לכל איש יש שם
זלדה
לכל איש יש שם
שנתן לו אלוקים
ונתנו לו אביו ואמו
לכל איש יש שם
שנתנו לו קומתו ואופן חיוכו
ונתן לו האריג
לכל איש יש שם
שנתנו לו ההרים
ונתנו לו כתליו
לכל איש יש שם
שנתנו לו המזלות
ונתנו לו שכניו
לכל איש יש שם
שנתנו לו חטאיו
ונתנה לו כמיהתו
לכל איש יש שם
שנתנו לו שונאיו
ונתנה לו אהבתו
לכל איש יש שם
שנתנו לו חגיו
ונתנה לו מלאכתו
לכל איש יש שם
שנתנו לו עונות השנה
ונתן לו עיוורונו
לכל איש יש שם
שנתן לו הים
ונתן לו
מותו.
Each of Us Has a Name
by Zelda
Each of us has a name given by God and given by our parents
Each of us has a name given by our stature and our smile and given by what we wear
Each of us has a name given by the mountains and given by our walls
Each of us has a name given by the stars and given by our neighbors
Each of us has a name given by our sins and given by our longing
Each of us has a name given by our enemies and given by our love
Each of us has a name given by our celebrations and given by our work
Each of us has a name given by the seasons and given by our blindness
Each of us has a name given by the sea and given by our death.
From The Spectacular Difference: Selected Poems of Zelda, translated, edited and introduced by Marcia Falk, (Hebrew Union College Press, 2004).
What names do we go by and when? Names are essential, given to us at birth. Whether a childhood nickname as a toddler that we outgrow, or deliberately changing our name in the Jewish tradition due to illness, or changing our first or last name as our identity changes, our names are both stable and are also always changing, because we are always changing.
- What is the story behind your name?
- This text shows Jacob receiving a new name due to a critical encounter with God -- an attempt to change his destiny. Have you ever changed your name or an aspect of your name, or gone by a nickname? Why did you choose it and what was the story behind it?
- Do people often call you by the wrong name? How has that affected your life?
- What are ways in which our names can limit people's perception of us? What are ways in which they can expand people's understanding of who we are?
- How might we as a congregation increase the ways we learn each other's names, and what lies beneath those names?
(א) וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל רְאוּ קָרָא ה' בְּשֵׁם בְּצַלְאֵל.
כָּל זְמַן שֶׁאָדָם מַרְבֶּה בַּמִּצְוֹת, הוּא קֹנֶה שֵׁם טוֹב לְעַצְמוֹ. אַתְּ מוֹצֵא שְׁלֹשָׁה שֵׁמוֹת נִקְרְאוּ לוֹ לְאָדָם, אֶחָד מַה שֶּׁקּוֹרְאִים לוֹ אָבִיו וְאִמּוֹ, וְאֶחָד מַה שֶּׁקּוֹרְאִין לוֹ בְּנֵי אָדָם, וְאֶחָד מַה שֶּׁקּוֹנֶה הוּא לְעַצְמוֹ. טוֹב מִכֻּלָּן מַה שֶּׁקּוֹנֶה הוּא לְעַצְמוֹ.
(1) And Moses said unto the children of Israel: “See, the Lord hath called by name Bezalel the son of Uri” (Exod. 35:30). Every time a person increases the number of good deeds he performs, he adds to his good name. You find that a person is known by three names: the name by which his father and mother call him, the name by which other people call him, and the one he earns for himself; the most important name is the one he earns for himself.
(2) The LORD rebuilds Jerusalem;
He gathers in the exiles of Israel.
(3) He heals their broken hearts,
and binds up their wounds.
(4) He counts the number of the stars;
to each He calls its name.
(א) נִבְחָ֣ר שֵׁ֭ם מֵעֹ֣שֶׁר רָ֑ב
מִכֶּ֥סֶף וּ֝מִזָּהָ֗ב חֵ֣ן טֽוֹב׃
(1) A reputable name is preferable to great wealth, Grace is better than silver and gold.
Questions
- What do you think is the difference between the name we are called by parents, by people we know, and that we earn for ourselves? What do you think the first text is trying to teach us?
- What are ways that today we add to our own good names?
- In the quote from Psalm 147, God counts each of the stars and gives them each a name. This is a metaphor for the way that God counts each person and calls them by name. How does this idea -- that God calls us by name -- add to our understanding of the importance of our names?
- What are ways that we can get to know each other in our community by our many names, learning what each of them tells us about each other?
To copy the sources into your own Sefaria source sheet, you can find this source sheet at www.sefaria.org/sheets/498075.
To learn more about Clal's The Belonging Project, see https://www.clal.org/belonging.