blogs/rabbi-huberman

According to the great Rabbi Moshe Sofer (1762-1839), there are three reasons why the Israelites were not assimilated into Egypt, in spite of hundreds of years of slavery:

1. we kept our names;

2. we dressed differently; and

3. we maintained and protected our unique language.

This three-pronged defense against assimilation was included in Rabbi Sofer's ethical will, which sought to leave behind a blueprint towards ensuring the continuity of the Jewish people.

Rabbi Sofer wasn't the first to worry about the future of the Jewish people. 

The Midrash, our ancient collection of biblical commentaries and legends, first identified these three factors,  noting too that the Israelites in Egypt refrained from gossip and promiscuity. 

Most importantly, though, Rabbi Sofer identified the three factors named above.

Almost two hundred years later, does Rabbi Sofer's advice hold water? I believe it does.

Often, when a young couple begins choosing a name for a newborn child, they Google the summary of popular English names.

Presidents and basketball players lead recent lists: Madison, Regan and LeBron continue to be popular.

Often, young parents or grandparents ask my opinion, and my answer is often, “I am not that interested in a child's English name. What will the child's Hebrew name be?”

Why do I feel this way? Well, raise your hand if you are named after someone in your past--a grandparent, aunt, uncle, or other role model.

I happen to know that two-thirds of you just raised your hand.

It is a Kabbalistic teaching that, from generation to generation, we as Jews reach back in order to pass forward the Hebrew names of our ancestors.

To be more specific, the Neshamah, the core spirit of that ancestor, is passed to the baby through its Shem or name. That name grounds the baby for life, before it is advanced, generations later, to its next owner.

My English name is Irwin, but my true name is Yisrael. I am named after my great-grandfather, Yisrael Perel, of blessed memory, who was a Talmudic scholar.

Three of his great-grandsons were named Yisrael. Two have become rabbis; the third is a mensch extraordinaire.

It does seem that, as Rabbi Sofer posited, the Jewish people remains alive, in part, because we believe in the power and connectivity of names.

Secondly, as our tradition tells us, during captivity and beyond, we dressed differently. As Israeli author Yael Shahar noted, “Our clothing has in the past marked us off as separate from the nations among whom we lived. So long as we are recognizable outwardly as Jews, we can't assimilate.”

This of course has served as a double edged sword. Jews are often too recognizable and this has led to persecution. Nevertheless, we as Jews believe that we dress from the inside out, rather than from the outside in.

Finally, there is the issue of language. Often I am asked, “Why should Jews continue to respect Hebrew, which is an ancient desert language?”

The answer for me is that, within Hebrew, there exists a unique perspective. Finite words like “charity” do not exist in Hebrew. For example, the word tzedakah �" often translated as “charity” �" is based on the root word tzedek, or “justice.”

Shalom too can have many meanings. We use words like chai �" “life” �" and its numeric value of eighteen, to influence the value of our contributions or gifts. Hebrew, then, is a deeply contextual language.

This is the week in which we begin our reading of the second book of the Bible. In English, it is known as Genesis, but in Hebrew, it is titled Sefer Sh'mot, the Book of Names.

Isn't it interesting that the first person to refer to the Jewish people as a unified entity was not Jacob, Joseph or Moses, but Pharaoh? 

“Look,” he said, “the nation of the sons of Israel are much too numerous for us...Let us deal shrewdly with them....(Exodus 1:9, 10)

This frame of mind served to launch the basic model of persecution, one which has plagued the Jewish people for millennia.

In 19th and 20th-century Europe, where Jews living in Germany felt that they would be respected and protected if they behaved like good Germans, leaving many of their traditions behind. We now know that, instead, another Pharaoh launched a campaign of unprecedented genocide.

Names, dress, and language. The core of Jewish identity.

Various modern studies into anti-Semitism reveal that Jewish people are most welcome and respected within cultures defined by their diversity: cultures within which they stand by their uniqueness rather than bending over backwards to disguise and suppress it.

We are who we are: partners with God to serve as a light unto other nations. Isaiah said so thousands of years ago.

We are stewards of values designed to uplift humanity and not degrade it.

It is really simple, according to our tradition, and highlighted by Rabbi Moshe Sofer in his ethical will.

We can be impassioned citizens of the country we live in.

We can embrace and cherish secular culture. But let us never forget who we are, and those values and customs which have enabled us to survive while our enemies have faltered.

Let us remember our tradition, and spend time considering Hebrew names. Let us also consider what image we project, as we dress ourselves, and guide our children.

As for language, I believe that Judaism needs to translate its teachings and prayers into English, so that Jewish prayer can be embraced by everyone.

 But it is so important that, likewise, we never forget the beauty and sacredness of Hebrew.

If we remember all of these things, and balance them with the cultures of our blessed neighbors, I believe that the people of Israel will continue to survive and strive.

We say it in Hebrew, and perhaps it defies exact translation: am yisrael chai. We as a nation continue to live.

Mark Twain remarked, “All things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?”

Perhaps there are many answers and explanations, but as our Sages have taught us during the centuries, it has been our reluctance to assimilate which assures the continuation of our sacred mission.

It begins with our names, our values, and the uniqueness of our language.

And, in the words of the great Hillel, “all the rest is commentary.”

Shabbat Shalom, v'kol tuv.

Rabbi Irwin Huberman