Search
Wednesday, 03 December 2008
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Email Lists
Home 
Torah Resources Parasha Archive Shemot 5766 - What?s in a name?
Torah Resources Parasha Archive Shemot 5766 - What?s in a name? | 5766 - What?s in a name? |
|
|
|
What?s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet. ? Romeo and Juliet (Act II, scene ii) What?s in a name? Exodus, the book of names, or Shemot in Hebrew, answers that question quite differently from Juliet, or Gertrude Stein. In Scripture, a name captures the essence of the one who bears it, and naming is an act of divine authority.
Thus, in Genesis, when God reveals his promise to Abram to make him the father of many nations, he changes his name: ?No longer shall your name be called Abram [great father], but your name shall be Abraham [father of a multitude]; for I have made you a father of many nations? (Gen. 17:5). In a similar way, after Jacob wrestles with the ?man? of Peniel, God changes his name as well: Then he said: Not as Yaakov/Heel-Sneak shall your name be henceforth uttered, but rather as Yisrael/God-Fighter, for you have fought with God and men and have prevailed. (Gen. 32:29, Schocken Bible)God is the one who bestows names, and the names he gives capture the essence and destiny of the person. Our parasha and the entire book of Exodus open with the phrase, ?Now these are the names of the children of Israel. . . .? The verses that follow describe the prosperity of the Israelites, and then the terrible oppression under the Egyptians afterwards. Their very existence is threatened as Pharaoh orders the destruction of every male child born to the Hebrews. But, they have already been named as children of Israel, whom God himself named. Yisrael/God-Fighter has prevailed with God and men, and he shall prevail again through his offspring, with God?s help. It is no accident that the Hebrew title for the entire account of the divine victory is Shemot or Names. As the story unfolds, God designates Moses as his instrument to bring about this victory. Moses seems rather doubtful, and believes the Israelites will be doubtful too. He asks God for his name, perhaps to impress the people and make them respect him. But the Lord makes it clear that he is the one who will do the naming around here. He replies, Ehyeh asher ehyeh, ?I AM WHO I AM? (NKJV), or ?I-Will-Be-Who-I-Will-Be? (Alter trans.). ?And He said, ?Thus shall you say to the Israelites, ??Ehyeh has sent me to you??? (Exod. 3:14). God is giving Moses a healthy dose of spiritual reality, and he is instructing us as well. ?What is my name?? he seems to say. ?You cannot name me. I will not provide you with any labels beyond ?I AM.?? Thus, Torah defines the heart of genuine understanding of God. It must come from him as revelation, not from ourselves through analysis or verbal definition. God does not provide convenient cognitive handles so that we can enlist him to our favorite cause or dogma. The American religious enterprise seems intent on naming God, but as Jacob discovered, through intense contact with the Almighty we learn our true name. Rather than seeking to name him, we should seek for God to name us. Recently a prominent Christian broadcaster got himself into trouble by portraying Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon?s massive stroke as divine judgment. He later had to apologize for his statement. Whatever one thinks of Sharon?s policies, it is always dangerous to claim God?s endorsement for one?s own political views. We might believe that our views are based on Scripture, but it is presumptuous to point to specific events as backing our interpretation. Such claims are ways that we try to name God?and the Lord let Moses know that he would do the naming around here. Nevertheless, the unnamable God of Exodus does not choose to remain unnamed. After calling himself only Ehyeh/I AM, God continues speaking to Moses, ?Thus shall you say to the Israelites: ?The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, sent me to you. That is My name forever and thus I am invoked in all ages.??The God who is utterly beyond human analysis and definition defines himself in relationship to one specific, very human, family. He is not an impersonal force, but the One who revealed himself to our ancestors, who made promises and kept them, and who remains active in the story of their descendants to this day. Indeed, this is the same I AM who has stepped fully into the human story as a son of Abraham named Yeshua: ?Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM? (John 8:58). A few months ago, I lost a close friend who had struggled for years with a terminal disease. A few days before his death I went to visit him and he was so weak he could barely whisper. He beckoned to me to come close so he could tell me something. ?Someone asked me yesterday, ?What?s the best thing in life?? I said, ?The energy that brought you here to be with me now.? They said, ?Oh, friendship.? I said, ?No, the energy that brought you here to be with me now.?? My friend set each word in place like a brick in a line of masonry. After a while I responded, ?That energy is the spirit of the God of Israel.? We had discussed Scripture, God, and Messiah for years, but my friend always resisted what he considered narrow limitations on the divine. I told him, ?We need to name that energy because it?s a person, One who is watching over you and loves you.? When we prayed together, he thanked God for our friendship, and for everything?he underlined the word in his barely audible voice?I had brought into his life. I hope that he made his peace with the God of Israel through Messiah. We cannot name God, but God names himself. As much as we need to renounce the effort to name God, we need to embrace the names by which he has identified himself?the God of Israel, the covenant-keeping God, the father of our Messiah Yeshua. Shabbat Shalom! Russ Resnik |
by Rabbi Russ Resnik| < Prev |
|---|