January Birthdays as We Begin the Book of Names (Shemot)

Last week we finished the first book of the Torah, Bereishit, where we became familiar with the names of all of the matriarchs and patriarchs of Judaism.  The stories in Bereishit made us acutely aware of the personalities and actions of the individuals whose lives formed the basis for our particularistic historical beginning.

  The book that we started today, takes a different path at looking at our past.  Although it is known as Exodus in English, the second book of the Torah is actually called Shemot or Names.  Yet unlike the book of Genesis where names play a big part of the story, Shemot actually leaves out the names of individuals while it makes its statement about the birth of the Israelite nation.

Notice 2:1-10 which says: “ And a certain man of the house of Levi went and married a daughter of Levi And the woman conceived and had a son….and his sister stood from afar to see what would happen to him.  The daughter of Pharoah …saw the boy….and his sister said to the daughter of Pharoah, “Shall I go and call a Hebrew woman to nurse the child for you?  And Pharoah’s daughter said to her, “Go!” The young girl went and called the mother of the child and the daughter of the Pharoah said, “Take this child and nurse him for me and I will pay your fee,” and the woman took the child and nursed him.  And the boy grew, and she brought him to the daughter of the Pharoah.”

As you can see each of these characters actually remains nameless in this Book of Names….Perhaps that is because when one has a name, an identity, especially one that is tied to his/her Jewish identity, it becomes harder to strip away their ties to their people.  In this story, the Egyptians actually used this as one of their strategies to enslave the Israelites. According to an analysis by Matis Weinberg in his book Frameworks, “It was not population per se that the Egyptians feared.  It was population with identity, communicable selfhood, that was so perilous- a population that would rebel against servitude.  They feared people with personal significance and individual identity expressed by Names.” (As I think about it, this was perhaps the same strategy that the Nazis used by assigning numbers to those interred in the concentration and labor camps).

For us Jews, having a national identity and individual significance go hand in hand.  We know that embracing life is part of our ethos.  We know that we love life not only for individuals but we insist that the Jewish people has the right to exist no matter how many enemies will rise to destroy us.  Sometimes we have faced such extreme situations that one might think that a commitment to life and reproduction would go by the wayside.  That was not the case in Egypt when Pharoah enslaved us nor is it the case in modern day Israel when enemies threaten to annihilate her.  We have a commitment to life and it goes hand in hand with our insistence that we as individuals are inextricably intertwined with the Jewish people.

So here we are today, celebrating the birthdays of individuals in our congregation by mentioning names and speaking about unique qualities and accomplishments.  We are also acutely aware that each individual helps define our congregation and our links to the Jewish people not only here in Lincoln but worldwide.  We name each person individually because we cherish their lives and recognize that their names not only adds to our roster of members but adds to the character of our congregation as well.  The more we as individuals named today make known our connection to and passion for Jewish living, the more we will thrive as a community.  We should also be aware that it is not only your own individuality that matters. As we continue our mission of providing a caring community for the celebration of Jewish life here in Lincoln our names, our presence, and our commitment to Tifereth Israel are also of utmost importance in accomplishing this sacred task.

Yom Huledet Sameach.

Shabbat Shalom.