name creates. I hear "rose" and I feel its beauty.
I hear "Torah Bright" and it means something to me. Naming people is a huge responsibility - one that has the potential to shape the rest of their life. Naming is the first responsibility that was given to Adam. It's not just about naming a child. Naming an organization, a program, a donation - all these should be given careful deliberation.
What's in a name? As leaders we need to answer, "a lot."
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