Bereshit ABM

With this we can understand, in our situation, the Midrash (Genesis Rabbah 17:4): “R. Acha said, “When the Holy One, blessed be He, came to create man, He sought the advice of the ministering angels. He said to them, “Let us make man.” And they asked Him, “What good is he?” God answered, “his wisdom is greater than yours.” God made all the animals pass before the angels, asking whether the angels knew their names, but they could not answer. Then He passed before man, who spoke their names, saying, “This is an ox, this is a donkey, this is a horse, this is a camel.” Then God said to man, “And you, what is your name?” Man replied, “It seems to me that a fitting name would be Adam, because I am created out of Adama, Earth” God said, “And I? What is My name?” Man said, “It would be fitting to call you Adonai, Lord, because You are Lord of everything You created.” R. Acha continued, ‘God said (Isaiah 42:8), “I am God; this is My name,” God was saying, “this is the name by which Adam called me.”

At the simple levels it is difficult to understand why it is that man should be the one to give names to everything in the world. Not only that, but also why is it that the man names the Holy Blessed One Adonai, Lord? Why should this be the final argument, against the angels, in the decision to create man?

We know that the name of each thing is its source of vitality. It is written (Genesis 2:19): “Whatever the man called the soul of each living thing remained its name,” because the name of a thing is its vital soul. There are instances, however, when something is called by a name after its life has been created, as when God called light “day” giving the day its name only after it had already been created. Then there are instances whereby, through naming, the thing itself is called into being, as it is written (Exodus 30:2), “I have called Betzalel son of Uri son of Chur, of the tribe of Judah, by name. I have filled him with a divine spirit, with wisdom, understanding, and knowledge,” By calling upon Betzalel by name, God actually filled him with wisdom, etc. on the verse (Numbers 13:16) “Moses gave Hoshea son of Nun the name Joshua,” Rashi (ibid.) explains: “by giving him the new name, which is a compound of two words, Yah and Hoshua ‘May God save,’ he in effected prayed for him: ‘May God save you from the evil counsel of the spies.’” By naming Joshua in this way, Moses managed to put extra holiness inside him, in order to protect him.

Because the angels counseled God not to create man, the Holy Blessed One replied, “His wisdom is greater than yours,” The verse (Genesis 1:1) “In the beginning God created heaven and earth,” is translated in the Jerusalem Targum as “with wisdom created,” Thus, God said to the angels, “Man’s wisdom/creativity is greater than yours, because he can be creative through his worship of God. Proof of it is that he can name things, which is also a way of creating their vital souls.” But what kind of creativity is it when that which is named has already been created? It is the creativity of man using everything already extant in the world to call upon the name of God, thereby making God sovereign over all of them. This is why he named God Adonai, Lord, as Adam said in the Midrash quoted above, “Because He is Lord over all.” Through serving God with all living things, man makes God their sovereign.

Translation- Rabbi Avi Strausberg