Names and destiny

Names continue to fascinate me. Kabbalistically, a person's name is connected with his essence and the root of his soul. R. Yosef Karo writes in Magid Meisharim (Shemos) that a man named Abraham leans toward the side of kindness and one who is called Yosef is either a hero in sexual matters or feeds and supports others. While essentially Kabbalistic, it could be interpreted to refer to the subconscious effect of carrying a name and its meaning, which creates an expectations that will influence a person to express precisely the qualities associated with the name. It appears incontrovertible that one's name has a shaping and clarifying influence on the development of personality and on how others view him/her, and that it modifies a person's perception of who he or she is. There is scientific evidence to this concept.

Before the world was created, there was only He and His name alone (some versions say Hakadosh Baruch Hu, not He.., see Sefer Hoemunos 4:7. Another version in the printed version of PRDRE says, "His great name...). The Name is Essence!

This assumption that a name affects the person may be based on Brochos 7b.

How do we know that the name is causative (shapes and affects individuals and events)? R. Elazar said. The verse says " come see works of Hashem, that he put destruction (shamus) in the land. Do not read Shamos but sheimos (names).[

There are other sources as well. In Yoma 83b we are treated to a story of how R. Meir was able to prevent financial loss by paying attention to a name of an innkeeper who turned out to be a wicked swindler. Similarly we read in Sotah 9b, "If her name was not Delila she should have been called that, since she weakened his strength and his vigor". Similarly in Sotah 34b we are told that all of the spies were named according to their deeds. I

In Tanach names are certainly reflective of their bearers. For example, Esav has a name indicating his physical appearance (Genesis 25:) and is also called Edom (red), alluding to his violent tendencies, that he sheds blood. Moses's name reflected how the daughter of Pharaoh drew him from the Nile (Exodus 2:10). Noah's birth was accompanied by the aspiration that the newborn would provide comfort "from our work and from the toil of our hands, because of the ground which God cursed" (Genesis 5:29). And he called his name Noach, meaning to say, "This one will give us comfort (e-noach-meinu) (Genesis 5, 29)". Here the name reflects the man's essence. Another example: "The name of one was Peleg, for in his days, the entire world became divided (ni-peleg-a) (Geneis 10,25)". There are countless such  examples.

That a name may indicate something about its owner also goes back to Tanach. "Naval is his name and navala he does (Samuel 1, 25,25). "It is for this that they called him Yakov and he outwitted me these two times (Genesis 27,36).

Not only this - we all have different names.

You find that a person is called by three names: one by which that his father and mother call him, one that people call him and one that he acquires himself. The best one is the one that he acquires himself (Tanchuma VaYakhel, 1).

As is known, Ashkenazim have the custom of not naming their children after living relatives. This is based on Sefer Chassidim 460 who says that it is discourage because it indicates an anticipation that that person will soon die, as explained by Noheg K'Tson Yosef, Yoledes 5.. Of interest, the issue of Gilgul(transmigration) is not cited exlicitly by Sefer Chassidim. An obvious explanation of why we should wait until a relative departs is to give his or her soul an opportunity to partially transmigrate into the newborn baby. To name a child by a parent's name while he is still alive is akin to the sin of Onan, wo did not want to give "seed" to his brother. Abarbanel (unlike Ari who held that souls transmigrate into animals and even stones and trees) on Yibum in Ki Teitse makes the point that giglul is the more appropriate the greater the degree of similarity between the source and the destination and that is why Torah commanded that a brother should marry his passed brother's wife and produce progeny. See a discussion here.

In the recent edition of Kolmos from Mishpacha(Chanukkah 5771, #15), R. Binyamin Jacobson answers a question from Kallah Rabbasi 3, where it says that 80.000 boys named Aharon were present at Aharon's funeral. Does this not sypport the view of teh Sephardim that one names children after LIVING relatives?

His answer is noteworthy. He brings Bareishis Rabba 37,7: "The ancestors, since they knew their genealogies, would derive names from events. We, who are not certain of our genealogies, derive names from our forefathers. Rabbi Shimon Ben Gamliel said: The ancestors who used the power of Divine Inspiration drew names out of (future) events; we who do not have access to Divine Inspiration, draw names from our forefathers (Genesis Rabbah 37,7)."

SInce Aharon's contemporaries named their children after events, they named them Aharon after the setting up of the Mishkon. Therefore, it does not apply to our practice at all.

This is an ingenious answer but it doesn't explain everything. There are many examples of Talmuidc Sages who were named after their fathers when they were still alive (see R. Reuven Margolios extensive note in his edition of Sefer Chassidim 460) and this still requires an explanation.

 

Comments

[steve mcqueen]

in support of the first midrash you quote, and the idea of names giving rise to unconscious desires, is the fact that in gematria "Shmo" and "ratzon" are equivalent.

[avakesh]

To close the circle, Name and Will both refer to the sefira of Keser. On the simplest level what it means that the "I", once you strip off all the levels, is purely what we will and want in Life and what choices we make for good or against it.

[hahistorion]

Excellent post. I am likewise fascinated by names. See my post here:
http://ha-historion.blogspot.com/2009/03/significance-of-given-names-in-tanach.html

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